Hiring - Integration Survey Hive Mind (Focus Group)

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

We are forming a focus group to gather as wide a variety of opinions as possible in a short amount of time to help formulate the upcoming Integration Survey (IS). This focus group, which we are calling the IS Hive Mind, will be run by our Survey Project Manager, Mirandha Sedai, and I within the Department of Administration.

I recognize that this is a very sensitive topic for many people and that it is likely that many people will be interested in participating. Please note that only ONE person from each membership group will be selected to participate (if more than one applies). If there are no applicants from a membership group, that group will be unrepresented.

Timing:

We are doing a blitz. This focus group will be put together, work, and then be disbanded in a month's time. Hiring will be open for this one week only. Then selections and notifications will be made. The group will be convened for conversation and will be disbanded after approximately 3 weeks time, by mid-October, unless extenuating circumstances warrant keeping it open for longer.

Why are we doing it this way?

Because the goal of this group is not to rehash opinions, it's to solicit ideas and thoughts via meaningful conversation for how to ask the questions on the survey and what types of questions to ask. We will NOT be discussing the pros and cons of this topic any more than necessary to help generate ideas for the survey questions. This focus group is not an alternate integration discussion forum. We are specifically looking for assistance with the types of questions to ask and how to word them to best capture the meanings and intentions of our diverse community.

Expectations:

It is expected that, if selected, you will be available to participate actively in this project for the duration. When considering whether or not to apply, please look closely at your own availability. If you will be gone for, say, the last week of September, this job is not for you. You do not need to post and be online every day but you should be available to check in several times a week to read and respond to the conversation.

Active participation in the conversations is required. I know that there are many very thoughtful and quiet members in this community . We would love to have quiet or "loud" members apply as that difference too is important when considering how to think about the IS.

Warning!

As I have said, the goal of this team is to help think of and come up with ideas for questions to ask on the survey. Mirandha and I are going to be militant about this. If a member of the focus group is shown to be simply rehashing arguments or becomes combative, or if a member is inactive and non-participatory, that person will be removed from the group and will not be replaced.

Ready to Apply?

Participation in this focus group is eligible as a contribution to the Tower. It is tough to give a time estimate for work expected in a week as this will be such a quick and dirty project! If you are interested in applying, please e-mail administration@tarvalon.net and survey@tarvalon.net by 18 September 11:59pm EDT with the subject line "IS HIVE MIND - YOUR NAME". In your e-mail include your name, rank, length of time as a community member, geographic location, confirmation of availability to be online regularly from mid-Sept through mid-Oct, and a brief explanation of why you are interested in being a member of this group.

If you have any questions, please send them our way!

 

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

Everyone PLEASE submit the following information with your applications!

name, rank, length of time as a community member, geographic location, confirmation of availability to be online regularly from mid-Sept through mid-Oct, and a brief explanation of why you are interested in being a member of this group.

If we do not receive all of this information, your application will be considered incomplete. So really, please give us all of the information that we need. We're on a short time table and we're working hard to get our ducks all in a row as quickly as possible. Thank you!

 

[Zandera Sommers]

So just for my own edification, at the end of the term, the goal is to have a list of questions to ask the community? We will have "a piece of paper" or "a word document" of all the questions?

 

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

Zandera, thank you for the question. It's a good one!

The goal is not to create the document completely but to give us big ideas (and yes, possibly questions themselves!) to ask. Our Survey Project Manager, Mirandha Sedai, is the actual drafter of the survey. We are expecting some actual questions to come out of the conversation but not all. In some case, perhaps many, the conversation itself will spark a way to ask questions or a new way to ask a previously thought of question. We all think of things differently and in so many different ways. Sometimes just the way a question is asked will drive a particular sort of response even if it's not what we had originally thought of. There will not be "a piece of paper" coming out of this conversation that we can show as a work product. Rather the group itself will generate conversation and help us to create the paper during and after the Hive Mind has concluded. The group will not see the finalized survey instrument before it is released to the site in the form of a survey.

During and after the conversation, Mirandha Sedai and I along with our survey consultants, Yelenia and Zashara, will finalize question drafting and proofing. Yele and Zasha have quite a lot of survey experience in the course of work and study and they help us to make sure that the questions that we are asking are appropriate.

That's a long answer to your question. I hope that I actually responded to what you were looking for.

 

[Zandera Sommers]

Yes Calypsa Sedai, thank you. That was an awesome response. You answered questions I didn't even know I had.

 

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

Glad it worked out! Don't forget that Citizens can apply, too!

I have had another question worth addressing in public:

Am I eligible to apply if I already hold a position here at TV.net?

YES! Absolutely. Whatever your position here, you may apply for this focus group. Well, Mirandha and I can't apply... Because that would be silly. But yes, if you are already involved elsewhere in the community you are most welcome to apply. Holding another position will not preclude you from submitting an application and your chances for being selected are equal to that of someone who does not currently hold a position.

 

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

Another question that has come up is regarding the time commitment. I do not know the exact time required, but what I am envisioning is an ongoing conversation for the three week period. If you are online nearly every day poking around anyway, this should be a piece of cake to participate in! If you log in a few times a week to check your important forums and that's it, this may take a little more effort but is very doable if it's a topic that you are interested in. It will not take hours and hours out of your days!

Thank you everyone for your questions so far.

 

[Gedhan Audax]

Thanks for the time clarification Calypsa, that's addressed my question before I asked it?

 

[Calypsa al'Nicolai]

Glad to have helped, Gedhan.