... I've been reading lots about social sector stuff, social entrepreneur-ism ( the library called the other day reminding me I have a couple of overdue books, 'How to Change the World' is one of them ). I attended a two day institute at UVic the week before last on Community Based Research, and oddly enough, being in the middle of a job search, I have been noticing how organizations present, respond to, and deal with inquiries from their job applicants. Bottomline, how do organizations think about, plan for, understand and do any kind of quality control on their 'delivery systems'... sadly, I think, the answer is ... they don't very well. How does that reflect on the social sector? Does it reinforce an underlying expectation that things can be sloppy? That they are under-staffed and under-resourced and therefore may or may not return your call, or e-mail, or request for information any time soon? Have I been guilty of that? Absolutely! Organizations I have been part of? Certainly. So what? What to do?
... here's a little experiment I did in my head as I was thinking about this the last couple of days ... it is a very limited exercise, totally unscientific, and probably biased, but here goes. Say we contacted 50 community organizations with a request. It would need to be tied to resourcing ( in my test study ), and the basic query was as simple as ... "I would like to hear about what you do, how you are doing it, and what needs you have". Could be anything from the United Way, to a small community group, to a school, to a church, to a mission, to a ... well, you get the point. In my thinking, replying or responding to a simple information request is one teensy part of delivery ... possibly even reflecting on how the organization ( as a whole? ) handles bigger, and more critical situations. Maybe even reflects on urgent vs important discussions?
... what if I had $50,000 to give away, or invest, or reward organizations that responded within 24-36 hours? Do the math, and technically 50 community groups could get a $1,000 unexpected windfall, a little mad money for the Executive Director to spend as s/he sees fit. Realistically? I'd be willing to bet that half a dozen ( 10 max ) of these organizations would 'make the cut' ... and mathematically receive a no-strings attached gift of between $5,000 and up to $9,000 to invest in a special project of their choosing. Imagine getting those letters ... "Congratulations, we did a little study, and you passed ( without knowing it ). Here's a cheque for $7,500" ... or "FYI, we did a little 'response time' study and your organization missed a golden opportunity to communicate what you are all about within 48 hours to an interested and motivated community member. Five ( or seven or ten ) other organizations like you have received cheques this week totaling $50,000. But not yours, and here's why ... ?"
... of course, financial motivation can't be what we want our social sector groups or organizations to be about. But it would point to something(s). And my fear is, it would point to some kind of lack ... of follow through, or systems, or constituency awareness, and therefore a failure of delivery. This is especially critical IF we say we are 'all about the cause' but then blame too much work, lack of staff, under-funding when it comes time ( even on a simple small request for information ) to be part of a two-way conversation. Once again, the applications and implications of this could be staggering ... how does your web site communicate? is your receptionist friendly? do you have one? are they at their desk? how does your phone system work? do you have an 'at your fingertips' information packet that can be accessed? or mailed out? or e-mailed? is there a live person someone can actually get to if they really want to, or just don't want the phone tree? Some of these barriers will be ones that have crept up on community organizations over the years, as their staffs are so very aware of what they do, but no longer can see the constituency as needing good info. Sometimes it will be a lack of vision, or leadership, or yes, resources to do something about it. But I am less and less sure, just from my own experience these last few months on the other side of the community organization equation ( out, vs in ) that 'lackadaisical' on this front is going to cut it much longer.
... I guess my question might be, and could be better phrased, but here goes ... "what do best practices look like in social sector organizations in the 21st century?" ... I've seen great and lousy, both big and small, well resourced and operating on a shoe string. There are examples of little 'mom-and-pop' groups with no money doing this very well. Then there are others, large, well-off, staffed places that are oblivious. I think we should be thinking about this ... don't you?
... I was reading an article, and a book by a local prof/educator/consultant recently and he made the point, in a academic journal cum book chapter titled 'Who Leads?' that there are four contexts, or situations, opportunities for 'kinds' of leadership in any organization: governance, administration, management and service. I will probably post something on that later. He suggests that within each quadrant, each of the four usually operated in a mini-form. So those charged with governance have to be thinking about delivery of service ... on several levels. They must govern well, for the organization to have purpose. They must also ensure that the purpose is delivered, goods and/or services if you will. They need to do that through administration ( thinking about ends ), and management ( thinking about means ). But I think we have to be more intentional about delivery ... or else we are spinning our wheels.
... OK, I'd better lighten this up a little, sorry. Simply as it is now 07:30 and I do not have any caffiene in my system yet ... a 13 minute drive would take me there though ... here's something about delivery systems for you this summer Sunday.
... which delivery system would you choose this morning?
From St. Shawnigan Church on-the-Deck ...
dlc
ps. the Times-Colonist did a series earlier this Spring on customer service. Here's a little insight into MEC's commitment to delivering their product ( service ) in stores.
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1 comment:
Great entry. And on a side note: I love the pic's and am completely envious of what you're doing for your holidays. As much as I'm looking forward to our trip to Disneyworld, maybe next year I'll get to spend a week on a dock in the sun by a lake .... maybe .....
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