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The Community Roundtable

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

Monique van den Berg, Atlassian

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Conversations with Community Managers – Monique van den Berg

Welcome to the latest episode in our community management podcast series, “Conversations with Community Managers.”

Join TheCR’s Jim Storer and Shannon Abram as they chat with community managers from a variety of industries about their community journey. They ask the community questions you want to know the answers to, including:

  • What’s your best advice for someone just starting out in Community Management?
  • What are your best practices for increasing community engagement?
  • How external awards and recognition can increase internal community awareness.

Episode #56 features Monique van den Berg, the Senior Manager, Community Engagement at Atlassian.

Join us as we chat with Monique about Atlassian’s wins in the 2019 Marketers That Matter awards, including Building Brand B2B and Customer Experience. She shares how Atlassian thinks about community (prepare to be jealous) and how external validation from awards can help increase internal exposure for community programs.

The Atlassian community team taking home two Marketers That Matter awards.

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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.

The Quest for Community

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This is a guest post from Rachael Silvano, Community Manager at TraceLink and member of TheCR Network. This content was originally posted on Linkedin.

It’s Saturday night and I’m watching five friends eagerly arrange their dice and characters. A blank grid is set in front of us, with endless possibilities to be found. We’re gearing up to play Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), a scene familiar to over 10 million players world wide. Our Dungeon Master (DM) dims the lights and begins our quest as we listen with rapt attention.

Yet, I have a confession to make.

I have never been a Dungeon Master in a D&D group. I sit comfortably as a player and adventurer, enjoying the puzzles, combat and loot awaiting us, but its never been my job to look behind the screen. The experience unfolds in front of me just for showing up at the door.

However the idea of the DM as akin to my experience as a Community Manager dawned on me a few weeks ago and I keep coming back to the cross-over. DM’s manage their players, enforce rules, and learn with the adventure. They support, gently challenge, and create new pathways of connections. The best of the best make lasting memories with just a blank grid. Community Managers do the very same within their Community. Below are three ways that Community Managers and DMs share their role.

1. They set the stage.

“You walk into to a town square that is well lit, lively, and jovial”/”Hi, welcome to Widget Community! Here is how to get started…”. The role of DM is to paint a scene for your players. Should they be worried? Excited? On edge? Similarly- your role as Community Manager is to illustrate the experience for your members. What type of Community are they coming into? Is it full of artifacts and resources they can dig through? Or more about supporting and challenging the best ideas to rise to the top? If your adventurers are unaware if they’re walking into a friendly tavern or a rough-and-tumble part of town, they may step on a few toes. Community members, without guidance and a warm welcome, may shy away from engaging further in your Community.

2. They know the rules, the math, and the crystal ball of outcomes.

“You deal 4 damage to a monster ten feet away”/ “Here are our Community metrics for FY18” . As a DM preps for their games (a process that can take days) they get up close and personal with all the gritty bits of the system. How damage is taken, how it’s dealt, move speed, and the world norms. Community Managers have a pulse on the inner mechanisms of their data. Equally, both groups use a mix of exact science and fuzzy numbers (ever try calculating the monetary value of connection?) to get a picture of where they need to go.

3. They revisit/ rework/ revise/ revamp.

“The goblin you interrogated five months ago has come out of hiding with ten of his friends and now has some questions for you”/ “Hey team, let’s try a new landing page layout to see if we can drive more traffic to our forums.” The role of DM and Community Manager is ever-evolving. Maybe your group has collectively decided that finding a town lumber is more important than saving the king (spoken from actual campaign experience). In Community, perhaps your wonderful member onboarding is leading members to the platform but not helping them engage, or your account creation process is so long that people are giving up halfway through. Both scenarios require quick thinking to get the job done, and leave the encounter excited for the next challenge.

As a player, I have learned to respect and admire the myriad work our DM does (by the way, this month just so happens to be DM appreciation month). Hopefully in your role, your Community recognizes the same work and dedication you bring.

Honoring Our Retiring Member Advisory Board Members

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thank you

Image from Charrow

At The Community Roundtable, we are fortunate to work with amazing people and companies, helping them make strategic assets out of their community programs. We have always relied on our customer-members to help us prioritize and develop our research, services, and training.

In 2017, we launched our member advisory board composed of clients and partners who are changing the world of work – both internally and in how organizations build relationships with customers. We couldn’t be prouder of the company we keep. 
Member advisory board members serve one year at a time, and no more than two years in a row.  We partner with our advisory board members to receive feedback and direction on:
  • Opportunities in the market
  • New product offerings
  • Research roadmaps

We want to acknowledge and thank our retiring board members who have served us so well. 

Customer Community Program Manager, Strategist at ESRI
Served 2017-2018
Manager, Modern Workplace, Enterprise Technologies at EY
Served 2017-2018
Enterprise Community Manager at Steelcase
Served 2017-2018
Senior Manager, Community Engagement at Atlassian
Served 2017-2018

 

These community leaders are doing phenomenal work at their organizations and contributing to the advancement of the community management industry. These are community leaders to watch, follow and learn from – and we encourage you to connect with them!

We’ll be announcing our 2019 member advisory board in the coming weeks and look forward to introducing our returning and new members for the new year. 

TheCR Network – 2018 Year in Review Infographic

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As 2018 winds down, I love to look back at the last twelve months in TheCR Network. The great joy of my work is spending my days supporting, collaborating and learning with our amazing members. I was incredibly gratified by a recent survey of members, where many said the first word that came to mind when thinking about the Network was “friend”.

The infographic below is a just a snapshot of the year we’ve had. Please take a moment to pause with me and reflect on our successes, as we prepare for an even more amazing 2019!

 

I hope you had a meaningful and productive year, and that you too can take a moment to look back at your year. Best wishes!

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
  •  

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.

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.

 

Recognizing Excellence in Community Management

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We’re coming to the end of the traditional award season – but our annual community management awards are just ramping up. Now in their third year, TheCR Awards recognize excellence in community management.

Last year we had the honor of presenting four global community programs with awards in recognition of their community efforts – American Express (Best Community Design Element), Electronic Arts (Best Reward and Recognition Program) Autodesk (Winning Welcome Wagon), Carbon Black (Outstanding Community ROI) and six individual community managers with additional awards ranging from Power User to The Community MVP.

The Awards are back for 2018 with exciting new categories like Best Community Dashboard, Outstanding Community Playbook, and Outstanding Community Change Agent. You can learn more here. TheCR Awards will be open for 2018 submission in the following categories starting June 1, 2018. More details and award criteria will be released shortly.

 

Meet TheCR: Jessica Reid, Community Management Fellow

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If you’re a member of TheCR Network you may have met Jessica Reid, our new community management fellow. Maybe met her earlier this month at a dinner in NYC and others may have met her on Roundtable calls, in the weekly Work Out Loud discussions or at virtual Happy Hour on Thursday afternoons.

jessica reid community management fellow
I thought it would be fun to get to know Jessica a bit more now that she’s been with us for a few months and finding her stride in TheCR Network. We were really impressed with her application when it rolled in and her drive for learning and doing was an obvious great fit.

I asked Jessica a few questions to help you get to know her more too!

Tell us about your background? What were you doing before community management? 

I received my undergraduate degree in Urban Studies from Mount Holyoke College. I’ve mostly worked in educational access non-profits helping high achieving students of color gain access to the nation’s top independent schools. I’m super passionate about policy research and leadership, I received my Master’s in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner’s Graduate School of Public Service. My last position was Project Management Consulting for the Department of Education (DOE) in New York. After my time at the DOE  I decided to take some time off to pursue passion projects. I volunteered for some great organizations, planned a conference and took lots of training to keep up with my skills.

Why did the community management fellowship catch your eye? What are you hoping to learn? 

During my time off, I realized I was in a transition phase. I had begun to notice patterns in my career, I loved project management, relationship building and cultivating community. I also really needed flexibility. I discovered I work extremely well with the ability to set my own working environment. I thought finding a fellowship would be the fit for me in such a phase, so I focused on finding fellowships. When I saw the community management fellowship posting, it was like love at first sight. It was a match for the qualities I was looking for in my next position. It was an opportunity to learn tangible, quantifiable skills around community management. I didn’t realize such a sphere existed.

What’s been the most surprising or interesting thing you’ve learned in your first month here? 

I’m fascinated by the tools available to measure community ROI.

What’s a community you are a part of?     

I like to stay active in my alma mater networks. I’m on the board of the Mount Holyoke Club of New York City and stay active with NYU.

Favorite food?
Really anything that tastes good, but I love baked macaroni and cheese. I’ve given up dairy so I’m on the hunt for non-dairy mac and cheese recipe.

Where have you traveled to that you would definitely recommend people put on their travel bucket list?

I’ve traveled to quite a few places I’d highly recommend:

Sorrento, Italy
Capri, Italy
Rome, Italy
Warsaw, Poland
Prague Czech, Republic
Denmark
Berlin, Germany
Hawaii
Jamaica
Barcelona, Spain
Paris
Dominican Republic

Thanks,Jessica! We’re really glad you are here.

Happy CMAD 2018 – Community Management Advancement Day

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HAPPY CMAD 2018, EVERYONE!

I’m going to be honest – CMAD is one of my favorite days of the year. While CMAD started out as Community Management Appreciation Day, we like to imagine it has evolved into something more – community management advancement day. Because really, what shows more appreciation than saying, “we see you and we want to help you get to where you want to be!”?

We started brainstorming a way to celebrate CMAD 2018 that would both highlight some of the amazing community management leaders we know and provide a tangible asset for community professionals everywhere to enjoy. Thus, CMGT 101 was born. We worked closely with 17 community leaders to get their advice on specific topics, like member retention, effective engagement, community UX and more and compiled this ebook: CMGT 101: 17 Community Leaders Share Their Secrets for Success.

CMAD 2018

We could not have published this ebook without the thoughtful contributions from: 

  1. Lori Harrison-Smith, Steelcase
  2. J.J. Lovett, CA Technologies
  3. Aaliyah Miller, Aetna
  4. Patty McEnaney, Envestnet
  5. Monique van den Berg, Atlassian
  6. Jerry Green, The Community Roundtable
  7. Kirsten Laaspere, Akamai
  8. Jay Graff, JM Family Group
  9. Marjorie Anderson, PMI
  10. Jerry Janda, SAP
  11. Dana Baldwin, Electronic Arts
  12. Dina Vekaria, Pearson
  13. Judi Cardinal, Akamai
  14. Lisa Allison, Analog Devices
  15. Heather Ausmus, Ciena
  16. Chris Catania, ESRI
  17. Stephanie Field, Carbon Black

You can head here and download your own copy of CMGT 101: 17 Community Leaders Share Their Secrets for Success and check out the best practices that this amazing group of community leaders shares.

If you are a community professional please know that we do appreciate you, and all the work that you do every day to advance the world of community management. If you aren’t a community professional – what you are waiting for? Quick – find one and thank them!

A final shout-out to ALL the community leaders in TheCR Network – we only highlight 17 of them here, but there are hundreds more who inspire us daily and it is immensely gratifying to get to work alongside them.

Happy CMAD!