staff team
How to Draw Out Challenges Weighing On Your Team
A typical staff meeting can feel very productive, have a great conversation, but still not reveal the stressors a team is facing. The reluctance to speak up can vary with reasons from being unsure if a topic is appropriate, to feeling it won’t matter. But is does matter because a healthy staff...
First 30 Days for a New Non-Profit Executive Director
Whether it’s a first job as an executive director or a first day at a new non-profit, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. That’s because the 4 key areas of a non-profit executive director’s job are massive. Those 4 areas are: governance/board support and policy management; making sure...
3 Steps to Get Ready for Holiday Office Closure
The holidays are right around the corner and taking time off from work can provide a much-needed break. Whether a non-profit closes for one week, two weeks, or a set number of days, a holiday office closure isn’t a simple weekend, with everyone back at their desks on Monday. The longer time...
Offices are Closed for TWO Weeks
Non-profits are not typically wealthy organizations. No matter how many grant applications are approved, or donations are received, those funds are used primarily for fulfilling the vision and mission of the organization. That sometimes translates into paying salaries that are not quite as high...
Take the Guess Work Out of Non-Profit Gift Giving
Here and there throughout the operating year, a non-profit will give different kinds of gifts. It might be a gift when an employee reaches a work milestone. It might be a gift to thank a summer student. It might be a farewell gift for a departing board member. There is nothing like the...
How to Write a Job Description
A clear job description is an important part of every position. Potential employees want a clear picture of the position before applying, to be sure the job is the right fit for them. Current employees want a clear picture of the work they’ve been hired to complete. Employers need a place...
Is a Time Sheet Needed for a Salaried Employee?
Its easy to think time sheets are only for hourly employees that work a shift, no more, no less. Salaried employees often have an unwritten expectation to ‘just get the job done’ no matter how long it takes. But that’s a system that favours the employer and can quickly burn out an employee. If...
How to debrief, well, …anything
In the heat of the moment, everyone has a comment (or 15) about the workshop/event/meeting they are experiencing (usually about the bad coffee). A week later, at the official debriefing meeting, the comments have dried up and no one really has anything to share. Don’t waste an opportunity for...
Why a Letter of Employment is Needed Each Year
If your non-profit has employees, whether full-time, part-time, or casual, the nuances of the work arrangement will shift from year to year. It is easy to think the initial Offer of Employment letter will capture enough details for the entire term of employment, but reality tells us that’s just...
How a Non-Profit Can Hire the RIGHT First Employee
As a smaller non-profit grows, volunteers take on more and more of the operational tasks. What might have started as a couple dozen people hosting a few fundraising events each year or taking turns to open the park gates and collect the garbage, quickly turns into volunteer burnout and a...
Back to Work After the Holidays Without the Overwhelm
The holidays are over. If you haven’t returned to the usual work week, that will likely be happening very soon. Its no fun when the holidays come to an end. Navigating those first few days back after a holiday can be a little depressing and a lot overwhelming, with all the paperwork, emails,...
The Strange Work of a Non-Profit Executive Director
As we wrap up the fourth quarter of 2021, I’m getting ready to start the fourth quarter of my operating year, and planning for the first quarter of the next year. It’s a weird overlap that happens each year. January through March is the fourth quarter of my current operating year, and we want...
Snow Day
We are in the middle of a big windstorm as I write this. I understand the wind will bring a blizzard overnight. I’m doing my best to try not to think about power outages, no heat, no internet, and all the panels the wind is ripping off my patio cover. The flickering lights and the on/off...
I’m Sorry, John Doesn’t Work Here
This is the season when most non-profits will begin to think about strategic planning for the new year. One of the key components in any strat plan is a review of what’s going on with stakeholders. But we spend so much time staying in touch, monitoring trends and needs, that we can often forget...
Paid Time Off
This August we’re talking about taking time off, holidays, vacation, and everything in between. Last week we talked about 3 easy exercises you can try to feel less ‘guilty’ about taking time off. This week let’s look at paid time off from another angle. WHEN CAN YOU START USING...
Summer Holidays
Summer is here and we know its going to be short. Every non-profit executive director needs to take time off, actual holidays, while the weather is nice. But, wow, its hard, right? Right from our early days working at a non-profit, we’re trained to feel guilty if we don’t work every day....
Who Is the Boss
Non-profits have different structures and different groups of people who handle different tasks. So how do you tell who's the boss? Well, it doesn't really work like that in a non-profit. There is no one person who is the single head boss. There is however a structure that non-profits follow....
Orientation Plan
I started a new (virtual) employee this summer and because it was a very busy time, I created a very detailed orientation plan. It was very successful, and I thought I would share with you how I structured that plan. We are a virtual team so everything we do is handled by distance. But it...
Annual Evaluations
I made some changes over the last couple of years on how I handle evaluations for my staff team. I work pretty hard to handle the good and the bad using a day-to-day approach. That is more empowering for the team throughout the year and leaves a lot less to be ‘evaluated’ at the end of the...
From No Employees to a Paid Team
When a non-profit first starts there will be a team of volunteers who handle all the work. They might also double as board members. Those early days are usually pretty lean, but everyone pitches in and the work gets done. When a non-profit grows a little more and the work that's required is...
Keeping Employee Files
Your non-profit likely has a privacy policy. If your non-profit has a web site, you for sure have a privacy policy. The policy talks about how you will collect and store information about your customers, clients, and maybe stakeholders. But have you thought about a privacy policy as it pertains...
Planning for a New Member of the Team
I'm Hiring Again [groan] Today I learned that one of my direct reports will be going on maternity leave. In Canada, that means they can be away for up to 18 months. So..., I'll be hiring again. It is a lot of work and I don't love it, but that's the job. It got me thinking I should update the...
Are you keeping secrets? I am. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.
I’ve been with my organization for almost 10 years and while I have no thoughts of leaving, a nagging question keeps coming up, am I doing tasks that might be hard for someone to take over when I retire. I’ll give you two examples. I handle all the bookkeeping* using Sage50 Pro. I know...
Write a Letter of Support in Under an Hour
You’ve been asked to write a letter of support. Now what? Don’t panic. There is an easy formula you can follow to write a great letter without working overtime. Let’s get started. REQUIRED INFO Begin by pulling together some required information. The name of the person to whom the...