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How can organizations encourage and incentivize helping behavior among their members?

Lavon Letson

As a user of several social networks, I believe that organizations can encourage and incentivize helping behavior in different ways.

First, well-designed incentives can be a great way to motivate users to offer their help either to the organization or to other members. For instance, an organization can launch a reward program that grants points, badges, discounts, or any other type of perk to members based on how much they contribute to the group. By offering attractive incentives, organizations can encourage users to engage more actively in discussions, help others with their queries, or even provide valuable feedback to the organization.

One more method to encourage helpfulness is through community building. The more closely and intimately users can engender a sense of not just a cohesive online community, but an extended family, the more naturally they will help their social network members out of loyalty. This might come with enhanced options for interaction, such as areas to vent or relate beyond the standard message/comment fields. A strong sense of family that adds specifically personal dimensions to the group will foster a caring atmosphere in which members will be more inclined to cooperate and amplify mutually beneficial behaviors.

Another method for promoting help among users is by sharing success stories of individuals or teams. Sharing these stories will not only spread the word regarding what benefits the group offers to its members, but also showcase the positive impact that the efforts of those supporters have already made. It will help remind all members of the sense of purpose their group has and give them renewed enthusiasm and reason to contribute as well.

Finally, encouraging users to take part in decision-making processes or to provide feedback that improves services and products offered by the organization can significantly incentivize involvement. When users' opinions are taken into account and then acted upon by an organization, it can increase followers’ senses of belonging and the usefulness of their contributions.

In brief, one way or another, an organization must always provide a conducive atmosphere for skills and knowledge enhancement through assistance from more experienced members. The sharing of ideas and expertise will nourish a sense of belonging and even increase the sense of ownership among members. This will help in building an even stronger cohesive network of knowledge shapers and leaders in which ideas can flourish, benefiting the organization and the networks' members.