Judi Jamison, Board VP, introduces the Mapping What Is project to our spiritual community.
Here is the documentation Judi sent to the Board and Staff in preparation for beginning the process:
Mapping What Is: ORGANIZATION – Structures, Practices & Systems
Organization – Structure, Practices & Systems Focus:
- Establishing/clarifying job descriptions/duties for hourly staff
- Oversight of duties/performance evaluations/goals
- Establishing foundational policy manuals for
staff/ministers/Board to access and work from, specifically:
- Payroll processes
- Financial/Budget procedures
- Facilities procedures
- Other policies/procedures that may be helpful?
- Establishing an employment manual that staff/ministers/Board
work from that includes:
- Employment policies
- Hourly timesheet requirements and expectations
- Clarification of staff meeting requirements
- Clarification of expectations, goal setting and annual performance evaluation timeline
- Staff cross training (what duties/tasks are especially important for staff and possibly board members to be trained on in the event of an emergency?)
Next Steps:
Before we can proceed with the full Mapping What Is and Future Planning Task Force, special attention needs to be made to the organizational structure, practices and systems. Specifically, in relation to written foundational policies and procedures that help guide the organization and its ministers, staff, volunteer and board members.
Proposal Step 1:
Propose a small task force (Judi and Amber) interview staff on current structure, practices and systems and what’s going well, and what could use improvement, including:
- How their work aligns with Unity’s mission (are they inspired and making a positive difference – and what can help them if they need a boost)
- Their current weekly job duties (for creation/update of job descriptions, if needed)
- Cross-training opportunities
- Support opportunities if needed
- Their strengths and goals for the work they do
Step 2:
- Based on findings, we create an actionable plan
that may include:
- Written job descriptions
- Foundational structures, policies and procedures that are in alignment with Unity’s mission (and federal and state requirements)
- Annual performance evals, procedures and timeline
- Other actions as needed
- Once finalized with board, materials are available (and explained) to all staff, ministers, board members and anyone else who needs the information.
Staff Members to Interview: Linda, Rebecca, Liza, Caleb, Bea, Jackie (we did not include Music staff since they are under the impression their work is on a contract basis).
Staff Member: __________________________________ Date: ________________
Overview: In anticipation of our upcoming search for a new minister as well as our ongoing goal to become more fully mission-centered, the Board is ‘mapping what is’ organizationally to get a better idea of what is working well and what could use additional support. We are starting with an area that is very important to the functioning of our ministry, which is our organizational structures, practices and systems which includes our amazing and vital staff members. Our goal is to gain a greater understanding of your work and to more fully support you and the organization.
Questions:
- What is your current job title?
- What do you enjoy about your job?
- How long have you been working in this position?
- Do you have a current job description? (If so, can we see it? If not, ask question 4)
- What are your day-to-day duties:
- How many hours per week do you work?
- Do you have enough time every week to complete your duties/tasks?
- Are there other duties/tasks that you do monthly or quarterly?
- Who do you report to?
- Do you set weekly or annual goals for your work?
- Do you have a yearly performance evaluation?
- From your unique insider perspective, what is going well as far as the administrative operations of Unity?
- What needs attention?
- In what ways could you and your work be more supported and fully in line with our mission of transforming lives and inspiring people to make a positive difference in our world?
- Would you be able to perform the job duties of another staff member (admin staff) in the event of an emergency or unforeseen absence?
- When you have an employment question or other inquiry related to your work, what do you typically do or who do you go to?
- When volunteers come to you with questions or concerns, what do you do? (or where do you direct them?)
- What can a supervisor do to help you perform your duties more effectively?
- Would it be helpful for you to have an operational handbook or employment manual that you can reference if you have questions?
- What other types of ‘manuals’ could you see as helpful in the work you or others do?
- Is there anything else you want to share or suggest as it relates to your work at Unity?
Here is Judi’s email to the Minister to prepare staff for interviews:
HI Gary and Jane (Amber, Joan, and Jim),
Amber and I have been working together to plan for the beginning stage of Mapping What Is. We plan to begin this process with the organizational structures, practices, and systems of our ministry before moving forward with the other quadrants of our ministry. I’ve attached a document that includes our focus, steps and questions for staff. We plan to reach out to staff in the next week to schedule interviews during their work hours. We would appreciate it if you would let staff know ahead of time that we will be contacting them, here is a blurb that we hope you will share with them so that they understand in advance our purpose, we want them to feel at ease with our questions and process.
Note to Linda, Rebecca, Liza, Caleb, Bee, Jackie:
In anticipation of our upcoming transition as we search for a new minister and as part of our ongoing goal to become more fully mission-centered, the Board is ‘mapping what is’ organizationally to get a better idea of what is working well and what could use additional support. We are starting with an area that is very important to the functioning of our ministry, which is our organizational structures, practices and systems which includes our amazing and vital staff members – YOU. We would like to interview each of you individually (during your paid working hours, of course) with the goal of gaining a greater understanding of your work and to more optimally support you and Unity operations! Judi and Amber will be reaching out to you shortly to set up a time to meet (anticipated time frame would be 45 minutes). We are looking forward to learning more and thank you for the invaluable work that you do to keep Unity running!
love and blessings to each of you,
Judi