How to manage your domineering committee chair

Have you ever had to manage a high net worth volunteer who was 'impossible' to manage? Ever had staffing issues as a result of their behaviour? Ever dreaded meetings with the volunteer? Ever avoided telling them something because you could not bear the thought of their reaction? Did they sometimes act seemingly against the interests of the charity?

Well I can say 'yes' to all these things! So if you can identify with any of these traits in your committee chair then read on!

Firstly, although it is sometimes hard to recognise and accept this, there is a positive intention behind every behaviour. In this volunteer's case they are utterly passionate about the cause, they want to raise money and awareness of the charity but they also have other motivations that are non-altruistic, and there is nothing wrong with this. What might these be? Well to start with, my volunteer wanted to enhance her social status through the connections and networks that she was able to make through her involvement with a high profile charity. Secondly her life as a volunteer and her social life were one and the same. It is about recognising that there is absolutely no problem with this, and accepting that these are motivations, but as long as they are not against the interests of the charity, why bother?

Secondly, you need to lead from the front and stick up for your staff team. In my case I actually lost staff as a result of this volunteer's behaviour and that was hard to deal with. You need to be the front person dealing with the volunteer, not delegating it to more junior staff. You need to put up with sometimes unacceptable behaviour and take it on the chin...that's what you are paid to do. You need to be the person who sometimes have to deliver bad news, and do it in a way that is acceptable to them.

Thirdly, pick your battles. If your volunteer chair is approaching the charity's corporate partners for sponsorship for their event, this will be a priority. If however they are not consulting on the choice of florist for their next event, this might not be your priority. So choose carefully what behaviour you do challenge, commit to challenging that behaviour, and be prepared to give ground on lower priority areas. But stick to your guns on the important things.

Fourthly maintain regular communication. Meet regularly with your volunteer, even if you can't bear the thought of it! It is your job to manage this relationship. Make sure that you use these meetings to update the volunteer on all relevant issues and ask them to update you. Try to enjoy the meetings rather than dread them and the volunteer will see that in you. If you are smiling and relaxed, they will relax and give you an easier time.

Fifthly, make your volunteer feel loved and valued. I always used to send a thank you card after each event my volunteer organised, and regularly send hand-written thank you letters (yes fountain pen is best!) and on occasions flowers and small gifts - nothing over the top! Make them feel acknowledged in public. Big them up within your organisation, so that your colleagues and bosses understand the contribution they are making. Make sure your CEO or Director also thank and acknowledge their work. Always talk positively about your volunteer to colleagues, even if they are a complete pain in the ass!

Sixthly make sure your volunteer is briefed properly on the work of the charity. Make sure they are up to date on all new areas of work and that they are better informed than any of their committee members. Have your senior programme staff make friends with them, and invite senior programme staff along to committee meetings, so that they are also well informed. Try to get your committee chair to see the charity's work first hand, even if that means an overseas visit. Once they have seen the work they will be even more committed!

Finally agree targets for the year up front. Meet with them at the start of the year and agree which activities they will be doing, and also be clear with them about what you can and can't resource within your staff team. Agree financial targets and agree what they have the authority to do and what they will need to run by you. Having this kind of agreement is a great reference point over the course of the year.

Does any of this ring true? The important thing to remember is not to try to change your volunteer. You never will. But you might be able to change their behaviour for the better and that can only be good for your charity, for your team and for your own sanity. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Interns in the Charity Sector. A good or a bad thing?

Interns in the charity sector. A good or a bad thing?

There has been a debate raging for some time now about the use of interns in unpaid or low paid posts. This is not just restricted to the charity sector, but also the private and public sectors. I've been thinking about whether as a sector we should encourage or discourage internships. This is a controversial area, so I am sure not everyone will agree with my views! My motivation for writing this blog is not simply to muse over whether this is a good thing or not, but also to see if I can encourage organisations to develop best possible practice - because one thing is for sure, internships are here to stay. I'll state my view up front. Interns are a good thing only where the needs of the intern are given equal consideration to those of the organisation. 

It is a fact that there are more graduates in the workforce. In 1913 there were just 9,000 graduates in the workforce, whereas in 2012 the figure had increased to 408,000. As a result of this increase four in ten graduates are employed in non-graduate roles. It is therefore not surprising that there there is both a demand and supply for interns. Graduates want experience in the workplace; employers want to take advantage of this. In fact Employment Relations Minister, Jo Swinson has recently compiled a list of organisations using unfair or exploitative practice in relation to interns.

So what is bad practice in relation to interns in our sector? Firstly where the intern has been taken on to replace a paid post that the organisation can no longer afford. This is unacceptable and in my view exploitative. Secondly if the intern is being used to undertake boring or mindless work, that anyone could do. How are they gaining form this personally or professionally? Thirdly if the organisation provides no learning opportunities or professional or personal development. Fourthly if there is no formal beginning and end to the piece of work, and no induction. Finally where no expenses are paid and the intern is expected to fund travel to and from work or rely on the bank of mum and dad. 

So what does good practice look like. To state the obvious it is the opposite of the above! But perhaps I should be a bit more explicit. The role being given to the intern should be interesting and, if possible, project based. It should be time specific, preferably no more than three months.Objectives should be set and monitored throughout the internship. There should be personal and professional development provided throughout. This should start with an induction, during which the intern's personal needs and expectations should be identified, as should the needs of the organisation. It should end with t a final review of the intern's work, the project and what they have learnt. The intern should be assigned a mentor, or at very least a buddy, who can support them and also act as their advocate if necessary. Expenses should be paid for travel and lunch at the very least and any training should be funded. Finally the intern should have an equal opportunity to employees to apply for any internal vacancies.

I have had the experience of managing some exceptional interns and it is a joy when you find one who really gains from their experience. In many cases this has led to paid work opportunities in my own or other organisations. The charity sector is an incredibly hard sector to get into without relevant work experience and an internship is a useful way to gain this experience. I think there is a lot of ill-informed criticism of the use of internships, but I think if all employers saw them as a two-way relationship much of this criticism could be avoided