To Ensure the Organization has Sufficient and Appropriate Human Resources 

Human Resources - Staff

The board is the legal employer of all staff and as such is responsible for the working conditions in the organization. In many organizations it is only the senior staff person who reports directly to the board. This is usually the Executive Director. The board is responsible for:

• Hiring the senior staff person;
• Giving direction to the senior staff person, particularly through HR policies;
• Evaluating the senior staff person.

Examples of HR policies include: 

-          A  fair and transparent recruitment / hiring process

-          Administering salaries, benefits, and grievance pay which comply with applicable legislation and/ or guidelines followed by other organizations in the field

-          Providing staff and volunteers with job descriptions, orientation, training opportunities, and performance appraisals

-          Ensuring that employment practices and workplace safety regulations (Municipal, Provincial, and Federal) are complied with

-          Ensuring that volunteers are screened based on the level of risk associated with their position

-          Adopting the Volunteer Canada’s Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement

-          Ensuring that volunteers are properly supervised and that they receive recognition for their commitment

To view sample Human Resource policies on a variety of topics, visit:

http://www.hrcouncil.ca/policies/pg003_e.cfm

Human Resources – Board Members

The board is also responsible for ensuring the capability, suitability and vitality of its membership. Generally, a Nominating Committee recruits the best people to serve the organization based on their ongoing monitoring and understanding of the board needs.

Board-Staff Relations

The working relationships between board members and staff can either enhance or limit the output of each. For example, boards that put unrealistic, rigorous demands on staff limit the ability of staff to carry out their usual roles. On the other hand, staff that do not provide accurate information to the board regarding organizational operations limit the ability of the board to do its work effectively.

The following factors contribute to healthy board-staff relations:

• Mutual understanding of the organization’s mission, values, and goals (short- and long-term)
• Clear understanding of distinct and shared responsibilities
• Effective communication
• Respect of each other’s competence and skills
• Accommodation of schedules; when asking for something to be done, for example, ensure that the person you are asking is able to fit the work into his/ her schedule

To determine the effectiveness of board-staff communication, consider the following:

1) Is communication direct or indirect? How likely is it that messages between board and staff will be misinterpreted?

2) Does communication take place at regularly scheduled intervals, or does it only take place in preparation for board meetings?

3) Are there established communication pathways and are all staff and board members aware of these? For example, if a staff member strongly disagrees with a board decision, would he/ she know who to speak to about the issue?

What happens when board members take on the tasks of program volunteers?

On working and collective boards, it is expected that board members take on the responsibilities of program volunteers; this is generally not expected of members of policy and policy governance boards. If members of these boards choose to volunteer in a capacity other than that of a board member, they must clearly distinguish between these roles. Program volunteers, including board members who act in this capacity, are equal or subordinate to staff depending on the tasks being carried out.

The following implications should be considered if there are any board members acting as program volunteers:

• Change in the nature of the reporting relationship between the ED/CEO and the board: will board members continue to rely on ED/CEO reports or will they pay more attention to what they or their fellow board members observed as a program volunteer?

• Staff may interpret direct involvement from board members as interference in staff responsibilities

• Board members whose only work involves the board may feel awkward relating to members who take on responsibilities as program volunteers and vice versa. The board chair/ president should ensure that there is as equal a workload as possible among members

The following chart summarizes the nature of board-staff relations in each board model:

Adapted from Working With Volunteer Boards: How to Improve Their Effectiveness (Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture, 1984) and Board Basics Manual (UWC-CC, 1995).

Managing Diversity

Commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity

A non-profit organization should respect all peoples’ race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and ability and should not allow differences to affect a person’s opportunities.

Board, staff, and volunteers:

• Should reflect the diversity of the organization and the broader community.
• Should conduct their work in facilities that are accessible to persons of all ability levels.
• Should act in ways that further opportunities among individuals and the community.

How Representative the Board is of the General Population:  Overall, does the board reflect the diversity of the community being served in terms of ....

If it is evident that your board is not representative enough the community it serves, a number of measures can be taken to make the board more inclusive and diverse:

Ø       Seek out committee members to fill the gaps that the board is missing

Ø       Ensure that the Nominating Committee is aware of the gaps in representation on the board and is committed to filling these as it seeks potential board members

Ø       The Nominating Committee should keep in mind that there should never be more than 30% of “anything” on a Board (Scribner 1991)- that is, there should be enough diversity on the board that no more than a third of its members belong to the same demographic or come from the same background (in terms of age, race, occupational background, etc.)

Ø       Boards may not understand the implications of not being diverse/ inclusive if they are not fully aware of the demographics of their community- the President/ Chair should ensure that members are aware of the diversity of the community served by the organization.