The AGO hosted the semi-annual Volunteers Connect meeting of GTA cultural institutions on October 25, 2018. There was a presentation for staff on Succession Planning, followed by a round-table on Managing Change.
Successful Succession
Saskia Rinkoff, currently at Harbourfront and previously at the AGO, talked about her experience moving into a new position with little institutional preparation, while at the same time trying to leave things for her AGO successor in usable shape.
She noted that few organizations have a succession plan for their Volunteer Managers, often because the role is only part time or is one responsibility within a larger position. Challenges facing a new volunteer manager include:
- short time frame for changeover
- needing to be available to your replacement at your old location after having moved on
- the organization relying on a single person for everything, thus leaving big gap when they move on
- facing lack of staff support if the transition happens during an overall reorg
Two critical steps Saskia also offered in developing a Succession Plan:
- identify your replacement early, looking first within volunteers and staff
- prepare a “knowledge transfer” for them ahead of time that includes documents describing your role
Her tips for starting a new position:
- get to know volunteers and their concerns (using written feedback and advisory committees), eg diversity, accessibility, training needs
- set up two way communication – keep volunteers in loop re overall picture, eg tea with CEO
Her message: Is it worth the time and effort? Yes!
Several volunteer managers weighed in: Paul Ayers, AGO (staff) said he found it helpful to write job description for benefit of his own manager and had already gotten some experience by training people for replacing him during a secondment. He noted that program change often falls when a higher manager changes – this can present an opportunity to redo one’s role description.
When Angela Sweeting, Tafelmusik (staff) began her job, she discovered that people were attached to the “mother” type manager she was replacing. In a surprising twist, once that person was gone, volunteers realized they were unhappy with their roles and were ready for change. Angela’s big job at that point was to get volunteers better roles and stick-handle management push-back (as well as deal with “attached” volunteers who didn’t want to stay once “mother” gone).
Nadya Salim Hashmani, Aga Khan Museum (staff) said the key was to ask “What if a truck hits me?” Managers need to train “up” – i.e. keep execs in loop about your job so they can take over in a pinch. Additionally, it can sometimes be good to break with your own institutional history – such as seeing a resignation as a chance to review your role and making it so there is no “box” to think outside.
Managing the Impact of volunteer program changes
When a volunteer program ends or changes in any way, the transition can be rough or smooth. Nadya Salim Hashmani of the Aga Khan Museum described her tips for making it smoother.
- If you are ending a program -> give alternative placements or options to redundant volunteers
- If you are changing a shift assignment -> give a positive spin on the new shift – it can be a great growth opportunity!
- If major changes are creating organizational chaos -> wait it out! Set an example by staying calm and carrying on
- Manage expectations with explaining, reasoning, and respect
- Be ready to redo it if initial rollout is poorly done/received
- Best practices include: surveying volunteers before changes, offering individual discussions afterward
- Making a big effort up front = improvement over long term
- Don’t rush in without clarifying the big picture
Around 40 attendees from two dozen organizations enjoyed the discussions and the opportunity to network – not to mention a chance to view the AGO collection! The April 2018 Volunteer Connect report can be found here. Many thanks to Phyllis Couzin (Prints & Drawings volunteer) for organizing.