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Thorbought · **11-14-2016, 12:23 PM**

Hey, sorry if this isn't the right place for this kind of question! I've been running an rp fc for a brief amount of time now and it's proved to be a lot more trouble than I imagined.Â

First problem is the complete lack of officers. It's basically just me and my co-gm managing 30 or so people. We've made several officers in the past but they've either done nothing or abused the power. We've tried to get them to help us time and time again but they seem content on doing nothing and minding their own business. A few become proactive for the first few weeks but after that they kind of seem to lose interest in being an officer. Going off of that, the FC is also kind of 'fractioned' so to say. There's several groups of people who were all friends before joining the FC so they mostly just stay in their own group. Another group is the same, they knew each other before joining, and they're basically only in the FC by name. And then we have the new people who feel isolated because there's already cliques. This problem I've worked hard to fix and it's gotten better but there's still groups of people who basically never interact with the company.Â

The final problem I feel is with the direction of the FC. It's original purpose was to be a mercenary company but it feels very aimless. It's ended up being more of a 'club house' where people just come and have casual rp more than anything. we tried to do a storyline but a few people became upset at the events that happened and the officer in charge of that just gave up on trying that again. This also leads into member-retainment where our new members have a hard time making connections and also have no real reason to stay if the FC has no goal in mind other than 'making Eorzea better'.Â

I know it sounds very bleak from what I described but it's honestly a good group of people and we're all very friendly OOC in our LS/discord/fc (hell, some people don't even rp and are friends with us just oocly). I want to put in the work to make this FC great again but I'd love advice on what kind of events are successful for a venture based FC, member retainment, and planning a FC storyline. Again, sorry if this is the wrong place for this and thank you for any advice in advance!

Kilieit · **11-14-2016, 01:14 PM**

It's been a while since I've been in any sort of leadership capability for a guild, but your FC sounds similar to how my guild was in some respects, so I'll share what I remember...

I won't address everything as I'd rather not speak on issues I don't feel confident in having addressed positively myself; I'm sure other people will have more relevant things to say!

1. Officers

For officers: first of all, if you haven't already, define the role. Make it clear what they'd be expected to do (like organise X things per week, or take initiative in Y situation), what they won't be expected to do, when they should call you in directly, how they'd be expected to handle difficult situations, and what they'd be demoted for doing (or not doing). Ensure everyone (members and officers) know exactly what's expected of an officer; or, at least, can easily look it up.

Then, look to who's already doing stuff. Who's initiating RP nights, who's organising PvE runs, who starts discussions? And then look at how dependable they are - flatly, practically, you need officers who are gonna be around. Do they have a regular schedule? Lastly, even more bluntly, think about how much you can trust them. Are they volatile? Do they pick fights as well? Those aren't good traits for officers. Conversely, do people confide in them? Do people look to them for help? Those are good signs.

If you have anyone who's within "acceptable" for all three of those, then approach them and ask if they'd be interested in becoming an officer. Go over the expectations of the officer role again, so they're crystal clear on what you're asking them. Then see what they say. If they decline, then accept that and decide whether you want to leave the request open or not - and if they accept, well, congrats, you just scored an officer.

As I'm sure you've learned, IMO, it's better to have no officers... than bad officers you can't rely on (like a spare tyre that's burst) or who make things worse (like a spare tyre that's actually an alligator). And while people who volunteer to be officers can sometimes be good officers, I find that a) they're very rare and waiting for someone to do this isn't workable, and b) sometimes they're volunteering because they want power, not because they want to do "being an officer". Reaching out to people yourself side-steps both these issues.

...assuming you have people to reach out to. If there's really no-one, maybe consider looking at the simplest, lowest amount of "people-contact" roles you and your co-GM sink time into - stuff like managing the FC chest - and see if you can't pass that off to someone you just trust to, like, not run off with all the FC's money, so you and co-GM have more time to do the messy social stuff.

And generally, be ready to actually demote people if they don't meet the expectations you've set out - again, I'm sure you're familiar with this. But for anyone else reading along at home, there's little worse having than a "problem officer" and an FC leader who essentially allows themself to be a passive bystander to a problem that they are the only person in the FC with the power to solve. Don't umm and ahh over whether it's "fair" to the person being considered for demotion. If you've tried to mediate, you've tried to problem-solve, you've allowed the officer in question enough time to graciously step down themself, and it's still consistently hurting the FC, its members, or you - demote them. Being an officer is a privilege for the helpful; not an entitlement for the absent, overly passive, or overly aggressive.

Why? If you allow absenteeism or aggression to go on in officer ranks without addressing it, it degrades what a regular member can expect from an officer. They know the standard is low, so they won't respect officers when officers tell them to do something, or turn to officers for help if they're having an issue themself. And in terms of you as the leader, it means you also lose sight of what you should be able to expect from your officer team... and end up working double-time to solve their mistakes and cover for their last-minute absences when they should be helping you. It's best for everyone.

2. RP Storyline

For RP storyline... here's my suggestion. Talk to your members, figure out what their characters' RP stories are like. Maybe make it fun, encourage them to fill out a "character development meme" or something? See if you can spot common threads between more than a few people's characters, especially if those common threads cross those clique lines or link in some of your unfortunate solos.

Then come up with little inklings for storyline ideas that pick up on those threads. Like if you have a lot of Lominsans, something pirate-shaped; the ideas don't have to be complex at this stage, just there. Maybe a sentence's worth flavour or something (like "a new gang of "privateers" is in town and we have to determine if they're truly what they seem", idk).

Come up with a few of these. Like, 4 or 5 to start with.

And then ask people what they want. More specifically, make a poll with a few suggestions you feel are workable and would feel comfortable running yourself, and then ask people to pick between them. If you get a split vote, that's not a problem - you can run one then the other.

Work on developing one at a time, and keep the others in an "ideas pot" until you need them. (At one stage, my "ideas pot" contained about 20 plotline seeds I could pull out and "grow" as-needed... we didn't run out, lol.)

Your FC's conceptual aimlessness actually means you've avoided the trouble with the opposite - having a brief that's so narrow that you run the risk of either running out of stuff to RP about that you haven't touched on before, or having to widen your brief in order to continue. Use the vagueness to your advantage and use it to run lots of different kinds of things (one after the other - don't stress yourself running multiple SL's at once). If people don't like the current one, you can let them know that the next one might be more their speed.

Ask for feedback too! Anonymous surveys are great because they allow people to give feedback like "I loved this NPC but I felt like we didn't get enough say in the direction of the event" or "I adored the storyline but I hated the combat system" or even just "Loved the event, timeslot was horrid for me" without worrying about upsetting you by making it seem personal, or being called out in front of the group in any manner. So is making sure members know they can always talk to you in private about any suggestions they have, or ideas for future plots, or concerns about future events - assuming they trust you enough to actually do it, this is a good way to keep your finger on the pulse.

There's no one-size-fits-all amazing formula for running plots your members will get invested in, except that it always involves talking to them and maintaining open communication channels for feedback and figuring out the little improvements over time.

Leggerless · **11-14-2016, 01:55 PM**

Kili covered a lot of points I'd say, so I'll stay brief. I will piggy back off his point on absenteeism though, because its importance needs stressing.

Anyone within a leadership position--yes, including the GM(s)--must set aside time to invest into the FC and be active. If they cannot do that, then they should not lead. Period. I lost count of how many groups--FC, LS, or neither--go silent once the 'leader(s)' go silent.

Before selecting an officer (or even a FC member, depending on your selection and invitation policies), ask yourself "Is this someone I can count on?"

I'd even argue that the GM position (and general officers, by a lesser extent) is most similar to a CEO/Executive. I'd talk more on this post, but I'd start a copy-paste of another CEO talking about their experiences.

***Teadrinker*** · **11-14-2016, 02:23 PM**

Warning: High Speed Opinions Inbound.

The following is what has worked for me.

30 people

Your headcount is already too high. When you end up with an FC with a lot of characters in it you end up with redundant concepts, redundant races, 10 people playing the same IC class and all feeling like copies, etc. This is not taking into account the people who inevitably may slip past your app process (Assuming you have one. If you don't then there's another tip) and be troublemakers.

Here's how I think about it. Your characters and all the others in your FC are in an ongoing story. However, each story can only feature so many characters. How do you plan to get to all these people? Unless your playerbase is very self starting and self motivating (most will never be, they sort of expect RP handed to them on a platter it's infuriating) you are going to run ragged and die trying to generate RP for all these people. Just....don't do it. Take it from someone who tried and someone who's been around long enough to watch others try and burn out into crisps.

That and if you were to ever run FC plots or personal plot events or anything like that how in the world do you plan to organize that with that many people? We have a general cap of about 16 people in large events and even when it gets that high we will narratively find a way to split groups else combat takes 10 years.

FC Direction

I'm of the mind that organic RP makes the direction of the company. If everyone in yours is acting like it's an inn and tavern....well then hell. Open an inn and tavern. Don't take these people acting like square pegs and start shoving them into round holes.

From there, you can run events that suit the framework. It's an inn. Ok, maybe a room is haunted now. Maybe there was a murder in Room 23. Maybe...I don't know, anything. Literally anything can be interesting because the people poking at it don't know what's going on.

If your issue is you wanted one thing and ended up with another then you'll honestly have to start from scratch. That probably isn't great to hear but honestly it'll be easier doing what you want with a clean slate tha it will be trying to force and wrangle people just because you feel like you need a member count. Some RP FC's get this weird thing where they're like WE HAVE SO MANY MEMBERS ISN'T IT GREAT?

No. No it's not.

Officers

These people will make themselves known. Honestly, you don't pick them. You spot them. You know that guy who is always around RPing with everyone? You know that one guy who always seems to have a neat idea for things and might be the only one trying to host events and it's a major weight off your shoulders when he does? You know that guy who, for the past few months, has really had their character step up ICly to run stuff in the company and taking things on?

These are your officers. No, they might not be who you wanted or who you expected. But do you get along with them? Are you friends? Do you like RPing with them? Then there ya go. Their self starting and positive attitudes trickle down and you'll find yourself with a more motivated playerbase.

Honestly, OP? From what you've described I'd close up house and take a month out and recharge my batteries and come back with a fresh concept you feel really motivated to do and have a zillion ideas for popping out of your head. Start small, be picky. Don't just take people to take bodies. The second you do that you've sabotaged yourself.

/salute Good luck.

Maia · **11-14-2016, 02:34 PM**

The issues you're listing actually seem quite common within RP communities across Balmung, so you're not alone in having to address these situations. It can be hard to find good help, especially when the job description entails "do a bunch of extra work during your RL leisure time out of the goodness of your heart."

I'll emphasize the points above, though: be very clear and realistic about what you expect from an officer, be it in demeanor or activity. You can mention the positive points too, usually that they get to be involved at the inception of every new idea, and will have immediate input in terms of new member screenings and upcoming plot points. If they putter out and start not following through, it may be time to pull them aside for some "real talk." Ask them about their drop in activity, and whether or not there is anything you both can do to help get them back on track. This conversation could lead to the officer admitting that they don't want to be in that role anymore, but my first instinct is to listen to their situation and try to work with them to navigate the things that perceive as preventing them from being as involved. This can be an increased RL workload, burnout, or any number of things. Offer to help them get back into the swing of things without any judgment; see if you can't work together to address their needs, while also ensuring the work still gets done.

I've always thought that two main things to emphasize in an officer-leader relationship are, 1.) always be willing to lead by example, and 2.) have policies in place that protect your staff as well.

With point one, I'm very often willing to do anything I delegate to my officers or staff. I jump in to help where I see that I can, and don't shy away from the work, myself. While it's wonderful that my officers are so helpful and involved, I never take it for granted, and I always anticipate that I will be pulling a big portion of the workload. I feel that some guild leaders might delegate too much and be a bit too hands-off when it comes to the mind-numbing admin work or other unfun jobs, and this tends to demotivate those who are working alongside you. If an Officer or Admin thinks that you, as a leader, aren't pulling -your- weight, it really starts to unravel at the seams. But, if you take charge, share what you're doing when you do it, and try to chip away at the collective workload a little bit each day (or every other day), it has more inspiring results.

As far as taking care of your officers, the things I've implemented in my group are log-reliant standards and Officer Vacations. For the former, I encourage everything to be documented - screenshots must be submitted and all logs must be kept. It's a pain to do, but it prevents exasperating callbacks of someone saying "nu-uh, they never told me that!" Or, in worse cases, people claiming that members of your staff saying things that they never said. This transparency also helps officers (and myself) stop and think in our interactions, because we know the log could be summoned up for any given reason. This leads to a better quality of work.

The Officer Vacations are pretty self-explanatory. We have a thread set aside that Officers and Admins can put their name on for whatever length of time they need. Just like with a 'real' job, Officers can take 'time off' if they're sick, overworked in RL, experiencing burnout, or whatever reason. They don't even have to tell me the reason. They can take official breaks away from all of their tasks, so long as they can give me a projection of when they'll be back on board. (So we don't run into an Officer or Admin who's indefinitely on vacation.) This also helps to communicate to our members about officers who aren't presently reachable or "on duty."

To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

As for running storylines, I'd strongly recommend a very obvious place on your guild's site that will offer an IC recap of "the story so far." When people express that they feel lost in the plot, direct them to this resource. Also, I would recommend offering up a list of plot hooks that anyone can sign aboard for. Just offer some open-ended tools that players can utilize to get involved. These can be designated roles within a 'community' construct, or they can be specific plot threads that people can follow up on (if you have the manpower.) These sorts of tools can help new players get involved and not feel quite so edged out, provided they are aware of them and use them.

Sorry if this seemed like a ramble. I hope there are some good idea nuggets in there that could help you out! Best of luck!

***Teadrinker*** · **11-14-2016, 02:49 PM**

(11-14-2016, 02:34 PM)Maia Wrote: To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

I just...this is one thing I don't really get.

Can someone define clique for me in this concept?

Just because a group of 2-? different people enjoy or are used to RPing with each other doesn't mean you need to address it or DO anything about it. Are they friendly to other members? Are they not alienating others? Do they hold RP out in the open, friendly to other members walkups?

If they are then leave them them alone imo. Too often I see this leveled at people who just enjoy each others company when they themselves are more inclusive than the people lobbing the word around.

Maia · **11-14-2016, 03:02 PM**

(11-14-2016, 02:49 PM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:34 PM)Maia Wrote: To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

I just...this is one thing I don't really get.

Can someone define clique for me in this concept?

Just because a group of 2-? different people enjoy or are used to RPing with each other doesn't mean you need to address it or DO anything about it. Are they friendly to other members? Are they not alienating others? Do they hold RP out in the open, friendly to other members walkups?

If they are then leave them them alone imo. Too often I see this leveled at people who just enjoy each others company when they themselves are more inclusive than the people lobbing the word around.

I can't speak for the OP, but in my case, I guess I mean "to address the perception of cliques." A lot of the time, new or existing members of an RP guild will blame their frustrations on "cliques." They imagine that the reason they're not getting RP is because everyone is already paired off in private scenes with their BFF's, with no room for inclusion of others.

This is why I recommend getting everyone in a Skype room, or whatever, and just talking to each other. In my experience, it's far more common that multiple people are placing the accusations on "cliques," when the reality is that everyone is just too shy to RP or speak up, or they're just plain busy or burned out.

This is also why I mentioned having RP hooks posted, which would be open to anyone. Give members some tools to take initiative and get involved, and help them break through those perceived "clique barriers."

Lutra · **11-14-2016, 03:02 PM**

Everyone here has some really excellent points.Â

I would just like to say that you can absolutely have a successful RP FC with 30 members or more. You will need a large officer team of at least 4-6, but it can be done so long as everyone of your team is on the same page and is devoted to the direction of the FC. I do advocate quality over quantity, though, always. My FC also has been around since 2.0, so it has had time to grow into what it is now naturally. However, there is no use kicking out people from your FC just because you may have "too many," when some might actually get super interested once you get yourself together as leader. After a while under the "new" regime, you may revisit the issue of membership numbers.

It may help, if you want a mercenary company, to split it up into smaller squads or themed sections. For instance, my FC ICly has different teams: Reconnaissance Team, Infirmary/Mender Team, and Airship Crew. Each member that is part of these teams are chosen by the IC leaders of each group and are usually only for those that are most active in the FC. This isn't to shun others, but to reward those that ARE active with appropriate specialties, depending on their character's interests.

I also have the entire company, no matter the activity, split into squads based on their IC classes/jobs. I have a Melee, Ranged, and Mender squad, each with 1-2 Lieutenants/Sergeants as lead. I know some people are against hierarchical type of guilds, but it is necessary when running an IC Free Company that acts like a small battle force. People need guidance, both IC and OOC. You can't just have them running around aimlessly and expect plot to get done.

Splitting up people is very useful when you want them to go into combat situations, as everyone just GOING HAM is usually very confusing and hard to read for both GM and player, as others have mentioned.

I wish you luck! If you need any other help, feel free to PM me anytime. :)

Saravahn · **11-14-2016, 03:12 PM**

(11-14-2016, 02:49 PM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:34 PM)Maia Wrote: To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

I just...this is one thing I don't really get.

Can someone define clique for me in this concept?

Just because a group of 2-? different people enjoy or are used to RPing with each other doesn't mean you need to address it or DO anything about it. Are they friendly to other members? Are they not alienating others? Do they hold RP out in the open, friendly to other members walkups?

If they are then leave them them alone imo. Too often I see this leveled at people who just enjoy each others company when they themselves are more inclusive than the people lobbing the word around.

This has been my experience with cliques as well. Groups of people that are familiar with rping with one another.

In and of themselves, they're not harmful. However, when they begin, like you said, alienating others.... such as stopping rp with one person to then focus back on their clique rp.... then it becomes an issue.

Beyond that, lots of good advice thrown around in here. The only thing I haven't seen/may have missed someone say is to have a website. FFXIV has very little in game to help you with organization. A message of the day that has a very finite amount of characters allowed is hardly enough to give people a clear heads up of upcoming events and keep people in the loop. Having a website of some sort (I personally enjoy enjin) can help tremendously with event planning and organization, announcements, policies (such as officer expectations), etc.

Thorbought · **11-14-2016, 03:19 PM**

Thank you for all the advice everyone. It's certainly give me a lot to mule over. I'll address some points below.

Officers
We actually did originally start with different branches as officers with medical, airships, field, etc etc. The problem is that it ran into problems with ooc and ic and the lack of definition for the officer role. Currently, we've just made a singular officer role for ooc purposes and the person can simply put 'head medic' in their tag for ic purposes rather than making a bunch of different officer roles. I'd like to ask, what do people usually ask for their officers? What would be too little to ask and what would be too much?

Cliques
I have 0 problem with people wanting to rp with their friends and close ones. I do it myself. But there's certain people that show up to no events, have 0 interaction with anyone else even when something is happening in front of them, and basically only exist in the company by name. I've even asked them before (because some of them were actually officers) to try and include company members in their plot lines and they agreed, but here we are and no progress has been made and they still are content in mingling among themselves. This isn't really that much of a problem anymore as it's a very small portion of the company but it still bothers me.

Plotlines
I will admit that I'm a complete newbie when it comes to running a FC story line. I'd take any advice I can on this. Like how to get people interested and creating a rp hook (and learning just exactly what a 'hook' entails).

***Teadrinker*** · **11-14-2016, 03:21 PM**

(11-14-2016, 03:02 PM)Maia Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:49 PM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:34 PM)Maia Wrote: To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

I just...this is one thing I don't really get.

Can someone define clique for me in this concept?

Just because a group of 2-? different people enjoy or are used to RPing with each other doesn't mean you need to address it or DO anything about it. Are they friendly to other members? Are they not alienating others? Do they hold RP out in the open, friendly to other members walkups?

If they are then leave them them alone imo. Too often I see this leveled at people who just enjoy each others company when they themselves are more inclusive than the people lobbing the word around.

I can't speak for the OP, but in my case, I guess I mean "to address the perception of cliques." A lot of the time, new or existing members of an RP guild will blame their frustrations on "cliques." They imagine that the reason they're not getting RP is because everyone is already paired off in private scenes with their BFF's, with no room for inclusion of others.

This is why I recommend getting everyone in a Skype room, or whatever, and just talking to each other. In my experience, it's far more common that multiple people are placing the accusations on "cliques," when the reality is that everyone is just too shy to RP or speak up, or they're just plain busy or burned out.

This is also why I mentioned having RP hooks posted, which would be open to anyone. Give members some tools to take initiative and get involved, and help them break through those perceived "clique barriers."

The the very concept that it's somehow an FC leader's responsibility to break through others rather egocentric and self depreciating perceptions is ridiculous to me.

The general idea should be to encourage inclusive RP. If Bob and Dylan like to RP together then great. Just as long as when Steve comes around they invite Steve to play too or don't turn him away or ignore him when he posts. As long as they do that then there is no issue. Letting your member's insecurities rule your actions is a swift path to a rather brutal burnout.

Thorbought · **11-14-2016, 03:33 PM**

(11-14-2016, 03:21 PM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 03:02 PM)Maia Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:49 PM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(11-14-2016, 02:34 PM)Maia Wrote: To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.

I just...this is one thing I don't really get.

Can someone define clique for me in this concept?

Just because a group of 2-? different people enjoy or are used to RPing with each other doesn't mean you need to address it or DO anything about it. Are they friendly to other members? Are they not alienating others? Do they hold RP out in the open, friendly to other members walkups?

If they are then leave them them alone imo. Too often I see this leveled at people who just enjoy each others company when they themselves are more inclusive than the people lobbing the word around.

I can't speak for the OP, but in my case, I guess I mean "to address the perception of cliques." A lot of the time, new or existing members of an RP guild will blame their frustrations on "cliques." They imagine that the reason they're not getting RP is because everyone is already paired off in private scenes with their BFF's, with no room for inclusion of others.

This is why I recommend getting everyone in a Skype room, or whatever, and just talking to each other. In my experience, it's far more common that multiple people are placing the accusations on "cliques," when the reality is that everyone is just too shy to RP or speak up, or they're just plain busy or burned out.

This is also why I mentioned having RP hooks posted, which would be open to anyone. Give members some tools to take initiative and get involved, and help them break through those perceived "clique barriers."

The the very concept that it's somehow an FC leader's responsibility to break through others rather egocentric and self depreciating perceptions is ridiculous to me.

The general idea should be to encourage inclusive RP. If Bob and Dylan like to RP together then great. Just as long as when Steve comes around they invite Steve to play too or don't turn him away or ignore him when he posts. As long as they do that then there is no issue. Letting your member's insecurities rule your actions is a swift path to a rather brutal burnout.

That's kind of the problem we've face before. We've tried to ask the 'cliques' to include other people or make it more available to outsiders but the request has mostly fallen on deaf ears.

Lutra · **11-14-2016, 03:36 PM**

Things I look for in my officer team:

1.) Friendship: This doesn't mean they brown-nose you, because other opinions on matters should be welcomed and considered. However, if you aren't at least borderline friends with a person, do not make them an officer yet. There needs to be mutual respect and understanding of how the other person works/speaks before you can work together. Otherwise miscommunication can be rampant. When running an FC with other people, always expect a bit of friction when it comes to discussions--this is healthy.

2.) Objectiveness: An officer MUST be able to remain objective and fair when in a position of power. Too often people with high-strung emotional reactions are given this role and things go down the toilet quite quickly. You HAVE to be able to look at all conflicts that come up and such with a certain objectivity and patience, even when it's a person's good friend. (If it's a guild, then everyone is supposed to be friends on some level--it's easy to get too emotionally involved.) Every side must be heard, and you don't want someone who snaps easily. Look for people who aren't mixed up in drama, but are still social and friendly.

3.) Active: As has been mentioned, these people will make themselves noticed rather easily. Look for people who start up RPs, have a lot of ideas, and who seem genuinely interested in the FC for the FC alone--not an IC relationship or something similar.Â

4.) Looking in the Same Direction: Make sure that each officer knows what their smaller responsibilities are (such as chat monitoring or running X event) and that they also know the type of FC you want. That way, they can just make up events or RP as they go, instead of always having to go to you for something. Delegation is SO important! As leader, we often want to do everything ourselves, but sometimes you just need to trust others to do it. Otherwise, it can seem controlling. Give them chances; let them screw up, then talk to them and make a better plan for next time. Only then can you grow as a team and as a group.

Maia · **11-14-2016, 03:53 PM**

Lutra's post above is very on-point; good things to keep in mind when selecting a member of staff.

My guild is a bit different in that I usually ask if anyone is willing to step up into a role, and then touch base with any interested party with follow-up as needed. I feel like if I approach someone directly, they might be pressured into taking up the mantle, even if they don't exactly want to. There are positives either way you go about it (if you approach first, you obviously have more control over the pool of applicants), so it's really just a matter of what's right for you and your group.

I'll go ahead and offer up a previous example of how I "recruited" for various roles, so you can see the level of detail and expectations listed- http://hostingstars.shivtr.com/forum_threads/2336214

It's worth noting that the Co-Leader position didn't pan out, and many of those responsibilities just naturally diluted to our officers and admin. In our structure, we seem to work best with Leader, Officers, and HR Admin as support roles for the guild.

Faye · **11-14-2016, 04:08 PM**

Hello there, I'm sorry to hear about your FC troubles! It's hard to be able to give any perfect solution without knowing the full details, but here's my advice...

- Screen your officers carefully before promoting them. Only promote anyone who has been there a few weeks, who is mature and reliable, who follows the rules to a T, who is active and social, who knows the workings and environment of your FC, who shares common views and approaches as you, and who has already stepped up to the plate to offer assistance and show initiative. You want your officers to be people who have already been acting like officers, and not people you hope will shape up once you promote them. Though it sometimes seems counter-intuitive, I tend not to promote people who frequently ask and pester me about officer positions, because after a certain point it comes across less as showing initiative and more as a red flag for someone vying for power, status, or control.

- Once your officers have been promoted, give them very clear instructions and guidelines to follow. Let them know their duties and how to do them. Do not overburden them with work. They will be unhappy if they feel they are doing more work than the FC leader. Stay in close communication with them and get to know them well. Be polite and forge friendships with them, but don't forget that you're their "boss" when they need a nudge. I recommend making a private chat for you and your officers to remain in touch, if you have not already. Avoiding confusion and unhappiness among your officers is the best way to prevent officer turnover. If someone is not doing their work, talk with them about it to try to find a solution and let them know that if they don't carry their weight, they will be demoted back to a regular member.

- For the cliques, it is natural that people form their own social circles, but it does become a problem when those groups become exclusive. If you see anyone outright ignoring others, let them know that's not okay. If anyone is completely uninvolved in the FC or does not interact with anyone within it aside from their own friends, pull them aside and ask why they are here, what you can do to make them more interested in the FC, and encourage them to interact with others to make the FC a more welcoming environment. The main thing to do, however, is give people a reason to interact. Make social nights where you run content together or talk in Discord or play other games together. Make RP nights and if everyone only RP's with their usual group of friends, find events to run where you can pair or group people together who don't normally interact, or try to foster some sort of interaction between them IC (I.E. "Person A, have you met Person B yet? Here, I'll introduce you; I think you'd get along!").

- For the IC feel of the FC as a mercenary company, the best thing you can do is to, well, make it feel like a mercenary company IC! When interviewing new members IC, ask them questions you'd expect to be asked of someone joining a mercenary company (and if their character does not seem like a logical fit for a mercenary company, talk to them about it IC and/or OOC). Offer IC training and services you'd expect a mercenary company to give to its members. Create missions for the members to go on and work for them to do. Storylines can be hard. Plan events thoroughly beforehand so that things don't get delayed or need reworked and waste others' time as they wait. You need to find a way to let everyone feel they've played an equal part and an important role, and yet you cannot put too much on the shoulders of any member who will flake or suddenly become inactive. Then, of course, you will always have the risk of people blurring IC and OOC, metagaming, powerplaying/godmodding, being angry their character did not play a more important role, or getting upset that they perceive someone played a larger part in the story than they did (even if that person only got a larger role by being incredibly active, taking the initiative, showing up to every single event, having their character take charge IC, etc.) Sadly, I've found it's hard to run any sort of storyline without at least one person getting upset or being dissatisfied. The thing is, the majority still usually enjoy an event if it's planned well and fair, so it's still worthwhile. Imo you just need someone with thick skin to run the storylines because unfortunately, I've found no matter how good of a job someone does, they'll get more flak than thanks for it... or at the very least, the complaints sure resonate more than the praise does.

- Somewhat related to the last remark... leading an FC is hard and it will always be hard. You can't be perfect, and your FC can't be perfect. Just because there are problems doesn't mean you're doing a bad job. Don't get discouraged, be flexible, and find solutions to issue as they come along. It's never easy. I'd be more inclined that someone is doing a poor job of leading an FC if they think it is easy! So hang in there for as long as you're happy doing it!

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