gina ciancio swarm presentation 2014
DESCRIPTION
Gina will take you through the full journey of establishing Next Step – an online community the Department of Human Services established in partnership with the CSIRO. This unique research project aimed to provide community members with informational and emotional support to help them transition between government payments and return to work. A unique aspect of the community was measuring whether social trust grew throughout the life of the community. Gina’s team developed content for the community, moderated discussion forums, and hosted live Q&A events with experts. She shares the lessons learned and practical tips for developing your own online community.TRANSCRIPT
Online community
Next Step
September 2014 Presented by Gina Ciancio
Next Step, a community for parents transitioning from welfare to work
Page 3
Type of online community
Type Definition Characteristics Examples
Community of action
A community with a goal to use collective power to make change in the world
• Focus on milestones and updates on progress
• Facilitation of group commitment and sharing of best practices
• Care2 • Oxfam • TreeHugger
Community of practice
A community for people participating in the same activity
• Focus on what’s new and what’s proven
• Search for credible expertise • Agreed domain of
knowledge
• Lawyers.com • DesignSpark • ConnectedEducators
Community of place
A community for people united by geography
• Focus on local events, people and activities
• Useful reciprocation cycles
• NextDoor • EastDulwich
Community of interest
A community for people who share a common interest
• Focus on depth of passion for the interest
• Bonding and status-jockeying discussions
• SyFy • Ice and Fire • BullsConnect • PlayStation
Community of circumstance
A community for people united by a common situation or challenge not of their making
• Focus on support for dealing with situation
• Large number of bonding discussions
• PatientsLikeMe • BreastCancer.org
course.feverbee.com
Page 4
Community aims
• Explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies
to facilitate communication between
DHS and our customers
• Examine if Next Step could provide
informational and emotional support
• Measure social trust
Chapter 1: An online community isn’t built overnight
Page 6
Planning overview
Page 7
Page 8
What worked/didn’t work during planning
Conducting research with target audience
Having time to test the community platform (Considering accessibility and user experience)
Developing 3 months’ worth of content tailored for members (Discussion topics, articles, activities, videos, podcasts)
Getting legal and privacy sign off (Community name, Terms of Use, moderator guidelines)
Two different organisational goals and processes
Lack of understanding of developer timeframes/delivery
Lack of plain English, persuasive language (‘About’ page, ‘Community guidelines’ and invitation)
Chapter 2: Lights, camera, action
Page 10
• Community launch is
unlike other comms
events
• Cold start
• Communities take
time to build
• Lack of trust with us
and with other
members
Page 11
What worked/didn’t work during launch
Direct invitation to the community
Community populated with content (Toolkit, media library, discussion topics)
Inability to customise letter of invitation (To trial what letters had highest success or personalise to subgroups)
Inability for people to participate immediately
Lack of ‘notify me’ tick box at start
Lack of ice-breaker bonding discussions in forum at launch (Community type needed this content)
Lack of visibility of moderators
Chapter 3: When all you can hear are crickets
Page 13
• 90-9-1 rule
• Different types of
engagement
• Most vocal aren’t
always most
influential
• Keep feeding the
community
Page 14
What worked/didn’t work to foster engagement
Different ways for people to participate (Comment, watch videos, read resources, complete activities)
Allowing members to start discussion topics
Group and individual activities
Regular new content and recruitment rounds (Toolkit, media library, discussion topics)
Member profiles highlighted
Highly responsive moderators
Could have tried more diverse discussion questions earlier
Badges gamification
Inability to incentivise participation
Inability for members to recruit members
Chapter 4: Managing sentiment and keeping the community on track
Page 16
“So Gigi who looks
after your children
while you are at
work?”
“NO I DON'T FEEL
SUPPORTED !!”
“Centerlink has no idea on
what kind of pain and
suffering it has made
people suffer, just to save
a few dollars and to make
the figures look positive.”
“I would like to know how
Centrelink came up with
the idea that once a child
(or in my case twins which
are MULTIPLE but
Centrelink can't count)
turns 8 that they don't
need as much money to
support them.”
“With no health care card I cant cope it's the straw that broke my back I give up”
Page 17
• Welcoming new members
• Initiating discussion
threads
• Monitoring the forum
• Sourcing information and
providing a face to
Human Services
• Exercising moderation
and community building
skills
• Publishing regular
resources and content
• Facilitating live Q&As
Page 18
“Hi Kayte, it sounds like
you’ve been persevering
through some really hard
times.”
“I know you and other
members are facing
tough times ahead
with limited notice for
this transition in
payments.”
“Thanks for explaining
what happened to you.
I’m concerned about the
service you received.”
“I’m sorry to hear about
the advice you were
given. We do care, and
that’s one reason why we
created this community.”
“Thanks for your contribution to
the community so far.”
Page 19
Page 20
“Thanks Gigi. I have been
reading through the posts
and just want to say you are
doing a great job under what
can only be very distressing
circumstances, trying to help
people when there are very
few options for most.”
“I appreciate your expertise
in giving prompt and
accurate responses, and I
don’t want to seem like I’m
“shooting the messenger”.
You have a job to do.”
“Thanks Marian. It’s good to get
some positive reinforcement and
encouragement.”
Page 21
What worked/didn’t work to manage discussions
Quick and accurate responses by moderators (Made members feel they were important and gave them value to return)
Being friendly but firm when necessary, plain English
Telling our stories
Using humour where appropriate
Being honest and transparent (If we made a mistake, we were open about it)
Being reliable and assisting customers
Lack of understanding of their situations and sub-groups
Only one moderator at start
Lack of formal community management training at start
Chapter 5: Closing the community
Page 23
“Special thanks to Gigi it must have been frustrating and heartbreaking to see us struggle so and I admire your fortitude - you kept coming back and you tried so very hard to support us”
“You directly helped me by getting those phone calls organised - I haven't had any trouble with Centrelink since! its been all smooth sailing - maybe they flagged my file :) *touch wood* thanks for your assistance”
"You've been a great help, Gigi, and I know we've been quite vocal in our discussions here about our disappointments with the changes. I hope you get recognition from
your managers for your great work in being the face of Human Services and at
the coalface of our issues with Centrelink. You have been a true professional, and we wish there were more staff like yourself at
Centrelink. Enjoy your next endeavour wherever you end up after this stint:)"
“As rainyday said, you have been professional and had to put up with a lot of questions and discussions from us over the past few months.”
“Thanks Gigi, it makes a nice change to have someone willing
to listen and be sympathetic to the situations some clients may
be in. Good luck to you and all the staff who helped with this
community.”
Page 24
What worked/didn’t work to close the community
Upfront from the beginning (About community lifespan and purpose)
Gave 2 months notice
Offered other platforms to engage
Asked for feedback and offered to share research report
Took feedback from members to improve website content
Other feedback shared with policy and service teams
Unable to contact members outside the community
What did we learn?
Page 26
Key learnings
• Communities take time to build
• Community lifecycle – inception,
establishment, maturity and mitosis
• Right people and training is a must
• Regularly recruit new members
• One to many benefit
• Customer service channel
