SOTM Award

[Samantha.]

I think it would be nice if Habbox had a Staff of the Month award as most of the departments (I think) do have a Staff of the Month. I know there is a Dedication award but I think it would be good to have an award specifically for Staff of the Month like MOTM.

Opinions?

[Catzsy]

So how would this work? Who would chose and would their be voting? Staff of the month for each department?

[Samantha.]

Yeah, it gets chosen by the department managers each month.

[Hecktix]

Each Habbox Department is meant to run a staff of the month competition with certain rules & regulations to make it fair - some departments do this, some don't do this however should probaly start *adds it to my long to do list*.

As Assistant General Manager (Staff) I could not give the go ahead to a Habbox wide staff of the month as it goes against my beliefs about the ethics behind the staff here at Habbox. Habbox Staff are a team that work together to bring our community fantasitc opportunties to brighten up their Habbo experience. I feel that should one staff member each month be highlighted as "the best" by departmental managers then I feel morale could decrease between others - trust me, people wouldn't be happy if they didn't get picked, we have this issue all the time with promotions and I feel that a habbox wide staff of the month award would cause further issues like this.

That being said, my role is to look after Staff here at Habbox and ensure our staff are treated fairly etc and I really believe in staff getting recognition for their work, which is why I ask Departmental Managers to run internal staff of the months which should (not in all cases at the moment mind) be voted by the department themselves. Of course we also have the annual Habbox Staff Awards which go down very well with all staff members as a good laugh, as it's done by voting and moderation to avoid bias - doing this every month would be a hassle and take the emphasis off the annual staff awards.

[Samantha]

I think as Oli said a SOTM should be run in each department, it's a chance for the managers to show that they appreciate the care and dedication of their staff.
However, I don't think there should be an award, if this was to go ahead then I think it would be better if you had a manager of the month as well. Of course it would have to be renamed as you wouldn't want to have another MOTM. But if the department managers picked the SOTM then the General management team should pick LOTM? Leader of the month like role/group leader etc.

[triston220]

I think that it should be run internally but a thread made by someone announcing the results.

[Alex3213]

Hmm I wouldn't like this. It shows good work and outstanding contribution but it's also there for morale if I'm purely honest. I feel that it's just not something I'd like as I'd presume about 80% of Habbox Staff would gain the award within not a long time otherwise. :(

[Samantha]

I think that it should be run internally but a thread made by someone announcing the results.

I suggested this and it got shot down. :).

yeah i understand where you are coming from alex. but you never know there's always new staff.

also, someone could just join the team and work in an oustanding manner and quit after the award is given.

[Inseriousity.]

If by SOTM award, you mean they get all the whole announcement the way clubhabbo does it then I'd disagree, it's much more staff-friendly to have it internally. However, if by SOTM award, you mean it's run the same way it is now in some depts. and they just get an extra reward for it on top of what they already get (a month's vip in competitions, not sure if it's the same elsewhere) then I don't see what the harm would be of that.

Although I disagree with Oli when he says "should be voted by the departments themselves" as it'd just turn into a popularity contest (in an ideal world, everyone in the department would be bffl but this isn't always the case) rather than a recognition of hard work.

[Hecktix]

Although I disagree with Oli when he says "should be voted by the departments themselves" as it'd just turn into a popularity contest (in an ideal world, everyone in the department would be bffl but this isn't always the case) rather than a recognition of hard work.

Imo, that would depend on department size - in a department like HabboxLive who have 50 staff, an internal vote would turn into a popularity contest, in a smaller department like the Forum Department or Competitions Department an internal vote works quite well, there has been an internally voted staff of the month award in the moderation department for a very long time and not once have I looked and thought "well actually, that decision is wrong" and generally most votes seem to go the same way as people who work in a close knit department are aware of the work that other members of staff do, obviously in larger departments this is not possible. I really think you are underestimating the moral values of some of our staff. Look at the staff awards of 2010, the majority of that was selected by nominations and every single award went to a deserving candidate - it was by no means a popularity contest apart from in the joke awards.

The problem with Manager chosen staff of the month is that this can lead to the issues with staff wondering why the manager didn't choose them etc, whereas if they know it's a vote they can see they have an equal chance and it is all about trust in the other staff members, which in the smaller departments is vital.

[Inseriousity.]

Well I agree that it would depend on department size. the bigger the department, the harder it is to have everyone getting along although as you didn't refer to that, I just assumed you meant every department!

As for staff wondering why they didn't get it that's going to happen regardless tbh. :)

[nvrspk4]

It'd be difficult to judge, considering that this would be among staff in different departments who do different amounts of work / are judged differently. I really doubt there would be an impartial way to judge it based on work done because a Content Designer who did loads of guides for the site that much does a hell of a lot for the site, but the DJ that is very popular or the Help Desk worker who is in the desk a bit will be more known as their job puts them in contact with other staffers more. Beyond that it would also be a popularity contest in terms of work done.

The only way to impartially do this would be for each manager to submit their individual SOTM to the GM/AGM (Staff) with an explanation about why that staff member got it and the GM/AGM could weigh it and they would be able to realize how much the staffer did for Habbox and also spread it around between departments. To me the biggest issue with this is that it's an unnecessary task for the GM/AGM staff though if they limit the brief to 150 words then maybe it could work, it's up to the GM team. There is also the minor issue of GM/AGM perhaps being favorites but if you've got GMs/AGMs that can't make decisions impartially, then there are bigger problems.

[Pyroka]

I'll shed some light on this from the perspective where we do it every week, publicly yknow.

Every week we have to choose a member of staff who has shined out in their department. They don't get much more than a award badge saying they've done well, and a thread + page on the site + announcement on the forum & site saying they won it this week. I have to manage the Graphics Department and also temporarily look over the News Department, & also choose who should get SOTW whenever a Manager is away and unable to choose one, so I know how hard it is to select one person out of a team of lets say, 10 people, especially based on their performance in a week. Right now though, I don't think the award of Staff of the Week is highly valued as it's been going on ever since ClubHabbo opened (I think?), so getting a thread and some recognition for outstanding work is nice, but I personally have my doubts the system is as rewarding as it sounds.

I know that Habbox does their Departmental Staff of the Months which is what we do at ClubHabbo, except its weekly. I don't see any trouble in making the information public. I may have went off on a bit of a tangent on the above but just getting the message across that it's not as bigger deal as you'd think, and staff don't necessarily get demoralize, but I don't think at CH they get motivated due to it.