Developing an Effective Team Delegating Sharing the Tasks

Developing an Effective Team Delegating & Sharing the Tasks Dave Weaving

From Our May Meeting Discussion • How do we ease the job DC? Of LC? • How do we keep the LCs that we have? • How do we solve the problem of recruiting new/replacement LCs? • How can you be more effective in your job as DC without adding more hours to the job?

Program Growth • In addition to just having to deal with normal attrition of leadership volunteers - every year our numbers grow: • Number of Tax Sites • Number of Returns Done • Number of Volunteers • Growing our “infrastructure” at all levels is critical to support this overall program growth • At both the LC or DC level – It’s important to share the workload

Delegating – Why Is It Difficult? • From volunteers that you might want to delegate to: • • “I just want to do taxes” “I don’t have the knowledge/training to do the requested task” “Taking the job title means I’m locked in for life” “It’s too much work” • From our leaders who should be focusing on delegating: • • • “I can do the job faster myself” “I can do a better quality job myself” “It’s difficult to “delegate” to volunteers” “I don’t know all my volunteers well enough to know who to ask” “Things aren’t broken; what’s there to fix? ”

Don’t Think You Have A Problem? “Things aren’t broken; what’s there to fix? ” You and all of your LCs may be operating just fine right now But what happens when you have a family illness or one of your LCs moves to Florida? If your district and your local sites are run as a “team effort”, there is a lot less disruption when you get thrown a curve in your staffing • If you have a team of people who all help to run a site, it’s a lot easier to find someone to step up to be the next LC • They don’t have to step in and do ALL the tasks • There already other people trained to do many of the tasks • By creating a “team approach” at the district level, you set a good example for LC’s to do this at the site level • • If you’ve been in your position a long time and have a smooth running operation, you’d probably like to see this success carried on when you decide to move on! PLAN NOW FOR A SMOOTH TRANSITION DOWN THE ROAD

Delegating/Sharing the Tasks Approaches • There is no magic formula; you need to look at your set of volunteers (or recruit new volunteers) and determine the best approaches for your situation But here are some possible approaches: • You don’t always have to assign a role or title • Just ask for help on a specific task • Many people will do a great deal of work, but they just don’t want to take on the title • If this is the case, don’t force the title on them; let them do the job • Bite-size tasks – start small & build up responsibility over time • “Can you come early each week and help with site set-up? ” • “Could you distribute these flyers to the local libraries? ” • “Could you keep track of and communicate with the new volunteers up until the time of training? ”

Delegating Approaches (Continued) • Try the “Work along with me” approach • Work together with someone on a task • It may start out being more work for you, but gradually the person can take over all or most of the task • Group assignments • If you have 2 -3 volunteers who seem to work well together; ask them to do a task as a group • Post the positions/tasks you need help with to all the volunteers in the district – ask for assistance • You might be pleasantly surprised with the results

Some of the Other Issues You May Face • “Taking the job title means I’m locked in for life” • Create term limits – “You only have to do this for 2 tax seasons” (Who knows, after 2 years, they may just sign up for another term!) • “I don’t have the knowledge/training to do the requested task” • Respond with: “Neither did I, but I learned without too much difficulty; and in your case, I’ll be here to help train you. ” • “I don’t want to delegate - I can do the job faster myself” or “I can do a better quality job” • As the program grows at the DC or LC level, it becomes more difficult for one person to do the full district, or full site, set of responsibilities • Usually “Speed” and “Quality” suffer when one person tries to do it all • “I don’t know all my volunteers well enough to know who to ask” • Most LCs tend to know their site team – they’ll know who to ask for various tasks • At the DC level, consider meeting with your LCs and ask them for suggestions on what TCs and CFs might be willing to/capable of helping out at the district level

Do You Recruit for All Roles? • All the site/district work does not have to be done by volunteers who are also tax counselors!! • Do you recruit for all roles? • • Tax Counselor Local Coordinator** Client Facilitator** IT Support** Site set-up** Communications Support** Administrative Support** Client Outreach**; appointment reminder calls, etc. • ** all of these roles can be done by people who do not prepare taxes • These can be new volunteers to supplement your current team

It’s Important to: • Properly train the people who you delegate to: • Is there a position description? Or a written list of tasks? • If it looks daunting, sit down with the individual and highlight the items that are most key • Let them slowly expand to the other areas in the position description • Let them work side-by-side with the person doing the job today • Give them Encouragement & Support • Give them Thanks

Goal: Expanding the Number of Volunteers in Leadership Roles • • • Leadership Positions Site Level • LC • ERO • SF (Support Facilitator) District Level • DC • AC (Administrative Coord. ) • CC (Communications Coord. ) • INS (Instructor) • TC (Technology Coordinator) • TRC (Training Coordinator) State Level • SC (State Coordinator) • ASC (Assistant State Coord. ) • ADS (Administration Specialist) • PCS (Partnership/Comm. Spec. ) • PVS (Prospective Vol. Spec. ) • TCS (Technology Specialist) • TRS (Training Specialist) NY 3 Active Volunteers 135 [VALUE] Leaders Non-Leadership Positions • Counselor • Client Facilitator Note: Not all new leaders have to come from the pool of current Non-Leaders; they can be new volunteers. Non-Leaders

Need More Help With Delegating? There’s an App for that! • 2 -Way Delegation App (Apple Store or Google. Play - $4. 99) • Everything you wanted to know about DELEGATION, but were afraid to ask!! • Structure: • Analyzing your needs • The process of delegating • Following up • Contains many aids; • Worksheets • Videos • Exercises • Ease of getting to what you need through an effective Table of Contents

Summary • Spreading the workload is critical to short-term and long-term success • Build a Team at the DC Level • Encourage your LCs to do the same at the Site Level • Delegating and involving others does not often happen overnight • Start now and build the team over time • Don’t just rely on just your existing team • Recruit volunteers for all roles