There's More To Efficiency Than Using Technology

In an effort to become more efficient and effective, many organizations today have increased their use of technology. Since many organizations have a tendency to be run in an inefficient manner, many management "gurus" have "sold" improperly and inadequately trained leaders on the concept of "coming into the 21st Century," by taking advantage of the available technological advances. There is no doubt that proper use of technology may improve the functioning of an organization, there is the risk of becoming "impersonal." The first evidence of creating issues for an organization is when they decide to go "high-tech" by using a telephone system, instead of having a receptionist answer the incoming telephone calls. While this may or may not be more efficient, when first contact with an organization is a pre-recorded message or computer-generated message instead of human contact, many individuals feel "cold" about the process.

The "nouveau" leadership philosophy of many organizations is that the paid staff should be handled far more than had previously been the custom. While from a strictly efficiency point-of-view, that may be more efficient, many members resent this perceived "coldness." Staff members do not have the same peer-to-peer deference that other members have. There seems to be a "perceived" kinship when dealing with another member, that does not exist when a staff member gets involved. In evaluating hundreds of not-for-profit organizations, I have come to believe that this new leadership model has become more popular, more from a dearth of true, energetic leadership, than because of efficiency.

It is always important to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but an organization needs to carefully consider the ramifications of its actions. Paid staff does not have the same feel for the membership and the cultural peculiarities that members of the organization have. Especially when an organization hires new personnel, regardless of how talented the individual may be, there is always a "learning curve" in terms of the new individual understanding those unique characteristics of the organization. Paid staff must be given time to understand the needs of the membership, and to develop a rapport and gain their trust. If an organization rushes the process, then they risk alienating their members.

Organizations that are membership- dependent must always be willing to cater to members needs and sensitivities. One of the inherent and essential tasks, therefore, is to realize that becoming more efficient does not have to me becoming less human!

Organizations Must Make Members A Top Priority

Successful organizations are those whose leadership realizes that they must prioritize their members and donors. Too many organizations are perceived as taking their members for granted, and without members,
organizations fail! Organizations must put members and donors first! Membership and donor satisfaction are the highest priority.

Many organizations put too much of the communication with members in the hands of paid staffs. However, while staff contact is certainly important and relevant, most members and donors prefer contact with \volunteer leaders. President Clinton was famous for speaking to the public and indicating that he felt their pain. Most people want others to be empathetic, and have certain shared experiences. Since, in most organizations, members share certain common interests, either business, occupational, religious, social, or political, they only perceive this empathy when it comes from a "peer," in this case a volunteer leader. Think of it as the "been there, done that" perception of reality, but it is far easier in most cases for volunteer leaders to effectively communicate than it is for paid staff!

Paid staff is an important part, however, in the overall member relations/ communication arena. It is essential that paid staff answer the organization's telephones in a professional, helpful, caring and attentive manner, and is responsive to the needs of members. Staff must send out any item requested in a timely manner, and always keep its promises made to members. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, including economic, educational, social, training, etc., it is often difficult to have a consistently efficient and reliable staff. In today's technological age, with the availability of personal data devices, such as Blackberry's, etc., there is no excuse for staff not to reply to e-mails in a prompt, reliable manner, all the time. When staff is constantly making excuses, and not getting necessary items done, organizations must consider either formal training or changing staff.

Member relations should be far more than a mere cliche. Member relations means opening up lines of communication, engaging membership in dialogue, requesting feedback, offering member benefits, and most importantly, truly caring about the needs of members. Leaders must make every effort to assure that the organization continuously evolve, without losing its identity. Leaders must communicate clearly why the organization is both relevant and important to members, and why members are so important to the organization.

Unfortunately, I have witnessed far too many organizations that have "lost their way" over the past three decades of organizational and management consulting. Leaders must constantly revisit the idea, "Why should someone want to belong and be active in this organization?" Organizations whose leaders do this are invariably the strongest!

Every Idea Is Not A Good Idea!

Most of us hear and receive suggestions and ideas on various occasions. While it is generally good to receive input from others, it is important for individuals to realize that every idea, suggestion, or plan, is not necessarily a good one!

Many individuals and organizations rely upon generalized or "boiler plate" suggestions and ideas. While these ideas may be good for certain individuals and situations, they generally is no idea that is a "one size fits all" type of idea. In my three decades of consulting on a variety of different issues, including management, leadership, marketing, sales, training, organization, negotiation, and self-improvement skills, I have always attempted to distinguish myself from the crowd by individualizing plans to fit the specific needs of my clients.

Factors that may impact the needs of an organization, for example, include finances, revenue flow, strength of organization (stable, growing or dwindling membership numbers), size of membership, mission, needs, demographics, etc. What might work well for one group, or for that matter for one individual, is not always the best course of action for another.

Perhaps the only exception to this is when it comes to self-improvement, where there is certain universal truth when it comes to attitudes, "self talk," etc. However, most other areas need to be individualized.

Many people seem to be overly dependent on receiving input from others, treating the words of some self-acclaimed expert as if they were from a guru. While every idea should be listened to fully, it must be examined and evaluated according to certain criteria, before simply "running" with it. Some of these criteria include:

(1) How much does it cost? Is the reward worth the cost, in terms of dollars, personnel, and membership acceptance?

(2) Is this idea needed? Is the area it addresses a priority area? Is this simply change-for-change's sake, or does it improve some vital area?

(3) Are there any potential ramifications, negative or positive, that might occur?

(4) What would be the "action plan" for getting it to be effective?

(5) How would it impact the central mission of the organization?

While there is always a need to evaluate, organizations and individuals must approach any major change by fully evaluating its impact. Only in this manner, can one be sure if it is an idea worth examining further, and acting upon.

Developing Best Practices For Your Organization

For the past three decades, one of the biggest frustrations I have confronted in evaluating organizations and organizational management is what I refer to as "dysfunctional operations." The vast majority of organizations do not learn from their past, and even when they do similar tasks, events, etc., on an ongoing basis, they do not use the previous experiences as a guideline, or at least a starting point in doing the task this time around.

I am constantly shocked, for example, about how poorly most organizations negotiate contracts when they hold meetings, conferences or conventions. Effective organizations create and adapt a R.F.P. (Request for Proposal) that they submit to properties, carefully describing their needs and expectations. Almost as bad, however, is often organizations that believe they are using an R.F.P., but that the R.F.P. that they are using does not adequately meet their needs. Numerous organizational leaders have insisted to me that they use an outside professional company to organize their conferences, or at least to negotiate on their behalf. However, in most cases, these organizations are using professional hotel booking companies, whose interest is in booking the hotel rooms, that they receive a commission on. Organizational leaders have often pointed to the contracts that state that the hotel is offering the best rate to the organization, and that using the booking agent in no way adversely impacts the organization's purchase power or pricing. However, experience and logic both indicate that if a hotel is paying a ten percent commission, that is money that they will not offer the organization in terms of areas such as Food and Beverage, concessions, etc.

Organizations should develop and constantly update a manually that will be used often as a reference to getting things done more effectively. One section of that manual might be a listing of vendors that have been used, reason for using the particular vendor, and whether or not the experience with the vendor has been satisfactory.

Another best practice area would include an Annual Calendar of items that need to be done every year. Organizations should create adequate forms and reporting documents, as needed.

If an organization runs an annual conference, meeting, or convention, an in-depth section should be kept as to the requirements needed, so that each year's organizers do not need to "reinvent the wheel."

If the organization has local chapters, chances are that some chapters are more successful than others, and some projects, meetings and ideas have also been more successful than others. There should be a way that local chapters use a reporting form so that other chapters can learn from both the successes and failures of their peers.

Organizations should also track programs run, and evaluate them in terms of costs (both financial, time and personnel), and revenues. Organizations should regularly review this to determine its future efforts and priorities.

Another area that requires best practices is in terms of leadership qualification and training. Organizations should carefully and professionally develop a thorough and functional program, and then follow that on an ongoing basis.

While these are just a few of the best practice areas, the point is really that organizations need to examine themselves regularly, and give themselves the equivalent of a total physical and check-up. The most effective organizations are constantly evolving, but are doing so on the basis of building upon those practices that have worked best.