The Community Roundtable

Empowering global community leaders with research-backed resources, training, and tools.

Introducing our Connect 2020 Track Chairs

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For the last five years, we’ve run increasingly dynamic and engaging Connect conferences. Over the course of the years, there was one piece of feedback that we heard over and over – but had a hard time implementing: “We want tracks!”

Believe me, we got it. It’s a bummer to settle into a session only to realize ten minutes in that it’s just not for you. Connect has always been intentionally small, and tracks just didn’t make sense. Until now.

Connect 2020 has changed the way we can think about our content, and by moving from a two-day in-person event to a month-long community celebration, tracks now not only make sense, but they are also a heck yes.

With over 50 online sessions, we’ve reimagined what it means to Connect in 2020. To help attendees find the sessions that will be the most valuable, we have divided all activities into nine tracks. Tracks also give us the opportunity to work with Track Chairs for the first time. Each Chairperson holds deep expertise in their track, and will serve as the member voice and face for Connect 2020.

I’m thrilled to announce our 2020 Track Chairs:

You can learn more about our nine community tracks, and read about our 2020 track chairs here.

Pushing the (Community) Dialog Further, Together

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TheCR Connect conference is always striving to push the dialogue further, and this year did not disappoint. Between an in-depth exploration of the vendor market in their Community Solutions Showcase to the two thought-provoking keynotes on entrepreneurship and trust in Community spaces, my notebook is more frantic and full than ever with takeaways. Below are three themes (of the many) that seemed most prevalent in The CR Connect conference this year. 

Loved these real-time graphic recordings of the sessions!

Technology Needs to Catch Up (and Listen) 

As Community Managers, we’re often closest to the technology and the last to be invited to the table. As the platform landscape is shifting faster than ever before, with a wealth of migrations on the horizon, being included as part of the design is critical to Community success and platform harmony. 

Own Your Space (and Your Power) 

If you needed a confidence boost, you were in luck at this year’s Connect. As Rachel Happe states it “influence is more powerful than control”; and as community leaders we are on the front lines of influence. We heard from several presenters on how articulating your expertise and ownership of your skills is necessary for not only this industry, but the success of your own Community. 

We’re In This Together

When asked about key takeaways, one attendee summarized the feeling of Connect beautifully with the statement “I’m not alone!”

No matter if you’re more focused on executive dashboards, building out your ROI, or launching a community for the first time, we’re here for each other. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel each year in the availability of my peers to share their successes (and trip-ups) with each other, building a network that gets deeper and stronger over time. What other industry can put that to their name and truly practice what they preach. 

Bringing It Together, Together

Through the distilling in my notebook, I feel committed to owning my space, articulating my expertise, and leaning on the power of my network to direct where I can grow. As we hear from others in the coming weeks their big ideas from Connect, my hope is that we keep the conversation going. It is through this sharing, trust, and vulnerability in each other that we can truly lift each other up and succeed. See ya all next year! 

Open for Submissions: TheCR Awards 2019

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TheCR Awards 2019


For the fourth year, TheCR Awards are recognizing the excellence in community management that members of TheCR Network share on a daily basis. We see our members sharing incredible community work on Roundtable calls, in discussion threads, and in case studies. We hear stories about how their work challenges them and then we get to see the incredible results they end up with. It’s time again to recognize these community management leaders.

TheCR Awards recognize excellence in community management, and submissions for the 2019 awards are now being accepted. Designed to recognize the best in a variety of community management categories, TheCR Connect Awards submissions are open to members of TheCR Network and their community teams.

Submit your community programs in a variety of categories, including:

  • Outstanding Community ROI
  • Best Community Dashboard
  • Outstanding Community Change Agent
  • Best Recognition + Reward Program
  • Outstanding Center of Excellence
  • Community MVP
  • Community Champion

In addition to the satisfaction of sharing your innovative and effective community solutions, winning one of TheCR Awards can make an impact for you and your team. Check out past winners and read their stories.

Past recipients have received increased executive support, expanded budgets, and greater organizational awareness after their wins.

You can learn more and submit your community programs here.

Find the community platform that’s right for you.

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Last year, 40% of our participants at TheCR Connect were actively researching online community platforms, and they asked for our help.  In order to support their efforts, we are thrilled to announce our first Solutions Showcase!

Join us on September 23, 2019 in Boston, MA for a full-day learning experience with leading community solutions providers.

The day will include interactive panels focused on internal and external communities, best practices for the definition of requirements and selection processes, and lots of time to chat with peers and providers to learn what solutions will best solve your community challenges.

The Solutions Showcase is co-located with our annual community workshop – TheCR Connect. While you do not have to attend Connect to attend the Showcase, all Connect passes include the Showcase registration.

Learn more about the full agenda and register here. Early bird tickets are on sale until 6/30/19 – or until they sell out.

Announcing the Winners of TheCR Awards 2018

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I am so thrilled to share this news: last night we announced the winners of the third annual TheCR Awards, including innovative community leaders from nCino, CSA Group, Steelcase and Qualtrics. These community management awards recognize excellence in community management across five categories: Outstanding Community ROI, Best Community Dashboard, Outstanding Community Change Agent, Outstanding Community Playbook and Best Recognition & Reward Program. We also recognize individual members of TheCR Network six categories. One additional award, Community MVP was awarded based on peer nominations. In total, 14 organizations and individuals were recognized for outstanding efforts in community management.

The winners of TheCR Awards 2018 are: 

TheCR Network Detective: Elena Smith, Community Manager, AECOM

 “TheCR Network Detective” awards the member who helps source group knowledge and expertise by regularly asking thoughtful and meaningful questions in TheCR Network.

TheCR Network Explorer: Marjorie Anderson, Community Engagement Specialist, PMI

 “TheCR Network Explorer” awards the member who charts new territory in the community management industry. They take best practices, research, and community models to experiment and advance the industry.

TheCR Network Pack Leader: Keeley Hanson Sorokti, Assistant Director / Community Strategist, Commvault

“TheCR Network Pack Leader” awards the member who consistently leads the most discussions, online, in-person, and on virtual calls, and shows leadership around a topic or initiative in TheCR Network.

TheCR Network Journaler: Sarah Mahon, TPN Enterprise Community Manager, AECOM

 “TheCR Network Journaler” awards the member who works out loud the most regularly and with the most depth.

TheCR Network Power User: Peter Broadley, Manager, Community Development and Engagement, CSA Group

 “TheCR Network Power User” awards the most active member in TheCR Network who contributes on a regular basis in a wide variety of ways, from sharing their expertise to supporting and encouraging other members.

 TheCR Network Rookie of the Year: Oonagh McQuarrie, Massage Envy

 “TheCR Network Rookie of the Year” awards a Network member who has fewer than three years of industry experience, is new to TheCR Network, and is a power user – regularly collaborating and contributing inside the Network.

 Outstanding Community ROI: Premier Farnell / Element 14

 The “Outstanding Community ROI” award recognizes the community that best demonstrates significant ROI for their organization/business unit through innovative community management practices.

Outstanding Community Change Agent

 The “Outstanding Community Change Agent” recognizes a community program or initiative that supported the cultural transformation in a large or small way at their organization. The Outstanding Community Change Agent was awarded in three distinct categories in 2018: Individual Change Agent, Program Change Agent and Organizational Change Agent:

  • Outstanding Community Change Agent – Individual: CA Technologies
  • Outstanding Community Change Agent – Program: Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Outstanding Community Change Agent – Community: Qualtrics
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Best Community Dashboard: nCino 

The “Best Community Dashboard” award recognizes a community dashboard that exhibits the most impressive and engaging design, sharing metrics and measurement in an impactful way that contributes to the overall narrative of your community program. Provide examples on including screenshots, success metrics and unique features.

Best Recognition + Reward Program: Mimecast

The “Best Recognition + Reward Program” award recognizes outstanding community recognition, reward, and gamification programs that increase engagement, drive participation and contribute to the overall positive health of your community.

Outstanding Community Playbook: World Bank Group

The “Outstanding Community Playbook” award recognizes an effective community playbook in current use in a community program.

Community MVP: Lori Harrison-Smith, Enterprise Community Manager, Steelcase

The “Community MVP” award recognizes excellence in community management – including outstanding efforts, willingness to share with peers, achievements and excellent community results.

You can learn more about TheCR Awards here, and watch this space for detailed case studies featuring our award winners and finalists.

Exploring the Transformative Power of Community

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How do we make sure TheCR Connect is exactly what attendees want? We ask them.

Our annual community conference – TheCR Connect is less than seven weeks away! Believe me when I say things are ramping up at TheCR headquarters and we can’t wait to host an eclectic group of community professionals. When our attendees register we ask them a few questions to help make sure we are creating content that is relevant and exciting for them. Our entire agenda is based on the input we get from our registrants.

This year a few big themes emerged in the responses.

A whopping 41% of attendees indicated that they were interested in exploring how to define community value, and 32% want to learn more about calculating community ROI. In addition to these measurement-focused themes, there was strong interest in cultivating strong advocates and building a powerful community narrative.

I’m excited to share our current agenda – and some of our speaker organizations. From an expert panel on Transforming Community Careers, to interactive sessions on Surviving and Thriving During a Migration and Leveraging Advocacy Programs to Accelerate Change, to deep-dive workshops with tactical outputs like Building a Behavioral Analytics Dashboard and Calculating Community ROI with TheCR’s ROI Model we’ve put our attendees’ interests at the forefront of our planning – and can’t wait to learn alongside them in Boston.

Check out our new Connect 2018 infographic and explore the full agenda here. 

The Recognition Your Community Program Deserves

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Every day I get to watch amazing community management professionals do exciting, innovative work. The other side of that coin is that every day I also hear stories of how their work go underappreciated, and underfunded at their organizations. If you’re an outstanding actor, you might get an Oscar or an Emmy, and now, if you’re an outstanding community manager your work can be recognized with our annual award for excellence.

The third annual TheCR Awards recognize excellence in community management, and submissions for the 2018 awards are now being accepted. Designed to recognize the best in a variety of community management categories, TheCR Connect Awards are open to members of TheCR Network and their community teams.

Submit your community programs in a variety of categories, including:

  • Outstanding Community ROI
  • Best Recognition + Reward Program
  • Best Community Dashboard
  • Outstanding Community Playbook
  • Outstanding Community Change Agent
  • Community MVP

In addition to the satisfaction of sharing your innovative and effective community solutions, winning one of TheCR Awards can make an impact for you and your team. Past recipients have received increased executive support, expanded budgets, and greater organizational awareness after their wins.

You can learn more and submit your community programs here.

 

TheCR Connect 2018 Agenda Sneak Peek

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I’m thrilled to share an advance agenda for TheCR Connect 2018 – our annualcommunity management conference located in Boston, MA!

Communities hold the power to create real change at every level of organizations. Through thoughtful, attendee-led programs we’ll explore how community management transforms everything from the way people communicate to the wider culture of organizations. Participants in this community management conference will walk away with new skills, case studies, research, and network of peer support.

Note: Interested in getting involved at TheCR Connect? Maybe you have a case study to share or want to practice your presentation skills? Register and shoot me an email (hillary@communityroundtable.com) to let me know you’d like to explore a getting involved as a leader or presenter.

community management conference

Learn more and register at https://communityroundtable.com/what-we-do/training-and-events/thecr-connect/

Save the Date! TheCR Connect 2018 is Next October!

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Imagine me sharing this news while standing on my desk, jumping up and down:

TheCR Connect 2018 will take place on September 30 – October 2, 2018.

Hooray!

And even better news? You can lock in 2017 pricing (and use up any 2017 budget you might have leftover!)

Here’s what attendees said about TheCR Connect 2017:

  • “I appreciated that the Connect doesn’t try to be like other conferences. It was great to be free from the vendors trying to sell to attendees.”
  • “More valuable than other conferences I’ve attended recently – both in terms of quality of info, and networking.”
  • “Well done. You’re in tune with challenges I face as aa CMGR, when the rest of the organization is focused on their own challenges….”
  • “Helped me see that some things we’ve done/are doing are really good (yay!) and that we need to invest properly to take this beyond where it is now. Very glad to have met some terrific people, too.”
  • “I liked how the conference was organized and how it incorporated the members and real-life use cases.”

We’re offering members of TheCR Network the first chance to register, and a special discount. Register by December 31st and you’ll lock in the 2017 Early Bird price of $650!

Members visit the Network to register. 

Announcing the Winners of TheCR Awards 2017

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Last week I had the honor of announcing the winners of TheCR Awards 2017. TheCR Awards recognize excellence in community management across four categories including, Outstanding ROI, Best Community Design Element, Winning Welcome Wagon, and Best Recognition & Reward Program. Members of TheCR Network –the world’s premier resource for community professionals – were recognized in five categories. One additional award, Community MVP was awarded based on peer nominations.

Every day I get to see the amazing community our global network of community professionals is doing. Today, I’m thrilled to share the winner of TheCR Awards 2017 with you.

 

TheCR Awards 2017 winners are:

TheCR Network Detective: Cassandra Chin, Impact Analytics Operations & Community Specialist, City Year

“TheCR Network Detective” awards the member who helps source group knowledge and expertise by regularly asking thoughtful and meaningful questions in TheCR Network.

Cassandra Chin drives valuable discussions and resources inside TheCR Network by asking valuable and thoughtful questions weekly. Her inquisitive nature encourages participation and supports others work.

TheCR Network Journaler: Patty McEnaney, Director of Knowledge Management & Social, Envestnet Asset Management 

“TheCR Network Journaler” awards the member who works out loud the most regularly and with the most depth.

Patty McEnaney is an active member of TheCR Network who regularly shares back her work with members of the Network, providing support, behavior-modeling and guidance to her peers. Patty’s commitment to working out loud has made a lasting impact in the Network. 

TheCR Network Explorer: Heather Ausmus, Director of Community, Ciena 

“TheCR Network Explorer” awards the member who charts new territory in the community management industry. They take best practices, research, and community models to experiment and advance the industry.

Heather Ausmus uses TheCR’s models, including the Community Maturity Model and the ROI model, to build and adapt her community programs, providing actionable examples for other members.

TheCR Network Pack Leader: Ted Hopton, Director of Social Business, McGraw-Hill Education 

“TheCR Network Pack Leader” awards the member who consistently leads the most discussions, online, in-person, and on virtual calls, and shows leadership around a topic or initiative in TheCR Network.

Ted Hopton is a leader in TheCR Network around a variety of topics, and is being specifically recognized this year for his outstanding work planning, managing and ensuring the success of the Enterprise Platform Review Working Group.

TheCR Network Power User: Lori Harrison-Smith, Enterprise Community Manager, Steelcase

“TheCR Network Power User” awards the most active member in TheCR Network who contributes on a regular basis in a wide variety of ways, from sharing their expertise to supporting and encouraging other members.

Lori Harrison-Smith is an active member in TheCR Network, contributing and collaborating in a wide variety of programs. Her participation supports the success of countless members, and makes TheCR Network a more valuable resource for many community professionals.

Outstanding Community ROI: Carbon Black

 The “Outstanding Community ROI” award recognizes the community that best demonstrates significant ROI for their organization/business unit through innovative community management practices. Carbon Black’s community-based social support provides outstanding ROI for their organization.

 

 

Winning Welcome Wagon: Autodesk

The “Winning Welcome Wagon” award recognizes a new member welcome/onboarding program that increases participation, encourages enthusiasm and incorporates innovative community management ideas. Autodesk provides necessary information to new members following their registration in the community via a series of three concise, visually-appealing, informative and marketing-free welcome emails.

 

 

Best Community Design Element: American Express

The “Best Community Design Element” award recognizes a community program that shows the most impressive and engaging UI or design element. These submissions should show how the element encourages participation, increases engagement and/or contributes to overall community success. American Express’s mobile-responsive community homepage provides their employees with the information they need at their fingertips, connecting them with their colleagues around the world, and enabling them to access the tool on any device, wherever their day may take them.

Best Recognition + Reward Program: Electronic Arts

The “Best Recognition + Reward Program” award recognizes outstanding community recognition, reward, and gamification programs that increase engagement, drive participation and contribute to the overall positive health of your community. Electronic Arts hosts a gaming network that is home to millions of players, with Answers HQ right in the middle. Answers HQ allows players to be recognized for their efforts by turning community participation into a game. Each action a user takes in the community is validated through a variety of recognition rewards.

Community MVP: Jerry Janda, Manager, Community Communications, SAP

The “Community MVP” award recognizes excellence in community management – including outstanding efforts, willingness to share with peers, achievements and excellent community results. Although Jerry has only been with the SAP team for a year, he has quickly gained acceptance from even their most vocal critics. Their respect for him is evident in their responses to him, where they thank him for his swift, informative replies and show appreciation for his sense of humor!

His contributions include:

  • A steady stream of blog posts and conversations written to engage and educate community members.
  • A sense of humor that can turn negative feedback into a fun conversation which leads to positive change.
  • “Member of the Month” profiles that earn high praise from the community, helping to build morale and improve overall sentiment.