Intergalactic Summit

When I buy a ship off of the market, the very next thing I do is hire a full complement of crew to manage the various systems on said ship. Sometimes, this results in a completely different crew makeup than is assigned to one of my other ships, which in turn causes differences of opinion. Of course, some crew transfers over to the new ship, but most likely I have a brand new crew with every new ship.

I know I have been ranting about the Caldari lately, but I treat my OWN crew VERY well, as they are all Gallente citizens. However, every new crew comes with some differences of opinion, and just by having that initial crew meeting I can tell right off if we will run into problems later. Most crew I have, if they have been flying with me for a while would do so until their end, but my question is, how do you smooth things over with a new crew?

Frigate crews are a no-brainer - I usually only need 4-5 people running various systems. Larger ships make it harder to manage crews as size increases, whereas I hired a crew along with the purchase of a Typhoon-class battleship that has collectively threatened to prank me by draining my pod on more than one occasion.

After a while they are loyal to the end, but I'm having problems smoothing over rough starts, and wanted to know how other capsuleers do it. I'm drawing a blank here...

The short answer: you don't.

The long answer: By establishing a proper chain of command and enforcing it. It's not your job to "smooth it over" with the crew, it's your job to lead it.

Rum. Women. Isk. And the occasional shoosting.

An excellent question, Mr. Achasse, and one which you will likely find the best answer to through your own experience.

As for The Knights of Polaris, our crew members are hired by our human resources department in station and on select planets in The Federation. Every Officer and Non-Commisioned Officer selected is of the highest caliber, in both experience and education. Every crew member is background checked.

Our non-capsuleer members are a welcome addition to our team, and we encourage strong values within the organization. Each crew member receives a benefits package, which includes; hazardous duty pay, family separation allowance, health and education benefits, 60 days of paid vacation a year, and more.

They also enjoy our Rest and Relaxation (R&R) facilities located at our offices in station.

It is a great loss when we lose any of our crew members due to hostile fire, and it pains me when I have to send out a condolence letter to their families. However it is a hazard of the job which they are fully aware of, and those crew members who manage to evacuate a ship by escape pod during times of emergency are welcomed back to their posts after a thorough debrief.

Of course none of this would be possible without each element of our organization working together to ensure it's function.

As for me I do occasionally meet and greet my crew members, and sometimes even turn wrenches with the mechanics.

I find a smile and a few gentle words work wonders. If that fails, shove the offending party(s) into the air lock and make an example out of them. Diplomacy is a lot more simple then diplomats let on.

Ship's crew are employees. The majority of my crews are either select personnel hired from the Caldari Navy, or more frequently from the Watch. They maintain discipline because it is their duty, and a duty they are well-compensated for. Their compensation package is robust, with comprehensive health, full retirement, hazard pay, paid leave, and imprisonment in case of dereliction of duty.

Disciplinary or other performance issues are grounds for termination, and termination with cause is a potent black mark on a citizen's employment history.

That you need to maintain your crew as a-- what, a group of friends? What do you do? Have drum circles? I-- I can't even imagine.

Edit; Oh. A small mention. Bereavement pay. For example, my Tengu, the PTSV Yamabushi, had aboard a crewman whose sole duty was to tend to my sanctuary. He was a minor celebrity in his home district for his modern and very much ascetic style of gardening. When the Tengu was lost with all hands in J144605, I paid out a rather considerable bereavement and lost-wages award to his surviving family, and made various assurances for education, training, and employment of his children to prevent a public relations debacle. Needless to say, a headache-enducing experience. Still, necessary. My employee retention rates improved markedly after that.

If there is a difference of opinion between myself and a crew member we sit down for twenty minutes, talk about it, and then agree that I was right.

I've piloted ships that have been crewed by Ni-Kunni, Vherokior, Intaki, Deteis, Brutor, Civire, Gallente... you get the point. All that matters is that they share my ideology. I keep them obedient by cutting them in on my acquisitions. Simple as that.

You might as well be asking how a God manages his worshipers. I suspect that many of us have long since field away the marginally inconvenient fact that our ships have self-aware biological components, aka crews. Without them our ships would be less efficient, and the larger classes unmanageable to some degree.

Personally, I have long since delegated the management of my ship crews to a few trusted officers, leaving me to interface with them on an as need basis. I do not need to enslave or drug my crews to ensure their loyalty. Unlike us capsuleers, they do worry about their lives and want to enjoy them so decent pay and R&R at halfway decent stations is typically enough to keep them in line.

Serving aboard a capsuleer vessel on prolonged deep space duty is an experience unlike any other for the baseline crew. Time itself has a way of conforming the crew to the person and personality of its capsuleer captain. Who you are will eventually be reflected in what your crew becomes. They will mirror you. Each new crew will go through that process at its own pace and time. If you are a man firm in conviction and value, your crew will become likewise. If you are conflicted, your crew will become likewise.