This time last week, I was sharing a stage at BlogWorld & New Media Expo New York with three fabulous gents, Jim Storer, David Spinks, and Dan Brostek. We were chatting about hiring community managers-what to look for in the people you hire, how to prepare the organization, and how to set internal and external community expectations. Perhaps in the social media bubble, the need and responsibilities for a community manager have been established, but outside the bubble, people are still exploring how to incorporate a social presence into overall business goals and experiencing the pangs of a changing corporate culture. This past month on the Radian6 Social Strategy blog, we have stressed the importance of internal training. Let’s end this month discussing three important lessons learned to remember before hiring and training community managers.

Quality Over Quantity

The question of scale always comes into play when discussing the integration of social media strategy and community engagement. While it is important to be aware of the conversations occurring across the social web, it is not realistic to think an organization can dive in and begin to engage in all communities and in all conversations from the onset. The lure of social media engagement has been built on the experience of a meaningful two-way dialogue. Just as you monitor for relevant conversations to add meaningful and quality interaction, you need to seek out the folks who can facilitate and encourage this healthy dialogue.

Having a person on your community team who can handle rough conversations with grace, able to solve issues on the spot, and can think about engagement and content creation through a strategic lens is worth more than ten people who lack the life and business experience or initiative to handle such situations. Yes, head count is important, but before you hand over the keys to your company, ensure you have the right combination of folks to represent the humanness of your organization. Warming a seat may only be fueling a future firestorm.

Nurture Versus Nature

You can teach people how to use new tools and technology, however, it is not so easy to rewire how a person balances time or the processes employed to solve a problem. As you look at the makeup of your current community team or the team you envision, are you considering the skills required outside of brand engagement? Analytical and project management skills are invaluable for a community manager to employ. Check out this infographic from Get Satisfaction blog. The community manager needs to be able to process and execute more than a status update.

Being a “people person” is an added bonus if the person has the skills necessary to be solution oriented and have the natural ability to make the community the hero of the conversation. There are many hats (and counting) a community manager must wear. Understand what can be taught and what has to already be present in the person or team you hire.

Community Health

No, I am not talking about the health of those folks that make up your community. While those folks are extremely important and not to be discounted, it is important you recognize the toll community management takes on a community manager. You know the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Not quite true, is it? Imagine the people who are on the front lines taking the brunt of the people’s frustrations and emotions day in and day out. Even if your community is satisfied, the emotional investment of community interaction begins to take a toll on those who facilitate these conversations.

The folks over at #cmgrchat tackled this very topic in February. The folks you may tend to hire feel very connected to their communities and may find it difficult to step away and take care of themselves. After all that you invest in your employees and the communities they serve, your organization cannot afford to have a community manager burn out. Social media may serve as an outlet for your community, not the community manager. As this role becomes more main stream, the responsibilities will continue to evolve and mature. Address this issue now and nurture the health and continued education of community managers, so when (not if) a situation develops, the community manager can focus 100% on the needs of the community.

What lessons have you learned for hiring community managers? Please share how you develop your own team.