Stepping Down From a Staff Position By Blind Bandit So the time has come when you need to move on. Your staff but for whatever reason the circumstances have changed and it’s time to retire. This article will help you know when it’s time to step down and how to do so. As well as how to deal with no longer being staff. When you should consider retiring? Lack of time - If you’re finding it hard to log on and make worthwhile contributions to the board. Let alone actually doing your duties as staff. You should consider retiring. Many staffers have faced this problem. We all have lives and they come first. Most admin will allow you to return once you have greater amounts of time to dedicate to the forum. You’re not happy- Sometimes this just happens. The forum doesn’t bring you the same joy as it once did. Maybe you’re just losing interest. Remember your enjoyment of a forum is important. Just as important as being a good staffer to that forum. Being an unhappy staff member will only cause your quality of work to suffer. Staff burnout- You love being staff and the forum itself. But you’re tired and you’re burned out. Everyone gets burned out to some degree but if you’re here. You can’t take it anymore. You can’t function as staff anymore. And you have tried recovering away from the forum. It’s time to retire. Irreconcilable differences among staff- Sometimes differences on how a board should be run, a member dealt with or other polarizing issues are just too much to handle. Granted you should take every possible opportunity to mend any problems amongst yourself and fellow staff members. If you can’t find a reasonable compromise. Its best to make a clean break. To avoid becoming an unhappy and apathetic staff member. It’s important to note that retiring from a staff position especially a high ranking position, or a lengthy term can be trying. Here are some tips to help making retirement easier. Think it through- When things go wrong it’s easy to jump to bad conclusions. Many times you may want to resign. When it feels like the forum is falling in on you. Members are angry at you, staff is angry at you and you’re trying to make sense of it all. It’s important to think issues through carefully and understand what your considering. Can you work it out- Sometimes staff and forum issues can be dealt with. You should try and fix problems that arise unless it’s clear there is no hope that the problems can be fixed. Don’t wait- As staff it’s easy to push your needs down and look only at what the board needs. But this will hurt you in the long run. If you feel you must retire, do it in a reasonable time. Parting words- Its important when you retire to make a statement to the staff and to the head admin concerning why your leaving. It helps to give you closure. It also helps keep the rest of the staff informed. I also find it necessary to speak to the head admin about your retirement via pm. To insure everything is taken care of. Step down gracefully- Sometimes it’s easy to complain about all the problems you faced or spread gossip about what happened during your tenure as staff. As you may be feeling let down and upset over having to retire. Don’t do this. Don’t repeat what was said on the staff board(s). Don’t talk down about your fellow staff or the board. It makes you look bad and seem like your just trying to hurt the board. Even if everything you say is true. Also if someone asks why you resigned be truth full but don’t go into excess detail. You don’t want to create drama. Depending on your situation post staff status can be rather frustrating. Here are some tips to deal with no longer being a staff member. Take some time to recover- If you want to stay on at the forum you staffed on. It’s important to take some time away from the board. So you can adjust. You will find that when you’re a member again you still have the staff mind set. You may look for mod tools that are no longer there. You may be frustrated by a rule violation that isn’t being dealt with right away. Kicking yourself because you’re right there and you can’t do anything. Report the post and move on. You have retired and it’s no longer your job to police the forum. But it doesn’t hurt to be a good supporting member. You don’t have to stay- Sometimes when leaving the staff things are bad. The forum doesn’t appeal to you anymore. You’re not required to stay.. You don’t have to stay in a place your not happy with. As staff we sometimes feel we can’t leave but it’s important to remember we also have needs and wants. Remember the Good times- Retiring especially when you don’t want to, sucks. Remember your times as a staff member fondly and be thankful for the great experiences you had. Thank you for reading, any comments or suggestions welcome.
Thanks to Shawn. Because if he hadn't posted all of his articles, I wouldn't have the courage to post mine.
Hi, B.B. Not being happy was the reason I left the first forum I was staff at. However, I didn't follow your advice of thinking through the decision, so I reverted my posts to guests without ever considering that the higher ups would have a problem with it. (I know there are ways to re-assign posts to an account, but I don't know if it was something that could be done by casual phpBB2 users early in that software's life.) Mind you, this was not only the first forum I moderated at, but the first forum I joined. It was probably in 2000 that I joined, and even when I became a staff member, I was still inexperienced. In any case, if I had talked over my decision with fellow staff, my leave would likely have gone smoothly. Even now, I may recall a mistake and feel nauseous. However, all I can do now is learn from all the mistakes I made while in a management position, including the one described above. **** I hope you don't mind if I nitpick your essay. Near the beginning of your essay you said this: The part highlighted in bold bothers me: the two sentences proceeding the first should be part of the first sentence. A few suggested revisions: Now, I don't pretend to be an expert at English, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm mistaken in at least one of my examples, but that part of your essay seems more natural when it's not made into three sentences. Also, sorry for being a grammar Nazi. Regards, Kevin
Great article Can you add something about admins gracefully letting staff go as well? lol - I had an admin tear me a new one after I stepped down because I didn't have enough time to do a proper job and they had changed the board topic to something that had zero interest or relevance to me (it became a board for fathers and I am female and not a parent lol).
Really good article. Typically when I retire from a forum I do exactly what is outlined here. Most notable, when I retired from the MyBB Staff. Did it with grace, and never made a huge deal out of it. Just a simple resignation email.
