To avoid the high risks of creating a large company group chat without a full ban on speaking, let’s discuss designating volunteers.

When a difficult task arises that requires someone to accept an unconventional and non-routine responsibility, broadcasting the call for volunteers is an efficient way to recruit volunteers. However, when making such a broadcast, pay attention to the following:

  • Clearly explain the problem, including its difficulty and risk. This is not only a matter of respecting the volunteers’ right to know, but also a way to honor their courage. Whoever dares to show interest in such a difficult task is admirable. Simply by explaining it sufficiently, you have already provided a double service to the volunteers.
  • Some people worry that if the task is too difficult, no one will volunteer, so they deliberately downplay the difficulty. This is foolish. Unless the task is a suicidal mission, the truth will eventually come to light, and you will never want to do such a recruitment again. Conversely, if you intentionally hide the difficulty, the volunteers will not only not be admired for their courage but will also be ridiculed for being careless and gullible.
  • The recruitment should be public, but the response from volunteers should not be public. This means that the target task and application conditions should be public, but those who want to apply should find a specific way to explain, register, and report, rather than asking “who is willing to stand up” in a public setting.

By following these tips, organizations can increase their chances of recruiting qualified and motivated volunteers for difficult tasks.

A volunteer is walking down a dark alleyway, carrying a heavy backpack. They are looking over their shoulder, as if they are being followed. This illustration represents the hidden enemies that can be found in large organizations, who may try to sabotage volunteers who are working on difficult tasks.

This has several benefits: first, the volunteers may not want to publicly apply. The difficulty of the task is one thing, but some additional and inexplicable peer pressure from companions who want to attack the “traitor” disrupting their “bottom-level rule” can make it even more difficult. Publicly applying is like directly challenging these people, and will invisibly raise the threshold for volunteering.

Second, since it is an implicit channel for volunteering, there is no loss of prestige for the party publishing the task without a public response. Don’t underestimate this point because, in fact, you have many silent enemies who are happy to even secretly cause such losses, and the larger the team, the greater the risk.

This is also why if you require public applications, there are hidden forces that will punish and strike at interested candidates. Since there is no opportunity to “undermine the leader’s prestige by passing without a public response” under the rules, you will not make any wrong decisions to get at least one volunteer.

A volunteer is standing in the doorway of a lighthouse, looking out at the sea. They are guiding ships to safety, even in the darkest of storms.

Third, the implicit volunteer mechanism gives you more mobilization space. Because now you can individually approach your own preferred subordinates to discuss the conditions - this private conversation can be more candid, and you can even offer additional conditions that do not exist on the table.

Just by privately approaching you, it is already an important signal - why are they approaching you and not someone else? At this point, you can talk to a few more people and observe their reactions to these private conversations - first, is anyone leaking the contents of these private conversations? Whoever leaks it will be removed from the priority list. This has nothing to do with the difficulty of the task or your subordinates’ capabilities, but whether they have the ability to keep secrets and execute tasks quietly.

Second, if a subordinate has other requests or suggestions in the process of communicating with you, they may not necessarily express them publicly, but they will definitely express them to you privately. Through this mechanism, you can listen to different opinions, collect suggestions, and improve the task plan. Therefore, creating a channel for implicit volunteer recruitment is not only beneficial to volunteers but also conducive to the success of the task.

A volunteer is standing in the doorway of a lighthouse, looking out at the sea. They are guiding ships to safety, even in the darkest of storms.

After the recruitment, you should carry out screening and selection based on the qualifications of the volunteers. If someone has made a public announcement of their intention to volunteer, you should give priority to this person, but you should also conduct additional inspections. In particular, you should focus on their ability to keep secrets, as well as their attitude and character. If you find any major problems, you can reject them without hesitation. If the recruitment mechanism is implicit, then the screening mechanism should also be implicit. After all, this is a task that requires secrecy, and the less public the process, the better.

After the screening, you should announce the results of the selection in a timely and clear manner, and communicate with the selected volunteers on the details of the task. It is important to clarify the scope, objectives, and standards of the task, and to ensure that the volunteers have a full understanding of their responsibilities and authority. If necessary, you can also provide them with additional training or support to help them complete the task.

During the implementation of the task, you should establish an effective communication and feedback mechanism with the volunteers. This includes regular meetings or briefings, progress reports, problem-solving sessions, and so on. You should also provide timely feedback and recognition for the volunteers’ work, and give them appropriate rewards or incentives based on their performance. This will not only motivate the volunteers but also enhance their sense of belonging and loyalty to the team.

In summary, the process of recruiting and managing volunteers for difficult tasks requires careful planning, clear communication, and effective coordination. By creating a channel for implicit volunteer recruitment and adopting a screening and selection mechanism based on qualifications and character, you can increase the success rate of the task and enhance the cohesion and trust of the team."