Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm just wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
In the past we used three email list serves, one for all members, one for volunteers, and another just for organizing members. We have found these lists difficult to keep up to date as we seem to have a constant flow of volunteers and members. We have also found that many people get annoyed when discussions happen over email and often stop reading what could be important notices.
Recently some volunteers started more lists for sub-committees (such as mechanics only) and then started using facebook and the online forum on our website and this has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication, sometimes many people are not included, often many of us get several emails about the same thing. Using methods like forums and facebook are great becuase anyone can read and join in and people don't get annoyed with emails, but at the same time people are likely to stop checking and reading if they don't get reminders.
One possible solution brought to the floor was to combine the use of email and forum discussions, such that notices are sent over email and if a discussion should happen, a notice is given over email and a link to the forum discussion. Do any of you have any more ideas that we might be able to use to get us back on track?
Thanks!! .godwin
Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm just wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
Godwin,
Google Groups is an efficient means of offering this information as it allows users to determine how much/little information they wish to receive from your organization.
Cheers, Sam
Hey Godwin,
We face similar concerns at MoBo, but rarely suffer complete breakdowns. My advice is to try to stop the negative momentum and look broadly at your communication structures as they are. Mapping is a good exercise to visualize it. Next, I recommend starting at shop level. At MoBo we've been trying to root everything in our shop space, so that all important info is posted there clearly and accessibly. We try to regularly update our website and Facebook page in a similar fashion, so that everyone knows that at least those three places have important info.
Obviously, conversation/discussion-based communication can't simply be posted, so we do use e-mail quite a bit. However, we mostly utilize our organization-wide list for big announcements/newsletter stuff, and only typically send out a handful of e-mails a month at most (using Contact Contact). We also have a volunteer list, which is utilized less frequently. (We're trying to get everyone to volunteer, so most of what is sent out goes to everyone). Finally, the board/core volunteers discuss things much more frequently with specific e-mail threads.
As I said, this works pretty well, though of course things do fall through the cracks. My impression, however, is that it's probably better to have fewer avenues of communication and try to expand than to have too many and try to mitigate confusion. Hope that helped.
Dugan
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 2:45 PM, Godwin! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm just wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
In the past we used three email list serves, one for all members, one for volunteers, and another just for organizing members. We have found these lists difficult to keep up to date as we seem to have a constant flow of volunteers and members. We have also found that many people get annoyed when discussions happen over email and often stop reading what could be important notices.
Recently some volunteers started more lists for sub-committees (such as mechanics only) and then started using facebook and the online forum on our website and this has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication, sometimes many people are not included, often many of us get several emails about the same thing. Using methods like forums and facebook are great becuase anyone can read and join in and people don't get annoyed with emails, but at the same time people are likely to stop checking and reading if they don't get reminders.
One possible solution brought to the floor was to combine the use of email and forum discussions, such that notices are sent over email and if a discussion should happen, a notice is given over email and a link to the forum discussion. Do any of you have any more ideas that we might be able to use to get us back on track?
Thanks!! .godwin
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We have similar levels of organizing at the Durham Bike Co-op, from less-involved to more involved, if you will:
- Facebook-anyone can join, mainly announcements about
events we're doing outside of regular shop hours are posted here. We also will publicize cycling-related events that we may not sponsor, but support.
- membership listserve- open to all members (those people
that have paid $35 for a yearly membership or have volunteered 5 hours at the shop, also get to put towards Earn-A-Bike program). We do general announcements about the shop, programming and cycling-related events. This is moderated to prevent abuse.
- Operations listserve- day to day operations, usually
open to core volunteers, shop keyholders and anyone who has a high tolerance of email chatter. Our most active list, we discuss things like shop vibe, incidents, stuff we're out of, scheduling monthly meetings, and occasionally off topic events like shows and the like.
- Board- There are officially 4 of us, and we will
include key people depending on the issue. Usually critical issues that can affect the DBC's future have to be resolved at this level. We've discussed problem volunteers, finalized our decision to move, etc. here.
Best, Leslie Durham Bike Co-op
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Dugan Meyer dugan.meyer@gmail.com wrote:
Hey Godwin,
We face similar concerns at MoBo, but rarely suffer complete breakdowns. My advice is to try to stop the negative momentum and look broadly at your communication structures as they are. Mapping is a good exercise to visualize it. Next, I recommend starting at shop level. At MoBo we've been trying to root everything in our shop space, so that all important info is posted there clearly and accessibly. We try to regularly update our website and Facebook page in a similar fashion, so that everyone knows that at least those three places have important info.
Obviously, conversation/discussion-based communication can't simply be posted, so we do use e-mail quite a bit. However, we mostly utilize our organization-wide list for big announcements/newsletter stuff, and only typically send out a handful of e-mails a month at most (using Contact Contact). We also have a volunteer list, which is utilized less frequently. (We're trying to get everyone to volunteer, so most of what is sent out goes to everyone). Finally, the board/core volunteers discuss things much more frequently with specific e-mail threads.
As I said, this works pretty well, though of course things do fall through the cracks. My impression, however, is that it's probably better to have fewer avenues of communication and try to expand than to have too many and try to mitigate confusion. Hope that helped.
Dugan
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 2:45 PM, Godwin! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm
just
wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
In the past we used three email list serves, one for all members, one for volunteers, and another just for organizing members. We have found these lists difficult to keep up to date as we seem to have a constant flow of volunteers and members. We have also found that many people get annoyed
when
discussions happen over email and often stop reading what could be
important
notices.
Recently some volunteers started more lists for sub-committees (such as mechanics only) and then started using facebook and the online forum on
our
website and this has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication, sometimes many people are not included, often many of us get several
emails
about the same thing. Using methods like forums and facebook are great becuase anyone can read and join in and people don't get annoyed with emails, but at the same time people are likely to stop checking and
reading
if they don't get reminders.
One possible solution brought to the floor was to combine the use of
and forum discussions, such that notices are sent over email and if a discussion should happen, a notice is given over email and a link to the forum discussion. Do any of you have any more ideas that we might be able
to
use to get us back on track?
Thanks!! .godwin
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Hi Leslie,
The Good Life Community Bike Shop in Calgary is considering a board, do you have any suggestions in getting that rocking?
Thanks, Jonny
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 1:48 PM, Leslie Peteya lesliepeteya@gmail.comwrote:
We have similar levels of organizing at the Durham Bike Co-op, from less-involved to more involved, if you will:
- Facebook-anyone can join, mainly announcements about
events we're doing outside of regular shop hours are posted here. We also will publicize cycling-related events that we may not sponsor, but support.
- membership listserve- open to all members (those people
that have paid $35 for a yearly membership or have volunteered 5 hours at the shop, also get to put towards Earn-A-Bike program). We do general announcements about the shop, programming and cycling-related events. This is moderated to prevent abuse.
- Operations listserve- day to day operations, usually
open to core volunteers, shop keyholders and anyone who has a high tolerance of email chatter. Our most active list, we discuss things like shop vibe, incidents, stuff we're out of, scheduling monthly meetings, and occasionally off topic events like shows and the like.
- Board- There are officially 4 of us, and we will
include key people depending on the issue. Usually critical issues that can affect the DBC's future have to be resolved at this level. We've discussed problem volunteers, finalized our decision to move, etc. here.
Best, Leslie Durham Bike Co-op
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Dugan Meyer dugan.meyer@gmail.comwrote:
Hey Godwin,
We face similar concerns at MoBo, but rarely suffer complete breakdowns. My advice is to try to stop the negative momentum and look broadly at your communication structures as they are. Mapping is a good exercise to visualize it. Next, I recommend starting at shop level. At MoBo we've been trying to root everything in our shop space, so that all important info is posted there clearly and accessibly. We try to regularly update our website and Facebook page in a similar fashion, so that everyone knows that at least those three places have important info.
Obviously, conversation/discussion-based communication can't simply be posted, so we do use e-mail quite a bit. However, we mostly utilize our organization-wide list for big announcements/newsletter stuff, and only typically send out a handful of e-mails a month at most (using Contact Contact). We also have a volunteer list, which is utilized less frequently. (We're trying to get everyone to volunteer, so most of what is sent out goes to everyone). Finally, the board/core volunteers discuss things much more frequently with specific e-mail threads.
As I said, this works pretty well, though of course things do fall through the cracks. My impression, however, is that it's probably better to have fewer avenues of communication and try to expand than to have too many and try to mitigate confusion. Hope that helped.
Dugan
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 2:45 PM, Godwin! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm
just
wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
In the past we used three email list serves, one for all members, one
for
volunteers, and another just for organizing members. We have found these lists difficult to keep up to date as we seem to have a constant flow of volunteers and members. We have also found that many people get annoyed
when
discussions happen over email and often stop reading what could be
important
notices.
Recently some volunteers started more lists for sub-committees (such as mechanics only) and then started using facebook and the online forum on
our
website and this has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication, sometimes many people are not included, often many of us get several
emails
about the same thing. Using methods like forums and facebook are great becuase anyone can read and join in and people don't get annoyed with emails, but at the same time people are likely to stop checking and
reading
if they don't get reminders.
One possible solution brought to the floor was to combine the use of
and forum discussions, such that notices are sent over email and if a discussion should happen, a notice is given over email and a link to the forum discussion. Do any of you have any more ideas that we might be
able to
use to get us back on track?
Thanks!! .godwin
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Hi Jonny, I guess you need to consider, in a sense, why you need a board, and what form you want it to take. Our organization had one from the beginning, with year-long terms, to provide institutional stability and core decision makers. It also looks better, in my opinion, when you need to do professional type stuff (i.. to apply for 501c3/non-profit status with various governmental agencies, get a bank account, get donations from the public, etc.)
Since our shop runs on consensus, with the most active volunteers having the most voice in the direction we go, our board also is composed of core volunteers who have additional responsibilities (treasury, outreach, inventory, shop organization, many other jobs to list). That way we avoid the "board in the sky" model where a decision-making body has no clue what's going on in day-to-day operations.
However, you may find it best to deal with a board where members aren't emotionally involved with the shop- they may make better, impartial decisions. You may also appeal to some community members with key experience (accounting, marketing, paperwork stuff, social justice) who want to help out by sitting on the board, but don't have the interest or skills to be directly involved with the shop.
Of course, this all sounds good in theory- undoubtedly we've had some snags along the way with our model. The involved volunteer model can lead to burnout and interpersonal communication problems, as well as lead to an intense shop atmosphere.
I'm sure everyone else on here has a ton to add to my comments.
Best, Leslie
On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 1:15 PM, John Barrett Jonny@goodlifebikes.cawrote:
Hi Leslie,
The Good Life Community Bike Shop in Calgary is considering a board, do you have any suggestions in getting that rocking?
Thanks, Jonny
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 1:48 PM, Leslie Peteya lesliepeteya@gmail.comwrote:
We have similar levels of organizing at the Durham Bike Co-op, from less-involved to more involved, if you will:
- Facebook-anyone can join, mainly announcements about
events we're doing outside of regular shop hours are posted here. We also will publicize cycling-related events that we may not sponsor, but support.
- membership listserve- open to all members (those people
that have paid $35 for a yearly membership or have volunteered 5 hours at the shop, also get to put towards Earn-A-Bike program). We do general announcements about the shop, programming and cycling-related events. This is moderated to prevent abuse.
- Operations listserve- day to day operations, usually
open to core volunteers, shop keyholders and anyone who has a high tolerance of email chatter. Our most active list, we discuss things like shop vibe, incidents, stuff we're out of, scheduling monthly meetings, and occasionally off topic events like shows and the like.
- Board- There are officially 4 of us, and we will
include key people depending on the issue. Usually critical issues that can affect the DBC's future have to be resolved at this level. We've discussed problem volunteers, finalized our decision to move, etc. here.
Best, Leslie Durham Bike Co-op
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Dugan Meyer dugan.meyer@gmail.comwrote:
Hey Godwin,
We face similar concerns at MoBo, but rarely suffer complete breakdowns. My advice is to try to stop the negative momentum and look broadly at your communication structures as they are. Mapping is a good exercise to visualize it. Next, I recommend starting at shop level. At MoBo we've been trying to root everything in our shop space, so that all important info is posted there clearly and accessibly. We try to regularly update our website and Facebook page in a similar fashion, so that everyone knows that at least those three places have important info.
Obviously, conversation/discussion-based communication can't simply be posted, so we do use e-mail quite a bit. However, we mostly utilize our organization-wide list for big announcements/newsletter stuff, and only typically send out a handful of e-mails a month at most (using Contact Contact). We also have a volunteer list, which is utilized less frequently. (We're trying to get everyone to volunteer, so most of what is sent out goes to everyone). Finally, the board/core volunteers discuss things much more frequently with specific e-mail threads.
As I said, this works pretty well, though of course things do fall through the cracks. My impression, however, is that it's probably better to have fewer avenues of communication and try to expand than to have too many and try to mitigate confusion. Hope that helped.
Dugan
On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 2:45 PM, Godwin! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey folks, since the recent breakdown at our shop the issue of how to communicate with volunteers and members has come up as major issue. I'm
just
wondering if any of you have found what you consider to be an efficient means of notifying members and sarting discussions with volunteers.
In the past we used three email list serves, one for all members, one
for
volunteers, and another just for organizing members. We have found
these
lists difficult to keep up to date as we seem to have a constant flow
of
volunteers and members. We have also found that many people get annoyed
when
discussions happen over email and often stop reading what could be
important
notices.
Recently some volunteers started more lists for sub-committees (such as mechanics only) and then started using facebook and the online forum on
our
website and this has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication, sometimes many people are not included, often many of us get several
emails
about the same thing. Using methods like forums and facebook are great becuase anyone can read and join in and people don't get annoyed with emails, but at the same time people are likely to stop checking and
reading
if they don't get reminders.
One possible solution brought to the floor was to combine the use of
and forum discussions, such that notices are sent over email and if a discussion should happen, a notice is given over email and a link to
the
forum discussion. Do any of you have any more ideas that we might be
able to
use to get us back on track?
Thanks!! .godwin
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-- John Barrett The Good Life Community Bicycle Shop / Two Wheel View - Calgary / The Organic Saskatoon & Iron Orchard jonny@goodlifebikes.ca / jonny.barrett@twowheelview.org 403.619.2648
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participants (5)
-
Dugan Meyer -
Godwin ! -
John Barrett -
Leslie Peteya -
Sam Haraldson