In
a second series Theresa Anderson-Butcher lays out her thoughts on recruiting
and retaining Activists.
Thank
you again James for allowing me to post on your blog on another subject of
mutual interest – activist recruitment and retention.
During
my first full term on the Board in 2010-2011 there was a lot of discussion
around succession planning and engagement within the activist base. The
discussion culminated at the 2011 Board Retreat where I volunteered to put on
paper for discussion, my idea of what that would entail. The following is what
I proposed to the board.
I was
not on the Board of Directors in 2012 so the responsibility to carry this
concept forward was given to another Board member.
As you
see from the above diagram, in my opinion, a succession program requires
significant planning and coordination as well as the commitment of sufficient
resources. Only then can we hope to
ensure that activists are supported, developed and ultimately choose to progress
in their roles. Without such supports,
we cannot hope to guarantee the success of our activists or their continued and
hopefully progressive involvement in the Association.
Because
volunteering in the Association often requires a significant commitment of
personal time, I have always been up-front about the responsibilities of the
role for which I have encouraged members to self-nominate. Never have I
nominated any member for an activist role without first speaking with them,
explaining the roles and responsibilities of the position and gaining their
commitment to accept the nomination.
Over the
last seven years I have tried to mentor at least one person every year in an
attempt to draw them into the organization and hopefully engage them to the
level where they decide to continue on their own. It is my hope that they too
would continue to develop others in the same way I mentored them. I have been successful in my efforts and I
can say with confidence that those I have mentored continue to be active.
Not
everyone recruits new activists in the same way. There has been significant frustration on the
part of the activists and the Association because many of our volunteers have come
to their roles as a result of being nominated out-of-the-blue, and without
their knowledge, by a member of a governance body. For example, I have often
heard that delegates and committee members felt flattered when contacted by
staff to confirm their nomination and often accepted the nomination without a
full understanding of what the role entailed.
In some
cases, members elected this way are quite successful in their new role and in
others; they found the responsibilities too time-consuming or not what they
thought the role would be and had to withdraw.
This put an added burden on the Elections and Credentials Committee and
staff to initiate the process to post and fill the vacancy. It also frustrates
the existing activist base because they have to continue the responsibilities
of the committee without a full complement of volunteers. This places an
additional burden on the volunteer time and potentially, the AMAPCEO financial
resources if paid leave needs to be increased in order for the committee to
meet its performance objectives.
Perhaps
if we publicly post on the AMAPCEO website a .pdf of the completed nomination
forms as soon as they are received (and determined in order by the Elections
and Credentials Committee) the nominee will be more inclined to reflect upon
the significance of the responsibilities that they will be assuming should they
be successfully elected. Public posting is a way of achieving transparency in
the elections process.
AMAPCEO
Constitution Article 55.8 Nominations received by the committee [Elections and Credentials
Committee] shall not be confidential at
any time, and any candidate shall be free to withdraw in favour of another.
By-law 1, Article
15. The nominations shall not be confidential at any time and candidates shall
be permitted to withdraw their nominations at any time up to the election.
When
members are nominated for volunteer roles without their initial consent, it is
equal to a shotgun approach to recruitment.
My approach, described earlier, is more defined and includes on-going
support, education and feedback so that the member has a greater chance of
success in their role and may then choose to expand their involvement into
other roles. This is also the basis of the above diagram as it is part and
parcel of a larger development process.
Activist
development and member engagement takes work -- a lot of work. This was most
recently demonstrated by they current Vice-President, Sally Pardaens, in her
role coordinating the mobilization activities for this round of OPS bargaining.
Intensive planning and coordination was required to ensure that members were
engaged over a significant length of time.
We need
to continue to engage members from the mobilization activities to draw them
into suitable, continuing roles so that we can sustain interest at a broader
level. Sustained interest ensures that members are aware of the regular cycle
of AMAPCEO’s activities and are able to participate fully in those activities. For example, on-going communication would
hopefully keep members engaged to the level where they understand the reason
why we are calling for nominations and the purpose of the committee or
governance role for which we are recruiting.
Perhaps,
this will lead to greater interest and more self-nominations being submitted. To
go further, maybe we will receive an increased level of voter turnout – at
least at the chapter level.
The
above diagram is my vision of how I see activist recruitment and development
unfolding in the Association and how we can move towards attracting a greater
level of involvement and volunteer commitment from our members.
As I
mentioned earlier, the diagram had been shared with the Board in 2011 and given
to another Board member for follow through.
I am not saying my idea is the best, put I have faith in its ability to
create a culture of sustained engagement.
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