Participation In CoPs

Participation in Communities of Practice John Tropea Skills in group behaviour

First things first…
Do you have a community leader with passion and time?
Do you have passionate key members?
Do you have a shared identity on what you want out of the community?

The manager who thought he could create a community
CoPs are Voluntary, Emergent, Self-selecting (If they have value they will form)
It has a sense of place, and needs to be tendered and cared
NOTE: This does not apply as much if your CoP is about team tasks

Social tools are not built for a specific purpose (People need assistance in how to use them)
Social tools are interactional rather than transactional (Need to create conditions for conversations to happen)
Don't need lots of members to succeed (Three or four “active” members is all it takes)
Subject matter expert needs to run it (Technical facilitator is not enough)

Merging CoPs is a risk (People want to talk about a topic where they hang out)
Don’t over design look upfront (Start off simple and concentrate on participation, if successful then design to full intention)
I don’t want to share, that’s counter to meeting my objectives…and reward!! (Something to be aware of…Bottom-up is not enough, eventually need Top-down structure shift and appraisal model on collaboration)
Intrinsic motivation, rather than rewards

CoPs vs Teams The online tools don’t define how the group operates (many teams are using CoPs) Encourage participation Trust Required participation High interdependency Participation Facilitator Manager Manage Informal roles Defined roles Members Learning/Sharing Ad-hoc Emergence Tasks Processes Outcomes Purpose Community of Practice Team/Task

The low down on participation Design (Intuitive / Stickiness) Frequency of content Email interaction / Bookmarklet Peer influence Champions / Role models Viral approach Post, and send link Attract comments Re-purposing email Hand-holding Barn-raising In-the-flow / Above-the-flow Feedback (Reputation / Recognition) Group building Confidence / Comfort / Safe Trust Relationships (Give and Take) Personal relevancy / Change

Design
Is the tool in tune with human behaviour? (Is it intuitive ; don’t have to think)
Is the vendor/tool responsive to design changes?
Not using the system and not sharing are not the same thing
Ask the users what they want, and then they want something else? (Design as you evolve; as a co-creation process)
SOURCE http://bit.ly/8AAEMN ; http://bit.ly/1fiexz

Design
Click or two away from what they need to do
People don’t have the time to read a manual (Instead place instructions on the actual objects)
No blank slates; first visit needs to be appealing (Create a stickiness factor so people return)
Are you appealing to different user experiences?

Design
Avoid cognitive stress (Email is easy as one channel to say everything)
Do I use a blog or a forum for what I want to say?
Which blog do I post in? Which forum do I post in?
Where is the “post new entry” button?
Where is the “subscribe” button? (Where’s a list of subscribers who will get my post?)

Frequency of content
Quickest way to get a CoP going is to ask questions (Successful “help” interactions lead to more…trust in the CoP)
Core group of people to blog weekly columns, initiate forum discussions, leave comments
Whenever something happens, blog about it (“I uploaded a presentation into our library, go check it out!”)
Posting, rather than Publishing (People are used to publishing a final piece, rather than posting work-in-progress/thinking out loud)

Email Interaction / Bookmarklet
If it’s not in your inbox it doesn’t exist
People are more likely to react if it comes to them
Publish and comment via email
Publish whilst browsing the web

Peer influence
Prior to this they have not dedicated the time to investigate, but if a close colleague finds it of value, then this will influence them to give it a try
We are influenced by people we trust, more than a training programme, or by others we don’t know well
We take recommendations from people we value
Influenced by the herd / conform
SOURCE http://bit.ly/bMCWr7

Champions / Role-models / Viral
If the leads are not role-models in active participation, then this sends a signal that the community is not important
Facilitators must lead by example, and encourage senior/respected people to be role-models
Concentrate on training just a small group
They will set the good examples and be an influence on others

Feedback (Reputation/Recognition)
Facilitator feedback encourages more participation (“That was an insightful blog post, I will apply that method”)
Answer questions promptly so people feel heard and benefit from participating (will influence return visits)
Comments generate motivation for more blog posts
Company commander who became an active participant after he found out that other people were getting valuable use from his AAR document
SOURCE http://bit.ly/8ZlJnt ; http://bit.ly/9DkTaW

Feedback (Reputation/Recognition)
Being appreciated and feeling you have made a difference are good conditions for further participation
Sense of belonging leads to engagement
After a while this system becomes self-rewarding as people may draw a reputation
Recognition means more coming from strangers/peers who really understand the subject, than the boss
SOURCE http://bit.ly/1fiexz ; http://bit.ly/8wvOnh

Group building
Face-to-face interaction and connection, or online ways for members to connect in real-time
These can be social gatherings, meetings, or workshops
Building rapport as conditions for knowledge sharing/participation
Sense of belonging creates an emotional safety

Confidence / Comfort / Safe
Are people confident and comfortable to participate? ie. do they have a relationship with other members
People feel safe in closed/private world of email
Beware of big CoPs eg. at a house party we are always more comfortable in sharing our lives after a lot of small talk where we build a rapport (a certain level of trust)…or after a few drinks 
Do we feel safe from speaking out, being wrong, judged and misunderstood? (Psychological Safety)
SOURCE http://bit.ly/9wWte2

Trust and Relationships
Not a pre-condition, but a process of engagement
Informal conversation builds relationships/rapport/trust which leads to sharing
Assurance that our knowledge will be treated with respect
People you trust will give you confidence they will not misuse your knowledge sharing
SOURCE http://bit.ly/cGcxQQ ; http://bit.ly/1fiexz

Being a Subject Matter Expert can be a burden
I will share with those who invest a relationship with me
Time consuming to understand the issue, and research answer
The more I know you, the more I share (Reciprocated relationship)
SOURCE http://bit.ly/1fiexz ; http://bit.ly/8ZAMoq ; http://bit.ly/5Ov85H

Is there an equilibrium of give and take? (Anticipated reciprocity)
Do some members just ask questions and never help out with answers?
Are members willing to research answers for questions from non-members?

Competent
(Are you known to be knowledgeable?)
Behavioural
(Are you known to be approachable?)
Sharing doesn’t require a strong tie, but it requires trust
Most useful knowledge comes from trusted weak ties
SOURCE http://bit.ly/9SJ1mN

Personal Relevancy / Change
Is the community personally relevant, or fulfilling needs at an individual level?
Engagement, sense of impact and belonging (Intrinsic motivation)
People don’t resist change, they resist being changed
Resistance to change is about the situation rather than a character trait
SOURCE http://bit.ly/18k2Zs ; http://bit.ly/7GOUnE

Posting and Attracting comments
If intended audience aren’t subscribers, still create the blog post, then send them the link
Rather than just sharing links, write an opinion based review…this will get people to react
It’s about the conversations that the blog post triggers (Builds community spirit, and return for more)
People are more prone to comment, rather than blog or write a forum topic (Write content that induces comments as a starter)

Re-purposing Email
CoP tools can replace the email distribution list
People will use email out of habit
Facilitator must thank them for participating and correct them with the right tool (Need discipline and repetition)
Then demonstrate by re-posting their email into the forum/blog, then send them the link (Ask them to subscribe in case the conversation keeps going)

Hand-holding
Workers lack time to learn a new tool, but they perhaps will if you instigate it
Breaking old habits with new technologies (Need repetition to habituate new behaviours)
People are expected to publish in an open place, rather than the more confident private email channels

Hand-holding
People are used to MS Word; reassure them the blog/forum/wiki posting toolbar is a basic version
Avoid teaching HTML (source code) till later on
Sit down with a member once a week for a couple of months and guide them in publishing a blog post, until they get used to it and build the confidence.
Comments on their blog posts motivate them to create new blog posts

Raids / Barn-raising
Spend a session on using a wiki for a specific / real purpose
This gives people real experience at using them, and using new tools for current needs
The idea is that they will go back to their seats and continue using it
Rather than creating a wiki and asking people to participate, put important information on the wiki so they have to visit, and provide their input

In-the-flow / Above-the-flow
In-the-flow – using CoP tools to do work (Requirement / Interdependencies)
Choose an activity or type of communication that is conducted in an email list and now do it in the CoP Eg. broadcast announcements are now done in the CoP blog, people have no choice but to visit the CoP…while they are there they may look around and participate elsewhere
Eg. Drafting articles for a newsletter
Above-the-flow – using CoP tools for communication, sharing and learning (Volunteered)
SOURCE http://bit.ly/brJFZM

Activities you can try are… Offline to Online Member Intros Lounge forum Blog carnival Polls Guest posts Coffee Corner / Fill in the gap Member of the month Weekly roundup Personal stories People travelling Blog columns Engaging media (video) Email signature Newsletter Linking across CoPs Events Portal

Seed, feed, and weed Garden Design Communicate Welcome Assist Support Prompt Correct Guides Promote Re-purpose Suggestions Feedback Congratulate Barnraise Monitor Listen Personal needs Subscribe Specialise It's of utmost importance that a Community Manager is subscribed to every blog and forum in every community. SOURCE http://bit.ly/193dxQ

There is no average contributor
Power law (L-curve)
Average user doesn’t really exist…heavy contributors skew a useful average meaning.
SOURCE http://bit.ly/12S2ll
Contributors may be higher within organisations due to peer influence
People that have a positive influence in one group will influence that to happen in their current group
Lurkers are important as they act as an audience which motivates people to post in blog/forums, they also pass on your links to others, and perhaps walk what you talk about
Tip! Nurture those who are already contributing

Living and breathing SOURCE http://bit.ly/4ypMEo

Time for a health check

Connect
Library clips http://libraryclips.blogsome.com
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/johntropea
Twitter http://twitter.com/johnt
Email [email_address]

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Participation In CoPs

by johnt on Mar 24, 2010

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