How to Build & Manage a Team of Moderators

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Nicou   No comments   Discord, Forums, Moderation, Twitch 28 August 2022

How to Build & Manage a Team of Moderators

At some point when you manage a growing community, you will struggle to keep up with the sheer amount of users’ comments flowing in every days, nights, all week, non-stop.
You have others task to perform, and you can’t always be there to manage everything going on with your community.

When that happens: You will need Moderators to support you.

Summary:

 

Why should you Have Moderators

Moderators, or Mods, are extremely helpful when growing a community.
Usually, they have been a part of the community for some time which means that they have knowledge of how things work, they will continue what you have done, and how you have done it.

Whether they are supporting the moderation efforts on Twitch, Discord, your forums or another platform: a great team of Mods will be instrumental to keep the order in your new empire.

💡 Having Moderators on multiple timezones helps you covering days & nights, and keeping the community safe.

💡 There is no strict rule for it, but I like to have 1 active Mod per 1000 active Members up to 10k Members.
Then, 1 additional active Mod every 10k Members. If you have 100k Members, 20 Mods is a good number.

💡 Ask your Legal team when working with volunteers, as it might be illegal depending on how and where the deed is done.
It is illegal in the US.
In the EU you can work with volunteers as long as you have an agreement with them that clearly states “the agreement between both parts”. You must not use the words Contract, Obligation, etc. It should be clearly noted that no contract or employment relationship is created, and the volunteer can withdraw when they wish to. And neither party can force the other to do anything.
Still, it’s great to have an envelope for Moderators if you can.

 

Now, I’ve heard this multiple times: “Hey, you are using their passion for free! It’s a lot of work and Mods should be paid!”

Very fair point. Moderation is a lot of work. Someone dedicated, with the passion, might want to help you.
It is the same passion that pushes me to write articles for free since 2011. I want to support you, because I believe it’s the right thing to do.
Moderators support a brand because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

As volunteers, they have the right to withdraw at any moment with the experience they have gathered as a Moderator.
It can be a great boon in the CV too, if they want to start working in that domain. I have seen many people starting their first job in the gaming industry, only because they have been a volunteer Mod or Content Creator for a brand.

Plus, Community Teams usually know what it’s like to be a Mod: They will train, support, and guide you in this path.
You can have fun with the development team working on the very same game/brand you like, and often access early information that the lambda players/users won’t know about.
It’s also common to gift moderators with keys for the game, or discounts, Merch, goodies, events invitation, and other benefits if they are actively supporting the brand.

Or… a company with the budget could pay their Mods, but it could require some heavy paperwork to set it up properly; And it might put more stress on your Mods who are now officially under paid contract. Some mods might not even be able to legally accept a contract depending on their actual work or the country they are bound with.

Back to Summary

 

How to Find Moderators

There are, to me, two great ways to find your future moderators:

  • Passively – You now the names of the very active users, maybe they’d like to join you on the adventure? Or do your existing mods have recommendations?
    • Pros: Active Moderator, they know your rules & community & will understand what you expect of them faster.
    • Cons: A very active user could not be a very active moderator, nor a talkative person could make a good moderator.
  • Actively – Recruitment of volunteers, through a GoogleForm for example, will help you find more moderators to support the efforts.
    • Pros: A greater range of profiles, team optimisation, true volunteers applying by themselves, empowerment
    • Cons: Time consuming, possibly more training time

💡 Be careful when handpicking moderators passively: You must be clear about your expectations so as not to turn them against you.
Imagine: you selected someone & promoted them, but at some point you find that they don’t meet your expectations as a Moderator & you have to demote them… you will loose that previously great member of your community. Friends or friends’ friends, family members, and very active members can be difficult to manage, so set the landscape clearly and manage expectations.

When selecting your Moderators, you must look for profiles with experiences that will match well together.
Look for good personality traits, people who respect others. It is really important in order to avoid internal trouble.

Good traits:

  • Fun person, because no one wants someone who apply rules harshly and plainly. They must be cool about it & contribute to the positive environment.
  • Know when to be serious
  • Follow processes
  • Make others feel welcome
  • Handle heavy & harsh comments well
  • Don’t overreact

When looking actively for moderators, I usually ask the following questions during the process:

  • Reminder of the rules, and expectations, benefits
  • Nickname, Discord Username
  • Email
  • Name & Surname → First barrier to avoid potential trolls
  • Date of Birth → Helps in understanding people’s behaviours
  • Pronouns
  • Full Postal Address → Second barrier, we want serious people. The address is private for the Company, and helps to send goodies
  • Timezone → From -9 to +9 to help you optimise the coverage
  • Experience in Moderation → Past experience, professional, familiar with moderation procedures & bots
  • Why should we pick you? → That’s where you will first assess behaviour. You could get a “I want more power”, which is a big no no. I’ve seen it once ^-^

💡 If you need absolute security, you could even told them that a Non Disclosure Agreement is to be signed if selected.
Then you will be able to share more internal details, and have peace of mind but it can be a bit overkill depending on the goals with the team.

💡You can (and must) still share soft information with your Mods without NDA like “Update tomorrow morning, so expect more traffic”.

Back to Summary

 

Managing Moderators

Congratulations, you are the proud parent of your own Moderation Team!

  • Regularly chat & check with them to keep them in the loop with information they need to perform their tasks. You must be present.
  • Listen to their feedback, even if you are the employee you must absolutely be open to suggestions. Your Mods must not be afraid of sharing comments with you.
  • Do not pressure your Mods, they are volunteers and have their own lives. You have set the expectations already, so do not police them.

 

As the leader of the team, you will experience one or several of these issues at some point.
You must know how to deal with these:

  • Inactive Moderators – Keep track of activity, but do not police them. If they’re really inactive for like 2 months without a warning (ex: holidays, family issue, bored, …) contact them to understand the matter. Do not pressure your mods, they are volunteers. If they don’t want to help anymore, you should understand and thank them for their free time.
  • Arguing between Moderators – Because behaviours are different, this issue can happen here and there. Bring up the issue privately only with the concerned persons, and listen to their problems. Weight the case. Propose solutions that will satisfy both parts and user leadership to remind them of expected conduct if they have crossed a line.
  • Moderation Actions – Again because behaviours are different, Mod 1 could require a ban for user A while Mod 2 would rather give a warning. Have your Moderation Guidelines available & visible so they can use it to better understand your expectations. If needed, they can always discuss the matter with other mods in order to get the best solution.
    • Your Moderation Guidelines must be clear so your Mods know what warrants a warning, a ban, a mute, and how long/severe they must be with the case.
  • Targeted Mod – A user is harassing one of your mods? That’s it, it is personal now! *shred tshirt revealing bare chest* Protect yo’ kids yo! Try and keep the matter private, contact the user and remind them of the community code of conduct. If it is public, intervene but don’t make it a show of power. Keep things calm, diplomacy, you trust your Moderation Team with their actions. I like to have an Appeal GForm in case something happens, so the Community Team can discuss with the players and understand the situation.
  • Mod not following processes – Whether it is out of defiance (oof), or lack of knowledge, or simply a tired mod: stay cool, chat with the Mod, reminder of the rule, and cheer them up! 🙂
  • …

 

Above all: Show that you care, and be grateful for your Mods’ support!

Back to Summary

 

There will be no article next week, as I will be busy at the PAX West in Seattle.

Let me know if you are there during the event, let’s have a chat! 😃