Finding long term staff

[Battou]

Well, as the title suggests, I need to find long term staff

Now before you get started on "perusing your userbase", I ask because the site I am looking for staff for a site that targets a userbase that is too young to expect this kind preexisting know how. Not that we let that stop us, we still put the information up on the main site and got squat for replies but still. I also made a post in the Job Centre here on FP only to get flopped at the shear magnitude of qualifications I have been told to seek.

How does one go about finding qualified staff, especially for complex internal workings of a web site?

 

[golfbunny]

If you do not feel comfortable pursuing your own userbase, find a similar forum, take a while to browse through some posts, and private message a few members who you feel would do well on your team.

 

[Battou]

Well...I suppose I could always try stealing staff from DA but....the fact that we are trying not to be a DA clone really puts that on the list of ideas I don't particularly like.

 

[Callum93]

I think FP's method of ''you have to have been here 3/4 weeks and have 100 posts'' is an effective method of getting long term staff the majority of the time... something similar to that would probably work 🙂

 

[Battou]

I think FP's method of ''you have to have been here 3/4 weeks and have 100 posts'' is an effective method of getting long term staff the majority of the time... something similar to that would probably work 🙂

Understandable, but the bulk of FP's userbase is composed of people who are currently at Admin or higher status meaning they have some administrative background making that method practicle. FAC however is a bunch of kids and teens who only want to put their doodles and sketches online. Most of them don't know that coding even exists let alone know how to do it. Sure there are a bunch of them who would love to help the site but they admit that they don't know how to do what is needed. This makes that method very impracticle for the site I am working on.

 

[Callum93]

I think FP's method of ''you have to have been here 3/4 weeks and have 100 posts'' is an effective method of getting long term staff the majority of the time... something similar to that would probably work 🙂

Understandable, but the bulk of FP's userbase is composed of people who are currently at Admin or higher status meaning they have some administrative background making that method practicle. FAC however is a bunch of kids and teens who only want to put their doodles and sketches online. Most of them don't know that coding even exists let alone know how to do it. Sure there are a bunch of them who would love to help the site but they admit that they don't know how to do what is needed. This makes that method very impracticle for the site I am working on.

Well, you can always use methods of recruitment. Create a topic here in the staff recruitment section and also I'm pretty sure you can start a thread on DigitalPoint, not sure exactly what section though

 

[Battou]

I think FP's method of ''you have to have been here 3/4 weeks and have 100 posts'' is an effective method of getting long term staff the majority of the time... something similar to that would probably work 🙂

Understandable, but the bulk of FP's userbase is composed of people who are currently at Admin or higher status meaning they have some administrative background making that method practicle. FAC however is a bunch of kids and teens who only want to put their doodles and sketches online. Most of them don't know that coding even exists let alone know how to do it. Sure there are a bunch of them who would love to help the site but they admit that they don't know how to do what is needed. This makes that method very impracticle for the site I am working on.

Well, you can always use methods of recruitment. Create a topic here in the staff recruitment section and also I'm pretty sure you can start a thread on DigitalPoint, not sure exactly what section though

I did the thread here on FP, got shot down.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31958

As for digital point I'll take a look

 

[Callum93]

If you are expecting people to volunteer for that then sorry, you're not going to get any luck. Though if you want to go to Buy, Sell and Trade > Services> Programming and make it a paid job on DP, then you will probably get someone to do it for you.

 

[Kino]

Well, as the title suggests, I need to find long term staff

Now before you get started on "perusing your userbase", I ask because the site I am looking for staff for a site that targets a userbase that is too young to expect this kind preexisting know how. Not that we let that stop us, we still put the information up on the main site and got squat for replies but still. I also made a post in the Job Centre here on FP only to get flopped at the shear magnitude of qualifications I have been told to seek.

How does one go about finding qualified staff, especially for complex internal workings of a web site?

I think I'll agree with Zane here. I had a lot of trouble finding staff at the forums I've ran before. The key is to find the user that really seems to stick out and care about the community. One that gets on every single day, posts a lot, and knows how to have fun.

Or if you don't, go to a similar board, and message some people seeing if they'd like to be staff.

 

[AnAccount]

Well, as the title suggests, I need to find long term staff

Now before you get started on "perusing your userbase", I ask because the site I am looking for staff for a site that targets a userbase that is too young to expect this kind preexisting know how. Not that we let that stop us, we still put the information up on the main site and got squat for replies but still. I also made a post in the Job Centre here on FP only to get flopped at the shear magnitude of qualifications I have been told to seek.

How does one go about finding qualified staff, especially for complex internal workings of a web site?

I think I'll agree with Zane here. I had a lot of trouble finding staff at the forums I've ran before. The key is to find the user that really seems to stick out and care about the community. One that gets on every single day, posts a lot, and knows how to have fun.

Or if you don't, go to a similar board, and message some people seeing if they'd like to be staff.

That's how I feel as well. I know of one forum in particular that does a two week trial period. If they find someone they think may be suitable for staff, the member in question goes through a two-week trial period, and if they do well, then they'll be allowed to stay on as staff, and if not, then they're automaticall demoted back to their regular positions.

 

[ros]

I have to agree that the best place to find staff is within, and looking at your site, I think you've got a lot of people whose artistic skill is way above a really 'young' level, so you must have some people who are appropriate. Look to see who is active, helping, and/or able to give instruction on art.

 

[Bossanova]

Lets turn this into a general 'long term staff' topic, shall we? 🙂

All my current staff have been with the forum since the first few weeks of it's original opening. Once we converted to V2, a few staff were demoted due to inactivity. For the most part, my staff are like my family and have been there forever.

 

[Saruman]

Staff at ES, we have all known each other for 3+ years, and we help each other out with each others sites.

Been doing that since we've known one another. :great:

 

[Acorn]

I wouldn't underestimate the younger set. A few of our staff are young--as in 13 to 15--and they do a stellar job. That said, the older the members the more likely they are to have the required maturity level. I admit I don't know much of anything about your board though so my advice just might be off kilter for you. But what works well for us is that we first try new staff out in a lower level position, then see how they do and if and when we need to promote someone to a mod, we pick from the best of those.

You might also have some luck looking around here, or on other large forums in your same genre. Just be VERY careful if you bring someone in as staff on your board without knowing them well. It helps to meet them on another big board where you can look through their posting history there and see how they are generally.

 

[CyberFreak]

Maturity is much more important then age. Some people are quite old and act 12 while some people are 12 and act 20.

The best way for active staff members is within your group of current members. Advertising jobs on other sites may get you somebody but that user probably is not a member of your site and don't know hardly anything about your site. Additionally you know nothing about them. People you get from job adverts on other forums are not usually going to turn out to be long term. Promoting your current members usually means they will be active. They know your site, members and they obviously enjoy your site.

 

[Battou]

Maturity is much more important then age. Some people are quite old and act 12 while some people are 12 and act 20.

The best way for active staff members is within your group of current members. Advertising jobs on other sites may get you somebody but that user probably is not a member of your site and don't know hardly anything about your site. Additionally you know nothing about them. People you get from job adverts on other forums are not usually going to turn out to be long term. Promoting your current members usually means they will be active. They know your site, members and they obviously enjoy your site.

We have tried that and have failed on a few occasions. Our problem is that there are no shortage of people who want the title but have no interest in the responsibility and/or just do not have the qualifications. We have exausted all potential internal resources. If that where not the case I would not have asked this question.

 

[Acorn]

Oh yes. I've had the 25-year-old-acting-12 thing {or even 38-acting-8-thing} going on on more than one forum I was on. Sometimes the adults can be the worst!!

IF your userbase includes people at least 13-14 then you have a userbase you can probably draw from for staff. There are exceptions, but from what I have seen, age 12 or 13 is a "magical age" for some reason and kids younger than 12 seem to have a lot more trouble getting along on a forum. There are many exceptions, I've RPed with people as young as 10 who were very competent as forum members and writers. But kids like that are the exception not the norm.