Glossy-Neo

Staff

Staff is a pretty important part of a site; they can either make it or break it! Staff members contribute a fair bit of the content that is found on a site, so picking staff members is pretty important!

Beginning

For a start you should actually make your site attractive to potential staff! This means having a nice layout and an attempt at some content. No one is going to want to work at a week old n00b site are they? So think about what kind of site you would like to work at, a nice layout, some good quality content and a friendly atmosphere. That's right, make sure you are friendly and patient to everyone, this makes your site seem like a nicer place to work and people will be more willing to contribute to the site, whether it is a really new site or just an old one looking for new staff!

Jobs

Once your site is pretty well set out and you think people would be interested in working there, you should think about what jobs you are going to offer. Try not to condense too many things into one so that your staff doesn't feel too overwhelmed. I suggest just having a News Poster, Graphic Maker and Guide/Tutorial Writer. It keeps it simple but you might like to divide it into more sections or add different jobs that you want to be offered. Decide on an approximate number of how many people you want doing one job; try to keep it a smaller number, people do like to feel important!

Application

Once you have decided on the basics, it is time to make some application forms! Make sure everything is relatively easy to understand and is neat (you don't want to waste all that time you put into your site to get people this far!) Make sure to include information about what the position is and what they will be doing. Make sure to have the requirements handy (in a list on the page), they should consist of the things you think are important, like certain experience or programs that they will need.

Decide on what kind of application you want to use, an email form is pretty effective as long as it contains certain bits of information (like their name, experience, programs they use, contact details, examples) Definitely get their neopets username so you can see how long they have been playing Neopets and to check if they are lying about something, or even to get a hint at their personality.

Another application idea is a pet page application; this would be pretty good for graphic designers who want to show off their skills, it wouldn�t be all that great for someone applying for News Poster though. So think about what kind of application you want to use carefully!

Advertising

Once you have everything set up, it is time to advertise that you are looking for staff! Some ways of advertising include:
- Advertising on the Neoboards, just choose a board you think is relevant and name a topic "Neopets site looking for staff" just keep it short and sweet!
- Advertising on Proboards, it spreads the word to people who are interested in your site topic, just make sure it isn't against the rules!
- A banner or button in a popular shop or a guild could work quite well.
- Even just casually mentioning it in a conversation!
Advertising should work wonders, just make sure it isn�t against any rules or regulations!

Choosing from the applications

So everything went well and you got a pile of applications and you ask, who do I choose now? Keep that approximate number of staff you chose earlier and that list of requirements nearby!

For a News Poster, I suggest you look at the persons Neopets shield; it can give you a good idea of how much experience that person has on Neopets! Ask them how active they are, you don�t want someone who will only post news once a month or so and see if they have premium, if they do, they can post unreleased news which is a big bonus for your site! As for a guide or tutorial writer, also check how long they have been playing Neopets and read what they write carefully, make sure they have a genuine interest in what they will write about. When choosing a graphic designer, be careful! Make sure you look at their examples critically and ask yourself if you would use what they have made. Check out their user lookup, it can give you a good idea of what effects they use, brushes etc. See if they can code their own work and ask what graphics they are most interested in making!

Ask yourself if you would use what these people can make/write/do and look critically at their examples, if they have worked at another site � get a reference! Gradually narrow your choices down, tell the people if you need some more time to work it out or consider their application, how they reply to this might even help! Just be careful if they work at another site, there is a great chance that they will become inactive. If applications are closed and you still get some, write these names and their contact details down and make sure that you never accept their application, if they won�t follow instructions, then they aren�t worth your time!

Managing them

Once you have chosen a staff member, I suggest a few things to keep them happy. Although, it is completely up to you how you manage your staff!

Always be patient with them (help them if they need it), treat them with respect and genuinely be interested in what they have to say, try to be a friend. Give them plenty of time to complete projects, better to be a bit late than a rushed/horrible job. Encourage them to speak their mind and be open to any suggestions they may have. If you don't completely trust a staff member, don't let yourself feel that you should give them admin powers or more power over the site.

Feedback

Hopefully, with these few ideas, you can get staff and they should be pretty happy and willing to contribute a lot to the site! Any questions, comments or feedback related to this guide, please contact Emily.