Dealing with People

Recognising all of the people involved

The people who undertake the work of your organisation, whether they are paid a wage or not, are the most important asset of your organisation. Without them, you simply would not exist. Every person plays a vital role, and everyone needs to view each other as partners in a team working together to achieve common goals.

The types of people involved in your organisation might include:

• Volunteers on the governing body
• Volunteers involved in particular services or on particular projects
• Interns, transition year students or other work experience placements
• People on training or getting-back-to-work programmes
• Permanent paid staff
• Paid staff on fixed term contracts
• Secondees
• External contractors, such as consultants or tradespeople.

(Each of these people may work part-time or full-time.)

The more people are involved, the more complex your organisation becomes and the greater the need for a formal approach. It is absolutely vital that you have crystal clear boundaries about who does what. You should have a continually updated organisational diagram (or ‘organigram’) with clear lines of responsibility, that is circulated to, and understood by, all parties.