The Less Spoken About Aspect of Recruitment

[Knight 1,294]

The Less Spoken About Aspect of Recruitment

The timeless topic that has been, and will always be, continually revisited - recruitment. It's a crucial function for any online simulation league to ensure not only its survival, but so that it can thrive. A constant stream of new, active members will ensure the league grows at a pace that outstrips members becoming inactive - an inevitability with simulation leagues. New members are also important to bring different ideas to the league so that it can continually evolve and not stagnate. It's hard not to understate the importance of recruitment, arguably one of the foundational pillars upon which any great online simulation league must be built. It's one thing to bring new members into the league and I think recently there has been a lot of good discussion about ways to go that. However, if the league is not set up to efficiency handle an influx of new members then all the efforts are wasted. By handle I mean having a system in place to help "onboard" new league members and, equally importantly, mentor them. One could view the function of recruitment (bringing new members in) as separate to supporting their growth, however I believe the two are inextricable.

 

Thus we come to the role of the VHL GM, one I possess the acumen to comment on (or so I'd like to think). Many would view the primary role of the VHL GM to be that of building winning teams, and within the business of professional sports that cannot be questioned. However, in an online simulation league I would argue that it's a secondary function or at least that's how I always viewed it. My top priority when being a GM was being a mentor first and team builder second. I always tried to ensure any member who played on my team always felt like their development came first with individual/team success coming second. It was crucial that we were a team in every sense of the word, which was challenging at times managing different asperations and expectations and often came at the sacrifice of my own players' performance. The reason I mention this is because as a VHL GM I felt responsible for the happiness of the members on my team. I wanted them to be active and engaged, because if they felt like their needs were being met then they would contribute more to the league. This would often tangentially result in having a more successful team because if everyone is active and feeling good then all the players would be getting better. Not to say that it was always smooth sailing and worked out, but I felt like this was a crucial element in why I had success as a GM by viewing them as members first and STHS players second. 

 

As many important roles as there are in online simulation leagues, a league will always be better positioned to capitalize on recruitment efforts if the GMs are the most active, engaged, and supportive members. Their ability to foster a sense of community and act as mentors should not be overlooked. One of the reasons why I have returned to some level of activity is the efforts @Spartan  has made to integrate me into the Moscow Menace. It is in stark contrast to the Helsinki GM would drafted me and never reached out to me or even offered me a contract, let alone answer my DMs. If every new member had an experience like the one I had when I was drafted this time around, then it really wouldn't matter what recruitment efforts are being made since they would likely all be wasted. Thus the importance of good GMs, as I likely wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for Spartan. 

[Spartan 4,531]

Happy to have you here with us man, and appreciate you being willing to be part of our rebuild. It's high praise to hear from someone as significant in the league's history as you.