After more than 20 years working with Non-Profit Organizations- in the Arts, Community and Social Services industries – this is a question that comes to mind time and time again.
Sad to say, there are frequent failures in almost all of the important areas for which Governance is responsible. Here are three of the most basic and the most important.
1. Lack of Purpose. One of the first obligations of a Trust or Society is to state, in its founding documents, the legal purpose of the Organisation. But it’s not enough to have this tucked away in the Trust Deeds where nobody will ever see it. It needs to be summed up in a Mission Statement which will serve as a motivation to staff. It should also be stated as a Pledge to the customer.
2. Lack of focus on the Mission Statement. There’s no point having one if nobody knows what it is. It should be known to everyone in the Organisation. It should be written – on stationery, displayed on walls. One of the prime indicators of a loyal, contented and consolidated workforce is the sense of working together for a clearly stated common cause.
Stated as a Pledge, of course, it should be known to the customer and the community or demographic in which potential customers live. It should appear on letterheads, websites, office walls etc. and be foremost in mind in everything that everyone in the organization does.
3. Lack of a comprehensive and accessible Policies and Procedures Manual. This is yet another prerequisite for excellence in staff performance and is necessary to the sense of competency and job security which fosters loyalty and ambassadorship.
There should be Policies covering legal compliances, financial management, reputation management, employment, customer services, product quality, accountabilities, ethics, stakeholder relationships, internal communications and relationships complaints procedures, and environmental policies for a start.
Each Policy statement should be underwritten by a set of procedures or practices which staff can refer to when carrying out their work. These should be reviewed at least annually and procedural reviews should involve the input of those who are actually carrying out the work.
These are the very basics that establish and continue to inform the “What you are doing”, (your purpose), “Why you are doing it” (your mission), “How ethically you are doing it” (your standards, or policies, by which you will do it), and the “How you are doing it” (ie the procedures and actions which will result in the success of your mission).
Only when these basics are in place can you move forward.
Flat Tak Communications 