Building Active Member Involvement

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Q&A Session

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Building Active Member Involvement

Sue Mennear, Participation Adviser, Contact a Family; and,Leonie Pollinger, South Gloucestershire Parents & Carers

In this Webinar• Your membership base• Communication• Attracting Active Members• What motivates people to join groups• Behaviour of group members• What puts people off • Nurturing Talent• Governance and practicalities of running a forum that can impact on Active Members• Identifying roles to get the work done• Recognising and preventing burn-out

• Questions your forum committee may need to think about• Case studies and a focus on the way South Gloucestershire prioritise recruitment• Tools and handouts to help you develop a plan to build active members

Effective Communication with your wider membership

Having a large number of members helps you;• Effectively represent your parent community• Provide evidence of the issues affecting families • Be recognised as an organisation that is representative of families of disabled

children and young people • draw on a wider pool to build active members • Get the message out to more families, professionals and organisations• Spread the load• Capitalise on the amazing skills and experience of parents and carers• Build on parents confidence, skills and knowledge – empower them to live the lives

they want and be involved in the work of the forum at a level and pace that suits them

Questions to ask your committee• Have you enough members to be credible as a collective voice? • Do you need to reach more parent carers?• Is your membership representative of your community? • Do you need to target particular groups or parents of children with certain

disabilities/ service requirements?• Which groups do you need to target? Younger parents, parents with disabilities

and learning disabilities, Parents from different Minority Ethnic Groups, parents from specific parts of your area, specific disabilities or conditions, mainstream/special schools?

• How can you use your members to get the message out more widely?

Effective Communication with your Wider Membership

AIDA -Your communications need to….attract people’s Attentiongenerate their Intereststimulate a Desire prompt them to take Action!!

• Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!• Feed back• Keep their loyalty

Attracting active members The Know, Like, Trust principle

• Do people Know You? Before you can even think about getting people actively involved in your group, they first need to know you exist. You need to be on their radar. If you don’t have a community – you need to build it.

• Do they Like You? If everyone likes you your message is probably too weak. it is not important that everyone likes you just important that those who are your community really like you! Do they like what you’re doing?

• Do they Trust you? Try to be consistent with everything you do and be yourselves, people should immediately get a sense of what you’re all about and what you want them to do. Make sure you have policies and procedures in place to deal with any complaints, conflict that may arise so you can deal with it if it arises. Make sure you feed back to them so they know they have made a difference and you are making a difference. Does your forum operate openly, honestly and with integrity? Think about your leadership style – how do other people perceive you?

Questions to ask your committee; • Do people understand your vision and aims? • Do you have clear messages?• Are you being clear about ways people can get involved? • Do you have a positive profile? • Can you keep it that way? If problems arose do people

understand what they need to do?• Are you achieving and doing what you say you do?

What motivates parent carers to get involved ?

• Learning new skills /Using existing skills• Gaining “work” experience• Feeling useful• Having fun • Getting out of house, Meeting people• Making friends• Want to change the status quo, improve things• Addressing an issue /Making a difference

Different Folks….. Different Drivers! • Influence/power – want to be able to have influence, change the

status quo, have more influence in a group of people • People – want to support and nurture others –be with people with

similar interests, ideals, attitude –the human need for being part of something/ social interaction

• Achievement – share the same goals, want to make a difference, join in on activities, personal sense of achievement

Questions to ask:• Do you find out what motivates people and check in with them

regularly to develop their skills and keep them interested?• Do you have roles/opportunities to suit all three areas?

Nurturing Talent

Different roles in Groups

Forum Roles

Chair/Co-Chair Secretary Minute Secretary

Membership Secretary Treasurer/Expenses co-ordinator

Events Organiser

Website/Social media monitor

Communications co-ordinator/PR/Promotions

Newsletter Editor

Information Officer Volunteer Co-ordinator Parent Reps Co-ordinator

Parent Representative Research Co-ordinator Recruitment officer

Health Lead Education Lead Social Care lead

Transport lead Administrator Database Co-ordinator

Outreach facilitator Parent Liaison Policy Officer

Running a Forum - Participatory Decision MakingThe way leaders run groups and meetings makes a huge difference

• How you encourage or inhibit communication by group members.

• Non-verbal signals that leaders send while others are speaking have a bearing on participation.

• The meeting place itself and the arrangement of the room also impact participation.

• Structuring participation so that no single individual dominates the group.

Leaders can also…• determine in advance which decisions need to be made and how the

group can structure its activity to make sure everyone is involved in making the decisions,

• stay on top of the discussion and keep the discussion on track, • draw those not participating into the discussion, • recognise that when points start to be repeated, it is time to move on to

the next topic,• divide the larger group into smaller groups to facilitate discussion. • provide each group with a flip-chart and magic marker so that they can

record the major ideas that are brought forward. (This helps prevent repetition of ideas, lets members know that their ideas have been heard and shows the group what they have accomplished,)

• encourage participation of all • See handouts for ideas

Meetings - Things that discourage active members• The organisation's meetings are long and boring• Members do little other than to listen to leaders talk• Leaders make all the decisions and don’t listen to other people’s views• A small group of people has all the power • There are no projects that members can be involved in• Members are rarely thanked or praised for the work they do• Leaders are exhausted and burnt out • Leaders take on roles that haven’t been delegated by the management

group leaving others frustrated and unimportant NB Unless delegated specific roles by the committee the only role of the chair is to facilitate meetings

• Conflict that is not managed effectively

Governance - Blockers to Active Participation• Group has poor governance - infighting and vocal critics• Forum is run by just a few people• Leaders make all the decisions • Leaders put in huge amount of voluntary hours• Leaders do most of the work and are exhausted/burnt out• Organisation is expanding rapidly with little time for reflection or planning• People cant see how they can get involved /People are not asked what

they could offer• People aren’t getting anything OUT of the group• There is no succession plan

Policies and procedures• Safeguarding• Social Media Policy • Code of Conduct• Parent Reps Feedback policy• Health and Safety• Volunteer Policy• Finance Policy• Remuneration and Expenses policy• Recruitment Policy• Role Descriptions• Governing Documents – elections/length of tenure for key officers • http://www.cafamily.org.uk/what-we-do/parent-carer-participation/setting-up-

and-running-a-forum/

Unhelpful behaviours• Chair/ Founder is at heart of all decision makers, decisions are made quickly with

little input from others• Boards role is to support the chair/ founder rather than lead the organisation,

rubber stamp things • Board is recruited mainly by chair/founder – may be recruited due to personal

loyalty• Board aren’t aware of mission or able to answer questions without checking first• Casual observer hears “I” “ my” from the chair/founder – my staff, my trustees,

team, vision• Little forward planning, reactive, frequent fire fighting• Fear around what will happen if chair/ founder steps back/ is ill/ needs to take a

break

Leaders: Preventing burnoutRemember there is no end to the ways you can overcommit yourself!• Separate yourself from your group. This can be hard for founders who, by

default, fight tooth and nail for their group. It is important this is not your entire identity.

• Learn to delegate. Effective delegators don't just decentralise control -- they reduce their own chance of burnout by managing their workload.. You might be surprised how much better of a leader you become when you're not bogged down by the details. Build a village. Create plenty of support as you move forward with your group . If you have founded a group make sure it can become independent of you and your input.Have fun. If you're not enjoying your role ask yourself why. Remember to create room for you and others for rest and relaxation and to celebrate your achievements rather than always moving on to the next thing.

Preventing Burnout amongst volunteersQuestions to ask your committee

Is your infrastructure in place?• Are you making sure volunteers are in roles that suit them and that

reward them• Do the employees or volunteer leaders have the skills to supervise

the volunteers? • Do you they receive adequate support?• Do they understand their roles and know who to go to for

additional information? • Do you have solid volunteer engagement practices in place?• Do volunteers feel appreciated and see how their work is

contributing to the mission of the group?

• Engaging a worker to take on some roles in the organisation around outreach or membership development

• Rent an office• Structure meetings so everyone can participate• Separate out the work of the committee in organising participation to the

issues and experiences of parent representatives and open up opportunities to be part of the parent reps team beyond the committee

• Write simple role descriptions for each role so people can see what the commitment will be

• Break work down (e.g. two from steering group and others from wide membership)

Increasing capacity

• Forum Structure – develop new roles to involve more people – list the areas of work involved in running a forum – create new roles from that

• Use AGMs, EGMs, advertise roles• Set up sub groups to focus on specific areas of work – led by a

steering group member who brings in 2 or 3 people from the wider membership

• CIC – director roles• Reward and remuneration of active members• Plan and prioritise

Nurturing talent• Being clear of the roles and how they fit in, do an induction programme –

clear information about the organisation and expectations, opportunities to build skills and personal development,

• invest in training and development of active members• Offer buddying and mentoring to new and existing active members• Offer different roles, short term roles, roles other than committee and rep

roles e.g. ambassadors, forum contacts in schools, outreach • Have away days to plan and get to know people as individuals, spend time

understanding their strengths and motivations• Do skills audits of your committee to see what new people you need to

recruit • Do activities audit to see what roles others can take on• Consider facilitators to help you explore new avenues and opportunities

Do you…• Structure your meetings so that they are exciting and everyone gets

a chance to participate (see handouts for tips) • Organise social events for members such as picnics, parties and

outings• Thank people, highlighting difference made, praising, asking again.• Make people feel part of team- social events, regular feedback• Regularly check how people are doing to identify, people who want

to expand their skills, those who are under-motivated and those who plan to leave

Questions for your committee?

South Glos Parents and Carers Forum

Reaching Families

Participate in meetings

Parent carer led

training

support

Capture Parent Views

Network of SupportA coffee morning once a monthPoole Court Yate

We are also the umbrella organisation and support two parent led groups

Visit Us At Our……

Recruitment Station

How We Support You ……– Induction – Training– One to One support ( guidance, supervision,

problem solving, self-development and support ) – Choice- you can say ‘No! ‘, change role or take on

new ones– Appreciation and awards– Value & respect

• General• Ambassador• Admin• Parent Support • Groups• Steering Group• Marketing• IT• Fundraising

• Flexible Hours• Term Time Only• New friends• Confidence

• New Skills• Self Esteem• Satisfaction• Team Spirit

Examples of Volunteer Roles Examples of Positive Experiences

Our Parent Reps

Parent Reps sit on various meetings working in partnership across Health , Education and Social Care.

Introduce SGPC Ambassadors

Volunteer Quote

My involvement with SGPC has given me the confidence to do things I was too afraid to do previously. It has taken me out of the house and into the world of business which will give me more options when looking for employment.It has put me amongst people when previously I was very isolated.

Linking

• We are currently working towards linking with other Parent/Voluntary Groups and Schools to build a stronger voice and a network of support throughout South Glos

By joining together through our network of support , we create parent empowerment, and together WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE !

“Being surrounded by so many positive thinking people who have a “can do attitude” has empowered me to think that maybe I can do things too!” Parent Quote

Key elements

• Strong Leadership • Prioritise Recruitment!• Good governance /Democratic participatory decision making• Positive, clear, communication

– with potential active members – With those who come forward– with active members

• Nurture talent and develop your active members

Making a Communications Plan• Analysis• Objectives • Audiences• Messages• Tools and activities• Resources• Timescales• Evaluation and amendment

AnalysisObjectives

Audience Audience Audience

Key Messages

Tools and Activities

Resources

Timescales

Evaluation and Amendment

Planning support for active members Induction and Support

TO DO Making Progress/ ongoing

Fully met Not needed for now

What works? Resources on our website• Hammersmith and Fulham – engaging parents of children with health needs• Oldham – Defining roles to increase capacity• Bedfordshire – Restructuring and role of engagement worker• Sunderland – engaging volunteers in wider recruitment• Gloucestershire – Targeting seldom heard communities• Cornwall - Building a Committee • Cornwall /Lancashire – Reaching parents across a large rural county (Facebook)• Slough – Reaching Parents from Ethnic minority groups South Gloucestershire –

Improving Branding and Image Bedfordshire – restructuring and role of engagement worker

Handouts and Links to other organisations – skills audits, running an AGM, recruiting volunteers, retaining volunteershttp://www.cafamily.org.uk/what-we-do/parent-carer-participation/resources-%28general%29/

“A forum all parent carers want to be part of”

Questions?

Leonie Pollinger, South Gloucestershire Parents &

CarersSue Mennear, Participation Advisor,

Contact a Family

Thank You

• Thank you for attending with us today • A short questionnaire will launch at the end of this webinar

• Please take the time to complete this it will help us plan future online training events including other topics you would like to see

• The recording of this Webinar, presentation and questions will be on the parent participation Resources page of Contact a Family’s website next week – an email confirming this will be sent to you once this is available