Hello, We are working on creating new and updated policies for our organization and have lots of questions regarding board and staff roles. We would be happy to hear experiences or feedback on any of the following questions if folks have time.
- Who should be able to vote at board meetings in a consensus based
non-profit, where there is a general desire for as much democracy and particapation as functionally possible? This organization is small and there is considerable overlap in the duties of board members and staff. How many staff should have a vote at board meetings(should there be a restriction on how many)?
It seems common that non-profit advisers warn about having staff voting in board meetings (many say limit it to one representative max). Does this still hold if the staff are doing planning and research equivalent to a board member? The executive director or staff representatives are sometimes voting members in other nonprofits we have heard of, but ours doesn't currently have those positions.
- Our organization has teams that operate semi-autonomously. Staff and
board members overlap in these too, but the decision making is by all members of the team (not just board members for example). Reversing question #1, are there issues with having board members voting in groups that focus on daily operations?
- Who should be allowed to edit the operations manual; staff, board, or
both? This isn't the bylaws, but what we call the " handbook for board of directors, staff, and volunteers". Should the staff be able to alter it as long as it doesn't go against the bylaws established by the board? If so, what if no one checks on a regular basis? Are there better ways to divide bylaws from an operations manual.
- Who do staff turn to when they have problems, or are unhappy with their
working hours, pay, coworkers, etc. (There is no executive director).
- How board members volunteering as staff, on project teams and programs
maintain objectivity as a legal employer, while working as part of a team. Are there processes in place that help keep authority issues clear? I guess this ties into question 2.
- Who are staff accountable to for reviews and pay raises and performance
issues?
thanks for any info, ben and john