community values

why echo?

Echo stands for the Economy of Hours - an economy based on the exchange of time and human talents.

We believe it’s time for an economy that looks beyond just money, and fosters the exchange of real value that helps communities thrive - the sharing of skills, advice, relationships, networks and goodwill.

The Echo system is rooted in reciprocity, and has radical equality at its core. We value everybody’s time and skills equally no matter what your title, skill or experience.

We’re creating a new economy based on fairness, care and inclusion, and everyone’s invited. It’s time.

We are supportive
We make sure that our members feel safe, and promote a sense of trust across the community.
We are creative
We are committed to finding new ways to do things and creative ways to solve problems.
We are connected
We are an interconnected network built on trust, where all our members commit to shared values.
We are
collaborative
Our community works together collectively, building a network based around the spirit of connectivity and respect.
We are innovative
What we’re doing has never been done before! We encourage feedback, ideas and participation from all of our members, because we never want to stop learning.

Offering skills and help on Echo

All offers should be clear, honest and appropriate for our community – we do not want to include offers which could offend other members or make them feel uncomfortable.

To ensure that we are valuing the time and skills of all our members, we do not accept offers that could be viewed as ‘sales leads’ or that do not have inherent standalone value (eg free trials, one-off free sessions). We recommend that you are as clear as possible in your offer about how much of your time you can offer to avoid any misunderstandings when trading with other members.

Be aware that if the service you’re offering does require insurance or a professional qualification, you’ll need to confirm you have this before you offer this service on Echo – this is really important to help us make sure we keep all our members safe.

Now and then we get offers which don’t quite fit with our values. In these cases, we’ll get in touch to help you reframe your offer to market it effectively to our community.

TRADING WITH OTHER MEMBERS

We expect Echo members to be courteous, patient and friendly throughout the trading process – in all your online and face to face interactions. Our community is built on trust and mutual respect, so we will not accept any rude, malicious, unwholesome or discriminatory behaviour between Echo members, either within or outside of an Echo trading situation.

We expect Echo members to treat Echo trades like they would any other service or piece of work. This includes being on time for any meetings or appointments agreed and providing goods or services at the time, date and location that you agreed. If you are delayed or cannot keep a promise you should inform the other Echo member straight away.

We recommend that you take appropriate measures to make sure you’re safe during the trading process – where possible, meet in a public place and don’t share any personal details (address etc) if you’re not comfortable doing so.

Please note that Echo does not take any responsibility for members’ trades. We do our very best to ensure a happy trading experience, but it’s up to members to make sure they’ve got relevant insurance (if required) and that they keep themselves safe during trades.

Very occasionally, if we feel an Echo member has behaved in a way which isn’t in line with our community values, we reserve the right to remove or edit listings, or consider suspending membership.

got a concern?

If at any time in your Echo experience you feel concerned that these standards haven’t been met, please get in touch with the team: hello@economyofhours.com