How Do You Manage Moderator Conflicts Internally

[Jennifer]

I have never ran a big forum with multiple moderators, so I don’t have any experience with managing moderators conflict. However, in big forums moderator disagreements can escalate and affect enforcement. Should conflict resolution be formal or informal? How do you handle conflicts between staff?

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I have never ran a big forum with multiple moderators, so I don’t have any experience with managing moderators conflict. However, in big forums moderator disagreements can escalate and affect enforcement. Should conflict resolution be formal or informal? How do you handle conflicts between staff?

Great question @Jennifer

The main thing you can do is set the standard now. Create a handbook or informational guide on what you expect from your team members. YOU create the culture.

I used to be the Community Manager at Copyblogger. One of my duties was to connect our paid members with other paid members based on pain point relations. It was a way to build relationships, networking, and turn a regular paid member into a loyal paid member. It works.

The same concept can be applied to your staff team.

From day one, work of networking and building the relationships between your staff members. Focus on turning them into friends. This will make conflict resolution much easier.

Another thing is chain of command.

I'm the only admin on my forums. Everyone else is a moderator equal to each moderator. I might have a community manager if the team gets really big. However, it's important to ensure no one is ruling over another aside from you and your manager. When everyone has the same power and authority, there is less of that "power trip" status that gets created internally.

 

[Nomad]

Moderators' conflict hasn't happened on my forums but I have been caught with moderators' conflict as a staff on multiple forums. At one time, I had to distance myself because everyone had the same opinion, except me. I try not to get too involved into fight (sadly, I have been into heated fight a few times). Once, I was able to impose my decision even though most of the staff disagreed.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Moderators' conflict hasn't happened on my forums but I have been caught with moderators' conflict as a staff on multiple forums. At one time, I had to distance myself because everyone had the same opinion, except me. I try not to get too involved into fight (sadly, I have been into heated fight a few times). Once, I was able to impose my decision even though most of the staff disagreed.

In that situation, I'd most likely resign.

If everyone is against you, then you're sort of out of place and out of your comfort zone on that one.

 

[Nomad]

In that situation, I'd most likely resign.

If everyone is against you, then you're sort of out of place and out of your comfort zone on that one.

Yes, that should have been my decision but I stayed because in our society majority wins. That's how the world is run.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Yes, that should have been my decision but I stayed because in our society majority wins. That's how the world is run.

It might be but the world also big on cancel culture.