A recent study reported that 41% of non-profits hire staff/employees to work off-site.
The study is noted in an article published by Blue Avocado [1], which is actually a primer that all non-profits should read if they have people working remotely.
I will capture the essence of the primer, but really recommend studying the primer with those teams involved.
• Clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability. Probably the best way to establish trust and respect is to have those involved meet long enough to review clear job responsibilities. It helps if each person understands the job duties of others, so work proceeds as expected. This also means distributing leadership effectively.
• Participate in
Constructive Conflict. All teams have times of disagreement or conflict. It
can be harder to deal with if someone is working remotely. Handling conflict
well means that team members meet, focus on the work being done and not on
personal behavior or attacks. The challenge is how the disagreement affects the
work output. Success is when those involved understand the challenge, resolve
it, put it behind them and learn from the experience.
• Consistently
support one another. It isn’t always easy for a remotely working person to
feel like an integral part of the team, or they may feel they are providing an
extremely valuable service the team can’t appreciate – for example a data
analysis expert, or fundraising staff, or marketing staff. As the article says,
“Team members who adjust their work based on the needs of others are able to
keep the work moving while empowering their teammates to do the best possible
along the way.”
• Consider team
success vs. individual success. Being aware of the language team members
use in emails, conversations and discussions can shape the feelings of being a
team. If the “I” word is often used instead of “we”it makes a difference. This
may be especially true for the remotely working member. Another quote, “ Teams who focus more on
giving credit rather than seeking it understand the exponential impact on the
group as a whole.”
I strongly recommend this primer for sound guidance.
[1] blueavocado.org, Remote Team Environments: A How To Primer, Rachel Renock, May, 2019
Author: Adrianne Geiger DuMond, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
Is the issue of harassment confusing? Do you wish that a simple, clear statement was available to help you have a clearer understanding of what it is and how to deal with it? Here is a brief overview.
TYPES: There are several types of inappropriate behavior that constitute harassment. The behavior could be of a sexual nature may involve bullying or other unwelcome behavior. Employee harassment guidelines establish the standards of conduct employees must follow, as well as the employer’s responsibilities in the event of a harassment claim as well as the possible consequences for engaging in such behavior
GUIDELINES: Employee harassment guidelines are a set of rules that illustrate how employees should conduct themselves in the workplace. They are in place to inform workers of what constitutes inappropriate behavior. Employee harassment guidelines define harassment, establish a specific code of conduct and clearly describe the procedures for reporting harassment. Many employers require that workers sign a document saying they read and understand harassment guidelines to help ensure adherence to harassment policies and procedures.
ISSUES: A central issue is occupying the time of HR professionals is harassment in the workplace. The costs associated with this issue go far beyond the simple payment of legal fees. Affected employees may begin to display any number of negative indications of harassment: feeling victimized, having attendance problems, showing a decrease in productivity, experiencing a hostile work environment. Even a potential loss of employment for those involved may result. Because harassment in business exclusively involves people, it falls to HR departments to maintain vigilance in monitoring and addressing this issue.
Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.” You, as a business owner, are liable for the inappropriate behaviors that fall into this description.
The HR ROLE AND PREVENTION:
Federal laws: The prevalence of harassment in the workplace has led to a number of federal laws:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA),
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
Legal matters in the workplace tend to fall under human resources, a component of business with labor law at its core. A harassment lawsuit carries with it the power to destroy your business, so it is beneficial to have HR on hand to deter situations of harassment.
Human resources personnel are equipped to take several measures in prevention of harassment. When first hired your employees may not know what the boundaries of behavior involve. They must be informed, and receive training. After training, employees should sign written acknowledgements of the training. This document is placed in their personnel files.
IMPORTANCE: Training and documentation provide important support if litigating a harassment case ever becomes necessary. Your HR department needs to provide continued required “brush-up” training as a necessary reminder to employees about harassment issues and how to avoid them.
EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES: Implementing an employee harassment policy does not release employers from liability if a worker is the victim of harassment. Employers must make a good-faith effort to prevent harassment in the workplace and remedy a harassment situation if a worker files a complaint. Employers are liable for harassment if they are made aware of harassing behavior and fail to take action to correct the situation.
Guidelines attempt to prevent harassment through education and training about the problems harassment causes and the individual responsibilities of all involved. The EEOC Training Institute is a valuable resource employers can use to implement training and technical assistance programs to improve employee awareness about harassment.
EMPLOYER LIABILITY: Despite having abuse and harassment policies in place:
Employers may be liable for the inappropriate
behaviors of workers.
Employers are liable for harassment when a
manager or supervisor’s inappropriate behavior results in an adverse employment
action such as a decrease in wages or termination.
Employers who fail to prevent or at least make
an attempt to prevent harassing behavior are also liable.
Employers who are made aware of harassing or
abusive behavior and take the necessary steps to correct the situation are
usually released from liability unless the victim can prove otherwise.
REFERENCE: Effective January, 2019 Gov. Code 12950.1 (Amended by SB 1343) now requires that all employers of 5 or more employees provide 1 hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to non-managerial employees and 2 hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to managerial employees once every two years.
Education:
Educate
yourself. It’s important that you know the fundamentals of harassment in work
place.
This article is purely
informational. For questions regarding the impact of harassment rules on your
business, please see a labor law attorney.
Author: Robin Noah, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
Recently, our coaches learned about an exciting new student volunteer project and transcript service called VolunteerCrowd. CEO and Founder, Amy von Kaenel introduced her latest development designed to help middle school through college-age students find, schedule and track volunteer opportunities for FREE!
Students are
able to uncover meaningful opportunities ranging from a few hours volunteering
at a local shelter to a summer-long internship. The best part is students are
able to match their interests and volunteer needs with a project in their community.
Volunteering
is one of four critical factors when applying for admission to college. Recently,
VolunteerCrowd looked at 79 Orange County public high schools and found there
are approximately 54,000 students from schools who require volunteer hours in
search of over 460,000 collective hours in a given year. The need for volunteer projects is great. Each
year, students find it more and more difficult to differentiate themselves when
competing against students who have equally as high GPAs and perfect test
scores. With the new app, VolunteerCrowd makes student volunteering easy and
transparent.
Volunteering
can make a unique contribution to college and career success that can’t be
taught in the classroom. Evidence
supports that social-emotional education is falling short of preparing students
for higher education and employment. A
2018 Bloomberg Next Study reported that many graduates have deficient skills in
emotional intelligence, complex reasoning and negotiation, and persuasion. VolunteerCrowd can deliver the
relevant opportunities students need to learn and practice soft skills and
positively impact college completion rates and workforce success.
On the flip side, nonprofits can take advantage of the ease
and convenience of VolunteerCrowd’s recruitment process by sending projects to students@volunteercrowd.com, and
later this year posting volunteer opportunities on VolunteerCrowd. Students are
carefully matched with projects they are passionate about. VolunteerCrowd will
notify students when a match is made. Project details will be shared with
students and reminders will be automatically sent. Once a project is completed,
nonprofits can verify hours. Later this year, organizations will be
able to acknowledge a job well done by providing strength and skill
endorsements related to student performance thus providing individual assessments
that colleges like to see.
Below are some of the many ways VolunteerCrowd assists nonprofits
with volunteer engagement throughout the year and helps students meet their
community service goals:
Find volunteer organizations of personal
interest. Request an alert when new projects become available.
Search for/post volunteer projects by location
and zip code.
Receive reminders, request projects and get alerts
when new organizations post projects
Allow
students to qualify for the President’s Volunteer Service Award. VolunteerCrowd became a certifying
organization in July.
Engage
volunteers in meaningful experiences they can become passionate about.
Invite
friends to join the cause and volunteer together.
Review
your community service experiences and develop leadership skills through
projects.
Let
your performance stand out by requesting recommendations from organizations you
serve.
Later this fall,
VolunteerCrowd will unveil their volunteer transcript and portfolio service
allowing students to create an individual portfolio showcasing total hours by
cause, top organizations served, milestones and even recommendations.
Does your non-profit have owners who view the business as their own and go over and beyond their job description or renters who just get by viewing the job as a regular 9-5 chore?
Who are
your Owners, Renters and Vandals?
According to a
recent Gallup poll,
only 33% ofworkers in
the United States are really engaged in
their jobs which means they bring their full self to work and are Owners.
51% of employees are disengaged Renters and bring themselves and their skills to work but may not really put in their full heart into it. Vital to your organization, but they are there for money and view it as a 9-5 job. A more concerning note is that 16% are actively disengaged and alarmingly a small portion of them might even end up as up as Vandals as per Cueinc*. Vandals are employees who don’t just not care about your organization but may also derail it and your other engaged team members with their negativity and personal agendas.
Does it matter if employees are engaged? Here are some metrics from Gallup on the difference that engaged employees make :
Highly engaged business units:
Realize a
41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17% increase in productivity
Achieve a
10% increase in customer metrics and a 20% increase in sales.
Overall, it
can result in 21% greater profitability
First, how do you identify a highly engaged employee ?
An engaged employee doesn’t
just view it as a job or a gig. They will go over and beyond the job
description to work towards the mission of the non-profit. She not just
believes in the mission, but is an evangelist ! Example : An employee works in
a hotel and as he is walking down the corridor, he spots an piece of paper on
the floor. Will he pick it up and throw it in a bin, or kick it under the
carpet or will he throw something else down and walk away?
Five quick tips on increasing engagement and having more owners :
1. Invest in what motivates individual employees :
Employees feel most engaged when they feel cared for. So, your first step is to identify what motivates an individual employee. And then cater to them by developing individual development plan & reward for each of them.
2. Help them grow:
Radical Candour by Kim Scott shares a great way to give feedback by caring personally but challenging directly. Which means giving direct feedback while also building a personal connect and rapport with the employee thereby giving guidance that’s kind and clear, specific and sincere.
3. Help your employees shine :
Employees
are most engaged when they enjoy their jobs. An efficient way to do this, is
to play by their strengths. Identify
what they are best at and ensure that they have opportunities to shine by they
doing what comes naturally to them.
4. Freedom to make big changes :
A renter can change the
drapes, but can’t break down walls can she? A owner can. Give your employees
the freedom to make big calls and have them take the accountability for it.
5. Rewarding & Celebrating your owners :
Do the promotion and big
increments only go to your renters who have been there forever or do you
proactively identify your upcoming owners and reward them?
Wishing you all the very best
in your quest to increase your business owners and weed out the vandals ! Au
revior.
The option to work outside the office is a dream come true for employees who want better working options, however, managing remote employees can quickly become a boss’s worst nightmare. Remote working, telecommuting, flexible working – thanks to the wonders of technology, is increasingly finding new ways to get the job done. The ability to telecommute, whether full time or on occasion, has become an increasingly common workplace perk. In fact, according to one Gallup study 43.
It
has been said that allowing people to work from home attracts and retains top
talent in a competitive market, but there are factors to consider.
1. Eligibility: One of the first things any employer needs to consider when deciding on a remote work assignment is whether the employees’ attitudes, work ethics and personalities align with the company’s expectations of telecommuting. Managers should accommodate on a case-by-case basis keeping in mind what’s best for the company, its team members and the project at hand. Sometimes looking at the employees profile will give the best clue when looking for candidates or responding to a request.
Take
some time to cover all areas of remote
working and create a job description that includes the nature of the position,
how long a person has been at the position, past job performance and how
frequently a staff member can telecommute, i.e., full time, once a week, etc.
2. Expectations: For geographically dispersed teams, or in cases where remote work helps, accommodation for family schedules and obligations, official “business hours” may vary from person to person. However, regardless of their work hours, employees also need to be held accountable for their assigned jobs. “It is important to provide very specific remote work guidelines and policies for employees to review and acknowledge in a telecommuting arrangement.
Workers who do not meet these expectations risk losing the trust of leadership and sidelining their team. Minimum considerations:
Clear expectations with employees
Adhering to company expectations
Available during office hours
Meet deadlines and complete projects with excellence
Maintain communication with their manager and co-workers.
Other concerns that
may be addressed
Security
of company owned equipment
Accountability and
visibility
Security – both
physical, and digital
Maintaining
boundaries between work life and home life
3. Equipment and Cybersecurity
Enabling
employees to work remotely opens up the likelihood that they’ll use their work
devices to communicate via unsecured public networks. Password-protect all
business devices; make sure that data going out from those devices is
encrypted. Keep a current inventory of all devices and make sure each one has
its GPS tracking turned on. Additionally, install technology to remotely wipe
data from any device that has been lost or stolen.”
4. Communication methods: With the appropriate
use of communications technology, companies can also ensure their culture
remains intact, even with full-time telecommuters. It’s wise to explicitly state that remote work
is a privilege that can be revoked if it’s discovered that an employee is not
meeting his or her expectations while working outside the office.
This article is informational. Please see a labor law attorney for any questions you may have.
Author: Robin Noah, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
As our day to day lives have become busier and technology has eroded the line between work hours and personal time, many people are working longer hours than ever before. From cell phones to laptops people are now accessible at virtually any hour of the day. The result is that people feel stressed and lack more free time.
When it comes to work, it turns out that giving people more freedom can foster greater productivity and creativity among employees. This can include such things as more vacation time or short breaks within the workday. Companies such as Netflix have gone so far to introduce vacation policies allowing people to take off whatever time they need. Interestingly, these companies have found most do not abuse such freedom and tend to be happier and perhaps more loyal. At the least companies should encourage people to use all of their allotted vacation time.
Another way to give employees more time is to allow them some flexibility to run the occasional errand during the workday. Some find it hard to juggle everything they need to do on the weekends.
For people who run on “auto pilot” when it comes to repetitive tasks or routines mixing things up can have a big impact. It forces them to become more engaged in what else is around them.
In our rat race world finding ways to ease the stress on our staff can pay big dividends.
Author: Dave Blankenhorn, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
Michael Bungay Stanier is a Canadian coach. He is the author of “ The Coaching Habit.” He is one of my favorite people on coaching.
The following piece of his is terrific.” If you’re a leader or a manager, you probably wear a lot of hats. You’re a project manager, delegator, spokesperson, and most importantly, a coach.
But the problem is that no one ever tells you how to be an effective coach, or even what that means. Are you supposed to act like a sports coach? A therapist? Perform some bizarre (and arcane) HR ritual?
The answer is none of the above. In fact, it’s about making one tiny change to your behavior, one that will bring about significant impact. Being a coach is about being more curious, and being slow to give advice and take action.
But the truth is, most of us are advice-giving maniacs. We do not listen as much as we should. Being curious involves asking questions. The best question is What else?? It is based on the understanding that the first answer someone gives is never their only answer.
Coaching is an essential leadership behavior. Curiosity is the driving force in being more coach-like. Questions fuel curiosity. Remember as a leader and a manager, your job is not to have all of the answers-but to guide your employees to come up with the right ones.”
Author: Michael Kogutek, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
This small and simple book packs a punch. Ken Blanchard, author of the best-selling “One Minute Manager”, and Claire Diaz-Oritz bring much wisdom to the table for managers and prospective mentors to take in. This book is for both mentors and mentees. Mentoring has been around for a long time but only recently surfaced as a leadership development tool in the business world. This book informs prospective mentors how to, including a systematic format. Blanchard talks about ways to keep the mentoring on track and focused. He explains what an initial meeting looks like for a mentor and mentee, “A successful first meeting with a potential mentor or mentee puts the personal before the tactical. The essence supersedes the form. Do your values match?? Do your personalities click?? Does the conversation flow??” The authors conclude with a discussion of comparing and contrasting the differences between coaching and mentoring. I recommend this book as a primer on mentoring and how it can be a game changer for all of us.
Author: Michael Kogutek, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
Many nonprofits consider the IRS Form 990 to be a dreary necessity at tax time. In the 2008 tax year, major revisions were made to the Form. Nonprofits have been slow to realize the impact the revisions may have for donors and the public. The diverse information provided in the new Form is now available to the public and can be found online free at at such sites as Guidestar.org, and nccs.urban.org.
In a recent article by Michael Wyland, an author and member of the editorial advisory board for the Nonprofit Quarterly, Wyland points out the advantages to providing accurate and complimentary information on the Form.[1] The Form displays not only financial information (assets and liabilities), but also facts that address governance, programs, and fundraising. His article shows a breakdown of the Form with its schedules and functional area relevance, because not every nonprofit completes the same schedules. However, he points out that most of the 990 parts and schedules still address the multiple categories of governance, programs, and fundraising.
As Wyland notes,”not all organizations complete all parts of the Form, and not all file each and every schedule. For example, while most 501(c)(3) public charities must file Schedule B (Schedule of Contributions), it is considered confidential and not disclosed to the public. Private foundations, on the other hand, must disclose and make it publicly available.”
Never the less, ALL Form 990’s do reveal to the public governance (governing bodies and management, policies, and disclosures), programs, and fundraising. A potential donor may look for efficiencies and financial data, but still seek the charity that meets his/her passion for a particular service or need. A potential volunteer may consider who manages the organization and where they can fit in. It is important for all nonprofit staffs and boards to be aware of the public exposure, but also the opportunity to be more advantageously promoted to the public.
[1]Your 990: What Nonfinancial Matters Does It Reveal to the Media and the Public, Michael Wyland, Nonprofit Quarterly, November 17, 2017
Author: Adrianne Geiger DuMond, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
NonprofitReady.org (NPRO) is a website of 43 interactive E-learning curriculums and 385 online classes and videos on a wide variety of nonprofit best practices, all at no cost to any user. I took one of the curriculums (Management Essentials) and was impressed with the content and interactive presentation. More importantly, sixty thousand people have used the site in the past year, and six thousand new users join each month.
In my opinion, the more people in a nonprofit who know nonprofit best practices, the more effective that nonprofit is likely to be. NPRO best practice trainings can be accessed at no cost, at any time, from anywhere, for as long a session as the user has time for at that moment. It is, by far, one of the most convenient and cost effective methods that I am aware of for acquiring know-how in nonprofit best practices.
Here is a sampling of a few of NPRO’s most popular online courses, videos and curriculums:
Managing Expectations This 8-minute micro-learning online course on managing expectations contains a 3 minute video, quiz, summary document and additional short audio clips. Managing expectations is a crucial part of any professional relationship, from your colleagues to your customers.
Managing Your Boss This 8-minute micro-learning online course on managing your boss contains a 2 minute video, quiz, summary document and additional short audio clips. Your boss can have a big impact on the way you do your work, but your actions can also influence their management style.
Introduction to Proposal Writing This 27 minute video is designed for anyone involved in the proposal writing process. Course Objectives: • Understand the basic components of writing and submitting a project proposal
Introduction to Finding Grants This 30 minute video is designed for anyone seeking to better understand the grant-seeking process. Course Objectives: • Identify the 10 most important things you need to know about grant-seeking • Understand the primary misconceptions about grant-seeking
Project Management Essentials – Part A This 20-minute online course is designed for anyone responsible for managing projects and/or programs. Objectives for Part A and Part B: Define the life cycle of a project and structure it around milestones, Control your project using flexible tools, Create a plan for day-to-day project management.
Grantsmanship Essentials Pack In this 1 hour and 50 minute curriculum from the Foundation Center, you will learn the basics on how to find grant programs and funders as well as how to write a proposal that aligns with the funder’s criteria. Objectives: To understand how to identify funders aligned with your organizational mission and cause, To articulate what is required in receiving and managing grant funds, To identify the best practices for writing a successful grant proposal.
Please visit NonprofitReady.org to learn more.
Author: Bob Cryer, Executive Coaches of Orange County, www.ECofOC.org
