Here are two related committee stories I’ve encountered over the past week.

First, board members were interviewing an executive director candidate. The interview panel asked the candidate, currently employed in government, what was appealing about moving to a job in the nonprofit sector. The candidate explained that so much government time is spent in committee meetings and the job is consumed by process over progress. This candidate wanted to move to a job where they would more immediately see results.

The other story is of a nonprofit association scrutinizing the work of its committees. The elected chair decided that in order to attract prominent members to volunteer roles, the newcomers would be offered co-chair positions on key committees. Less than a year later, the organization is in damage control because a few committee co-chairs are heading in divergent directions and are not communicating with each other, the board of directors, or staff. In one case, a co-chair had made commitments to government that they had no authority to make.

The first verse of the “Ode to a Committee” poem summarizes how many volunteers (and staff in all sectors) honestly feel about committee service –

Oh give me your pity, I’m on a committee which means that from morning to night, we attend and amend, and contend and defend without a conclusion in sight.

Following these committee best practices can lead to a less painful experience.

Clear mandate and accountability

Even where committees are mandated through the by-laws of an organization, their accountability is to the elected representatives of the membership: the board of directors. The board will typically determine who will chair a committee (even if it is endorsing a recommendation from the board chair or a nominating committee) and, in some cases, who else serves on the committee. As a result, committees must advance the work that the membership, through the leadership of the board, expects. This should translate into a more strategic focus rather than doing the same old thing year after year.

Terms of reference and job descriptions

Committees need a broader definition of their duties than a name (e.g., External Relations Committee). The organization’s governors need to provide fulsome detail on the committee’s responsibilities, deliverables, etc.

Every office holder within a committee, notably the committee chair, vice-chair, and member, also requires a distinct job description. For example, are any members of a committee authorized to contract on behalf of the organization (think of a hotel contract for an event)? What are their duties at meetings (be prepared, participate, etc.)?

When a committee or task force is created the Board of Directors must define, for each, the:

• Purpose
• Chair, and membership (member selection may be delegated to the committee chair)
• Duties, functions or responsibilities (i.e., the deliverables and limitations)
• Meetings and time commitments required by members
• Staff contact person
• Budget

Standing committees — those that are necessary each year to carry out the work of the organization — should be directly linked to the business lines (or organizational goals) of the nonprofit. Business lines or goals are the high levels of strategic activity that deliver value to members and accomplish the mission. Typically, in nonprofits, these goals include advocacy, education and standards, programs/services, and organizational excellence (excellence in governance and management practices). To illustrate:

Goal	Committee Names/Focus
Advocacy, Public Relations, Awareness	External Relations Government Relations Communications
Education, Certification, Accreditation	Professional Development Training Professional Standards Continuing Education
Programs/Services	Research Technology Services Tangible/Cost-saving Services
Organizational Excellence	Executive Finance Human Resources Nominating Volunteer Development

 

In the earlier example of the organization that had committee co-chairs doing work they were not authorized to do, a job description, volunteer orientation, and ongoing board oversight would eliminate the confusion and chaos. Problems arise because responsibilities and constraints are not well defined. Overstepping boundaries or failing to perform are usually the consequence of a volunteer’s lack of knowledge, not malicious intent.

The primary duties of a committee chair will include:

• Understanding and communicating the board’s expectations to the committee
• Reporting on committee recommendations and results to the board (this should involve preparing a written report)
• Orienting committee members to their specific responsibilities (e.g., duties of the vice chair)
• Planning meetings (e.g., scheduling, logistics, advance documentation, ensuring quorum, etc.), often in consultation with staff
• Developing the meeting agenda (often in consultation with others such as the staff, board chair, and committee members) to ensure the committee’s work plan is addressed and accomplished
• Guiding the committee through the meeting agenda
• Ensuring minutes are kept and distributed shortly after the meeting

Committee chairs, and committees, have no latitude to do work not authorized.

Annual committee work plan

The board and staff should be following both a strategic plan with longer-term goals as well as an annual plan. Committees need their plan to focus on how their work will advance the goals of the organization in the area of purview assigned to the committee (e.g., education). The committee’s work plan will be based on what the board requires the committee to accomplish and must finally be approved by the board. Additional insight is usually found by referring to the by-laws and the committee’s terms of reference.

Committee reports

As committees have accountability to the board and in some cases also to the membership (e.g., the nominating committee), without exception they have an obligation to keep the governing body informed of their progress on the tasks assigned to them.

Boards often ask how to handle committee reports at directors’ meetings. The best practice is to have a committee report template so there is consistency in style and presentation. The report should focus on what the committee requires of the board (i.e., a decision). Committee reports that reflect committee activity, with no action needed from the board other than to receive the report, can be placed into a consent agenda category (requiring an omnibus motion by the board to receive all such reports as information). This saves time so the board can concentrate on decision-making. Verbal reports should be discouraged, particularly if they are providing information that should have been in a written report and sent to the board in advance. Last minute information undermines knowledge-based decision-making.

Member selection/committee assignments

The board needs to take care in appointing members to key committee roles and give due consideration to any pre-requisites for committee service (e.g., prior volunteer service in the area of committee focus). The Ontario Real Estate Association established the Centre for Association Leadership Training, which provides excellent, foundational volunteer training through online courses.

A number of organizations will survey directors and other members to have them identify, and prioritize, the committees of particular interest to them (whether as a chair or as a committee member). Qualifications and enthusiasm or interest are key factors in the selection process of members asked to serve on a committee.

Annual review/evaluation

The board needs to evaluate each committee’s relevance and whether it is needed annually. Even in those cases where a standing committee is called for in the by-laws, it may not be necessary to have a working committee in a given year. Herb Perry, CAE, author of Call to Order, recommends the focus be “if this committee did not exist, would we need to create it?”

An example is a by-laws committee that has just reviewed and updated by-laws to be compliant with legal and organizational needs. The by-laws have been approved by the members at the annual meeting and the relevant government authority. Why now strike a by-laws committee when the work is done? Those volunteers may be better deployed elsewhere.

The annual committee review will also take into account the work plan and what needs to continue, and what work has been achieved. This also supports the board in setting the deliverables for a committee’s work plan in the following year.

In this evaluation, the board may also want to have a strategic discussion about all committees: what’s working well, what’s not working so well, and strategies to improve the areas that require attention or improvement. Ad-hoc committees, or task forces, will be more appropriate where the task or issue is finite (with a deadline date for completion identified).

In many nonprofit organizations, committees are essential in carrying out the work the membership and board requires. They must not be a waste of time. The best committees are ones that are functional, productive, and accomplishing the outcomes expected of them. Through clear terms of reference, role descriptions, plans, and reporting protocols, committees have every opportunity to be interesting, highly valued, and even fun.

Content is © Jack Shand and is reprinted with permission.

Jack Shand, CMC, CAE, is president of Leader Quest, a management consulting firm providing expert advice to not-for-profit organizations since 1997. Leader Quest specializes in executive search/staff recruitment, strategic planning, governance, and organizational reviews. Jack can be reached at 905-842-3845 and 1-877-929-4473, or jack-at-leaderquest-dot-com.