Hexitime new Open to Requests badge
The Hexitime structure of posting offers and requesting assistance is a great way for allowing members to share their skills and knowledge with a wider audience. We have seen far more offers of help than requests. Although this is a sign of the community's generosity, we would also like people to feel more at ease with requesting help.?
One blocker to making this request is the perceived vulnerability of asking for help publicly, and although at Hexitime we hope all members feel they can do so without judgement, we wanted to add a way to take this out of the equation.
The new Open to Requests badge provides this by infusing the community with psychological safety. You can add this to your profile if you are happy for other Hexitimers to contact you to request information, skills, knowledge or just a little of your time. This can be done through private messaging, creating a way to reach out without making it public.
As a Hexitime member adding the badge to your profile, you don't need to have any offers on the platform, you are simply opening yourself up to helping as needed. You should therefore make sure your profile is up to date, including your skills and interests, to better match need to supply. You can also record a short video by way of introduction, including ways in which you could help, and add that to your profile.?
When you are contacted by a fellow Hexitimer requesting help, you can then decide whether you're the right person. You agree the details of the exchange - how you can help and over how many hours.?
After the exchange, you can ask us to set up an activity for you to record the exchange, or the person requesting help can simply donate credits to you, by clicking the donate credit button on your profile page. Typically 1 hour is 1 credit.?
This approach not only allows a more private request, but also a more tailored exchange.?
You can also add the jigsaw puzzle piece emoji to your social media profiles to let others know you Hexitime and are #partofthebiggerpicture to improving health and care.