Committees, roles and meetings
Committees and your club's management team
Along with deciding on your club's structure and putting together your management team (president, chair, secretary etc.) you'll need to put together a plan for the type of meetings your club needs and decide on who will run these meetings. Generally, a committee is needed. A committee is a group of people who have set roles and jobs to complete. Your club's main committee with be your management team. Your club may also have subcommittees who are in charge of specific events like fundraisers or tournaments.
The roles of people on your committee or management team could be:
- President/Chairperson
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Team Manager
- Marketing and Promotions Officer
- Health and Safety Officer
- Volunteer Coordinator
Job descriptions (sometimes known as position or role descriptions) should be simple and straightforward. Tailor them to meet your club's needs and make sure they are encouraging – not daunting!
Here's a basic guide to what they should include:
- The benefits for the volunteers e.g. companionship, warmth, new skills.
- A title that's clear and simple and identifies the role.
- Importance of the role to the organisation.
- Primary objective – try to make them specific and achievable.
- Key tasks – be clear but not over-detailed.
- Skills or qualifications required – those that are needed for the role.
- Police check/references required.
- For and to whom the role is responsible and other relationships.
- Reporting procedures and record keeping required.
- Limits and extent of authority.
- Time commitment required (hours and length of commitment).
- Location of organisation.
- Flexibility to encourage the volunteer’s initiative and creativity.
- What resources and support will be available – training, travel expenses, parking, equipment, supervision (internal and external).
- Opportunities for the person to influence the direction of the organisation.
The more details, the better chance there is of recruiting someone suitable. Think about whether you'd want to apply. Are the expectations realistic? Put the date on it – so you can identify different versions. Keep it simple and preferably on one page, accompanied by basic information about your club.
We have provided job description templates in the resources section.
Committees can be a lot of fun and are a great way of making sure that everyone is involved and able to make a contribution to your club. Don't forget that committee meetings can also be good social events! Remember to allow some social time, separate from the main meeting agenda.
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How to run a meeting
Within a club there are several different types of meeting that may be required; some are informal, others are more formal such as an Annual General Meeting (AGM).
A good meeting will ensure that everybody has the information they need, understands the outcomes and knows what they need to contribute to achieve these outcomes. Any meeting will need someone to be in charge or ‘chair’ the meeting and someone to write down the minutes or be the 'scribe'.
Informal meetings should still be managed, but they also encourage members to relax and join in.
You might hold an informal meeting to:
- Discuss new ideas.
- Solve problems.
- Gather opinions.
- Make sure that everyone is still feeling enthusiastic about the club.
- Brainstorm ideas for fundraising or sponsorship.
Tips to running a good meeting:
- Establish the purpose and desired outcomes of the meeting.
- Check that everyone understands the topics to be discussed. Distribute an agenda prior to the meeting if necessary.
- Ensure everyone listens to each other carefully.
- Ensure only one person speaks at a time.
- Encourage everyone to be objective and keep discussion focused on the topic.
- Examine each option individually and objectively and reaching a conclusion for that option.
Formal meetings such as annual general meetings (AGM) are usually a reporting meeting for your club. This means that your club's aims, activities and finances are reported on at the meeting. They are usually held annually and they are open to anyone directly involved with the club and also when key roles like the chairperson are decided upon.
These meetings are based around an agenda which is similar to a programme or list of points to discuss. The club's Secretary and Treasurer usually prepare the agenda and send it out to everyone who will attend the meeting. There are many types of agenda – but by keeping it simple you’ll be able to run a straight-forward and effective meeting. Your club's chairperson will run the meeting and make sure that the agenda is used.
Here's an example of a straightforward agenda:
- Welcome by the chairperson – this starts the meeting off.
- Apologies – from people who can’t get to the meeting.
- Confirmation of minutes of the previous AGM – a summary of what was discussed.
- Correspondence – important letters, email and faxes to and from your club.
- Chairperson’s report – usually an overview of the activities and aims of the club.
- Treasurer's report – usually an overview of the financial activities and the club’s current finances.
- Notice of any new management committee members.
- General business – anything that hasn’t been covered by the chairperson or treasurer.
- Guest speaker – this is optional but sometimes a guest speaker can provide new ideas or inspiration for your club.
- Confirming the date of the next meeting.
- Close of meeting – serving refreshments at this stage can be great way to thank everyone for their efforts and keeping the meeting fun.
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Resources and more information
CommunityNet, an internet resource for communities in New Zealand has more information and resources for running meetings.
You can also use these job description templates and adapt them for your club:
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