In what we might consider a "normal" year, July is usually a time where TheCR Network quiets down a bit and we engage some lighter summer (for us in the northern hemisphere) programming. But because 2020 has been anything but normal, we have introduced a bit of levity to our programming, but we have also kept the serious conversations going strong. For the month of July, we took time to focus on an area that many in community are thinking about on a daily basis: Measuring What Matters.
Whether you are just starting your community program and are defining success metrics or you are re-evaluating your mature community program's reporting strategy, metrics is a subject area that will always be relevant. Seeing examples from how others are approaching their reporting, understanding how you can develop out your own metrics, and exploring where you might find more data to bolster your analytical narrative are all tasks that community leaders will always have on their plates, no matter if they are brand new to the field or have been working in community for years.
We aimed for our programming to reflect the evergreen nature of discussions on metrics and scheduled calls that would cover a few different bases...
July in TheCR Network: Roundtable Calls
Our first Roundtable Call in July actually focused on another opportunity to learn from community peers: TheCR Connect.
On "Reimagining The Conference: All About TheCR Connect 2020", we, along with members of the Connect team from TheCR, opened up space to discuss how we are moving TheCR Connect from an in-person to a fully-virtual conference for 2020. By both informing members of what we have planned and asking them what they would like to see, we used this call to make sure that TheCR Connect 2020 will be exactly what members are looking for.
While this call does not have to deal exactly with our July theme, it does involve understanding what matters to our members so we are able to design, create, and see the value.
With 2020 being a year of uncertainty, the definition of success metrics may shift and change at any time, so this call tied into our own work in that area, looking to determine what a successful TheCR Connect 2020 will look like.
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here.
Our next July call, "Research Office Hours: External Communities Elevate The Customer Experience", we waded more into the waters of measuring what matters, but just with the lens of an external (or customer) community.
In a conversation facilitated by TheCR's @Rachel Happe, this set of Office Hours explored the second key finding of the State of Community Management 2020 more deeply and looked at how external/customer communities are elevating the customer experience through areas like ROI, connecting to business value, strategic techniques, and integrations, specifically segmenting the data by "average" and "advanced" external/customer communities (based on their strategic maturity).
Also covering topic areas like governance, the effects of COVID-19 on communities, team size, and empowerment, this conversation looked at the many aspects that make up the complex solution that is community and how we can measure the value that communities are providing.
If you missed the chance to join this conversation, you can still participate in a discussion around this key finding here.
The third call of the month, "Research Office Hours: Internal Communities Reveal Untapped Potential", explored the other side of the hypothetical community aisle and looked at measuring what matters with an internal (or employee) community lens.
In this set of Office Hours, also facilitated by TheCR's @Rachel Happe, attendees explored the third key finding of the State of Community Management 2020 more deeply and looked at how internal/employee communities have vast potential to transform organizations. While the most successful internal/employee communities deliver complex business objectives like culture change, communications, brand awareness, and productivity, the potential for this immense value creation is squandered by the underinvesting in community management that is happening at these organizations.
On this call, members discussed how they each saw themselves in the data (some more than others), and what they would like to see, have, or know to put themselves in a better position moving forward.
We know that potential is thwarted by low adoption and strategic gaps and underinvestment in management hampers impact, but we also know that communities can empower and engage. In this conversations, members asked and talked about what might help them see breakthroughs and find more success with their community programs, especially within the context of how their organizations see community.
If you missed the chance to join this conversation, you can still participate in a discussion around this key finding here.
Our last call of the month, "Diversity & Inclusion: Designing An Equitable User Experience", focused on a highly-relevant topic: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. TheCR Network member, , led members through a conversation on her own experiences with building DEI initiatives by first looking at the definition of both change management and DEI principles, and then used two key case studies (one internal and one external) to illustrate how a successful DEI initiative is designed, run, and integrated into the community program (hint: it's at the strategic level!).
Ashleigh then opened up a discussion for members on the call to discuss how they are looking to design, as well as have designed, an equitable user experience in their communities. We started with covering if and how we all saw DEI in our communities. With a variety of use cases, contexts, and perspectives, we were able to dig into challenges, successes, and ideas for how we could all build out our DEI initiatives more efficiently and effectively.
In tying it back to measuring what matters, Ashleigh stressed the concept that proving the value of DEI initiatives and being able to communicate why we need to pursue them all ties back to being able to connect them to business goals and to the overall community strategy. Ashleigh emphasized how DEI initiatives need to be a part of the strategic planning from the ground floor and they need to be measurable in order to be successful. DEI is not just a trend.
Developing, or even just starting, a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative is a work-in-progress for many, and that's great! Everyone starts somewhere, just make sure you start.
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here.
We didn't only host Roundtable Calls this month...
Another piece of programming we held in June was the "Ask Me Anything with Natasha Green". As a part of the SOCM 2020 Working Group, was a key part of both adding value to the SOCM survey as well as making sure that the SOCM 2020 report was a valuable resource.
Because Natasha has some amazing experience as the Senior Local Communities Manager at AnitaB.org and describes her super power as "mobilizing groups of people to a shared mission". With immense non-profit experience, getting to pick Natasha's brain was a fantastic opportunity to see what knowledge she has gained through all of her work, especially around facilitating successful virtual programming, engagement, and the intra-preneurial landscape.
While this AMA didn't focus solely on metrics or proving value, Natasha did showcase exactly how to determine how to measure what matters and understand the value in what you are doing, especially in terms of facilitating programming and engagement.
If you want to read through the AMA thread, you can find that here.
We heard some great examples and thoughts this month, so why not round it out with what we learned about members of TheCR Network overall...
What Did You Think?
For the month of July, we opened a poll to ask something a little more fun: "If you could use only one content medium to post to your community for three months, what would you choose?"
While we continue exploring new programming and content types as we develop virtual work environments, this question was an interesting way to look at how we feel comfortable communicating as well as how we think our community bests communicates and digests information.
So, let's find out we all have thought...
The poll results were close for a little, but, ultimately, text/written word was the big winner, with video coming up second, and with photo in a distant third. Audio received no votes.
While this poll was for fun, it is also a great way to determine both how we see ourselves best communicating and see our communities best consuming information. When we think about the vehicle for content, we want to think about who our audience is (in this case, our members) and how they like to experience that content. It may not always be the easy route, but by matching that preference, we can better meet our members where they are and provide the information that they are looking for.
Tools and technology may not always make that easy, but continuously thinking about how we can vary types of content delivery is a great way to not only keep information fresh, but also reach new members in different ways. You never know what will work best until you try!
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
In July, our goal was to refresh the conversation on metrics and think about what we measure as well as how and why we measure what we do. Through exploring specific research and data, hearing about how others have approached metrics, and getting perspectives into how people see value in their community, we were able to start digging into how we measure what matters.
While this is definitely not the start of the conversation, is also isn't the end. We're looking forward to continuing this specific conversation in August and continuing to hear more about how community leaders are defining and measuring what matters in their communities.
While we're also entering the peak of the summer months here in the northern hemisphere, we'll be finding more ways to connect as a group, offering opportunities for networking, skill building, and general socializing, which you can find out more about in the August 2020 topic cycle announcement here.
If any of these conversations or concepts have sparked an idea or recommendation for you, let us know! While we plan our programming calendar, we also leave space for reactive programming, spur-of-the-moment topics, and member involvement, so leave us a note or send us a message and we'll get something together to address your topics of interest.
And if you're not a member of TheCR Network, or if you know someone who isn't a member of TheCR Network, but would love to participate in these conversations, please reach out! We're happy to talk about how you or they can get involved.
If you'd rather do that yourself, you can find out more about how to join TheCR Network here.
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