Staff Expectations

STAFF MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS

Staff Manager Expectations

You are responsible for the overall organization, standards, expectations, and accountability of the administrative staff team.

Your job is not to personally manage every Moderator or Admin. Your job is to establish what is expected of the staff force, ensure the Lead Admins are properly managing their teams, and make final personnel decisions regarding who is or is not staff.

Responsibilities:

• Establish expectations, standards, and procedures for all administrative staff.
• Determine the behavior and performance expected from Moderators, Admins, and Lead Admins.
• Maintain the overall structure of the administrative staff team.
• Assign staff members to Lead Admin teams.
• Approve or deny staff recruitment.
• Make final decisions regarding promotions, demotions, transfers, and staff removals.
• Hold Lead Admins accountable for the performance, activity, and conduct of their teams.
• Resolve disagreements between Lead Admins when necessary.
• Ensure enforcement standards remain consistent between all three teams.
• Review serious allegations of staff misconduct or abuse of authority.
• Ensure Lead Admins are properly training and developing their staff.
• Identify leadership gaps, inactivity, burnout, poor performance, or staffing shortages.
• Intervene when a team is dysfunctional, improperly managed, or operating outside staff expectations.
• Ensure the administrative staff team follows the direction established by the Server Manager, COO, and CEO.

You should normally manage the staff force through the Lead Admins instead of bypassing them during routine operations.

The Staff Manager has final authority over staff membership, promotions, demotions, removals, and team assignments.

Lead Admin Expectations

You are the leader of an assigned administrative team.

You have full operational authority over the Admins and Moderators assigned to your team and are responsible for their performance, discipline, development, activity, and effectiveness.

Responsibilities:

• Direct the day-to-day operations of your assigned team.
• Give instructions and assignments to Admins and Moderators on your team.
• Establish operational priorities during active rounds.
• Ensure tickets, reports, investigations, and moderation issues are being handled.
• Ensure your team maintains adequate staff coverage.
• Mentor and develop the Admins assigned to your team.
• Ensure Admins are properly supervising and developing Moderators.
• Correct improper enforcement or poor staff behavior.
• Review significant or controversial actions taken by members of your team.
• Ensure your team follows server rules, staff procedures, and Staff Manager expectations.
• Recommend recruitment, promotion, demotion, transfer, or removal to the Staff Manager.
• Monitor inactivity and poor performance within your team.
• Resolve disagreements between members of your team.
• Report serious staff concerns to the Staff Manager.
• Coordinate with the other Lead Admins during major incidents or server-wide problems.

Lead Admins are expected to run their teams without requiring the Staff Manager to micromanage routine operations.

Lead Admin Cross-Team Authority

Lead Admins are senior operational leaders of the administrative staff force.

Because of this, a Lead Admin may give reasonable operational instructions to an Admin or Moderator belonging to another Lead Admin's team when necessary for server operations.

Examples Include:

• Directing staff to respond to a major incident.
• Assigning available staff to tickets or investigations.
• Coordinating staff during high-population rounds.
• Ordering a lower-ranking staff member to stop improper staff behavior.
• Reassigning immediate operational priorities during an emergency.
• Coordinating coverage when another team has insufficient staff online.

However, giving operational instructions does not give a Lead Admin personnel control over another Lead Admin's team.

A Lead Admin may not independently:

• Add someone to another Lead Admin's team.
• Remove someone from another Lead Admin's team.
• Permanently transfer staff between teams.
• Promote another team's staff member.
• Demote another team's staff member.
• Remove another team's member from staff.
• Override another Lead Admin's long-term personnel decisions.

If a Lead Admin has a serious issue with another team's staff member, the issue should be documented and brought to that staff member's Lead Admin or the Staff Manager.

Operational Authority: Lead Admins may direct lower-ranking staff from any team when reasonably necessary.

Personnel Authority: Lead Admins only directly control the personnel assigned to their own team.

Admin Expectations

You are a supervisor and assistant leader within your assigned Lead Admin team.

Your primary responsibility is supervising Moderators, helping them make good decisions, handling situations that require additional experience or authority, and assisting your Lead Admin with the operation of the team.

Responsibilities:

• Supervise Moderators assigned to your team.
• Provide guidance when Moderators are uncertain.
• Assist Moderators with complicated tickets, investigations, and player situations.
• Take over situations that exceed Moderator authority or experience.
• Review Moderator decisions when necessary.
• Ensure Moderators remain professional and follow staff expectations.
• Help train and develop newer Moderators.
• Assign Moderators to tickets or operational priorities when directed or necessary.
• Handle enforcement matters requiring greater authority or experience.
• Document significant disciplinary actions and unusual incidents.
• Identify Moderators who require additional training, correction, or supervision.
• Report serious staff performance problems to your Lead Admin.
• Carry out instructions issued by your Lead Admin.
• Help maintain team operations when your Lead Admin is unavailable.
• Coordinate with other Admins during busy rounds and major incidents.

Admins are supervisors and assistant leaders. They are not independent team commanders.

Your job is to supervise the frontline staff force, provide escalation support, and make sure Moderators have the leadership they need to succeed.

Moderator Expectations

You are the primary frontline force of the administrative staff team.

Moderators should handle the majority of routine player issues, tickets, reports, investigations, questions, and normal rule enforcement.

Responsibilities:

• Respond to routine admin tickets.
• Investigate player reports.
• Handle ordinary rule violations within your authority.
• Help players with server and rule questions.
• Monitor the round for disruptive or rule-breaking behavior.
• De-escalate player conflicts when possible.
• Gather facts and context before taking administrative action.
• Issue routine enforcement actions permitted by your authority.
• Document incidents and punishments when required.
• Escalate serious, complicated, or unclear situations to an Admin.
• Follow reasonable instructions from Admins and Lead Admins.
• Maintain calm and professional communication with players.
• Avoid unnecessary interference with legitimate roleplay.
• Report suspected staff misconduct through the chain of command.
• Accept correction and guidance from Admins and Lead Admins.
• Continue developing your knowledge of the rules and enforcement philosophy.
• Maintain an active staff presence during rounds.

Moderators are expected to perform the majority of normal administrative work.

Admins and Lead Admins exist to supervise, support, coordinate, and handle escalation — not to replace the Moderator force.

ADMINISTRATIVE CHAIN OF COMMAND

VAULT-TEC COMMAND STRUCTURE
CLEAR AUTHORITY. CLEAR RESPONSIBILITY.

Staff Manager
→
Lead Admin
→
Admin
→
Moderator

Authority Summary

STAFF MANAGER
Sets staff expectations and controls staff membership.
Final authority over recruitment, promotions, demotions, removals, transfers, and team assignments.

LEAD ADMIN
Commands and manages an assigned staff team.
Full operational control of their team and operational authority over lower-ranking staff when necessary.

ADMIN
Supervises and assists the Moderator force.
Handles escalation, training, supervision, and higher-level administrative situations.

MODERATOR
Primary frontline administrative force.
Handles the majority of tickets, player reports, routine investigations, and normal rule enforcement.

Command Principle

Staff Manager sets the standard.
Lead Admins command the teams.
Admins supervise the force.
Moderators execute the mission.

VAULT-TEC NOTICE:
Authority should be exercised at the lowest appropriate level while responsibility remains clearly defined.