Reviewing is a critical part of good governance that is frequently overlooked.
Organisations spend lots of time and money creating fabulous Plans – Strategic Plans, Action Plans, Project Plans – the list goes on. But all too often they have filed away, never to see the light of day again! Plans need to be ‘living’ documents. They need to be thumbed-through often, tabled at meetings regularly, and more formally reviewed periodically.
Policies and Procedures and other guiding documents need to be reviewed from time to time too. Include a footer on your documents that note the date it was developed and the date it is to be reviewed – depending on the needs of your organisation, once every year of two would suffice. That’s not to say you can’t review sooner if things change, but it ensures that, at a minimum, these important documents are at least being looked at every couple of years.
The same applies to the Rules of Association. If your group is a legally incorporated association, the Rules need to accurately reflect your purposes and the way you comply with the legal requirements which the Rules need to cover. If they don’t, your group may be acting outside its Rules, which is technically illegal. So make sure you review your Rules from time to time too – I think every three to five years is adequate. When you undertake a new Strategic Planning cycle, this can be a good trigger to review your Rules at the same time.
Performance reviewing for staff and committee/board members should be regular, planned, and linked to work plans and position descriptions. This gives people guidance and feedback in undertaking their roles and ensures any issues are addressed and improvements identified where needed.
You can download this Blog Post as a tip sheet by clicking here:Tip Sheet_ Do you review_ Oct 17, 2016
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