What is a Management Committee?
Every voluntary organisation and community group must have
a body of people who are responsible for ensuring that the
organisation is properly managed. Normally this is called ‘The
Committee’ (or the Management Committee or Executive
Committee).
The Committee is appointed or elected by the members of the
organisation. Usually this happens when the members get
together at the Annual General Meeting.
The Committee is accountable to the members of the
organisation. Each year at the Annual General Meeting it gives
an annual report to the members on the work of the
organisation during the past year.
Important rules about the Committee will be found in the
constitution of the organisation.
This written document
should explain how many Committee members there should be,
how they are appointed, how long they serve on the Committee
for and so on.
The Committee may also be given the power to co-opt other
members. This may be in addition to those appointed by the
members (to bring on to the Committee people with special
knowledge or skills) or to fill any vacancies that arise during the
year if a Committee member leaves.
Normally Committee members serve for a time-limited period
at the end of which they retire. The constitution should
explain whether retiring Committee members are allowed to be
re-appointed for a further period.
The constitution should explain the procedure for appointing
Committee members. Commonly they must be nominated or
proposed by a member of the organisation, either at the
Annual General Meeting or beforehand.
The Committee members are volunteers and do not get paid
for the work they do for the organisation. However, it is good
practice for an organisation to make sure that its Committee
members are not left out-of-pocket.
Committee members
should be able to claim back any expenses they incur and the
organisation may be able to make their taking part easier in
other ways like arranging travel to meetings, providing a crèche
or meeting the costs of child care.
Why have a Management Committee?
Running a voluntary organisation or community group is a
responsible job. As the organisation grows the job becomes
more complicated, requiring a variety of different skills and
knowledge.
The members of the Committee work together as a team. Each
member of the team brings her or his own skills, knowledge
and experience. Many heads are better than one. Different
ideas and points of view can be discussed and solutions to
problems can be agreed. Honest mistakes are less likely to
occur if there are others to check things.
The tasks involved in running the organisation can be divided
up between Committee members, so that individuals do not
become overburdened. Each member of the team can be
delegated certain things to go away to get on with and then
report back to the others.
The Committee can also be a way of ensuring that many
different points of view can be represented in the
management of the organisation. It allows the management of
the organisation to reflect as many interests as possible; men
and women, young people and those not so young, people
living in different areas and so on.
What does the Management Committee do?
On behalf of the organisation, the Committee has over all
responsibility for ensuring that the organisation is properly
run, that it achieves its aims and that any money or property it
owns is kept secure.
The Committee makes important decisions about the future of
the organisation, how it will grow and develop and what
direction it will take. Sometimes these are called strategic
decisions, because they are about the long-term future of the
organisation, not about day-to-day matters, or operational
decisions.
In small organisations, especially those that do not have paid
employees or other volunteers doing the work, the Committee
members may get much more involved in day-to-day matters.
But it is important for Committee members to remember that
having responsibility for things does not mean that they have
to do everything themselves.
Much of the work of the Committee is done in meetings.
There are no hard-and-fast rules about how often a Committee
should meet or how it should organise its work. There may be
some rules about this in the organisation’s constitution. The
important thing is that the Committee meets often enough to
ensure that it keeps on top of things.
Not all of a Committee’s work happens in meetings however.
Meetings may agree what action needs to be taken.
Committee members may have jobs to do, things to find out
and so on, between meetings. Some Committee members may
represent the organisation and speak on its behalf in other
places. If this is so, it is important that they have been properly
authorised to do so by the Committee.
The Committee may also have to report to other people or
bodies outwith the organisation.
For example, if the
organisation receives funding, the funding body will require
reports on how the money has been used.
How do Management Committee meetings work?
For a Committee to do its job well it is important that
Committee meetings are held regularly, that they are
conducted in a structured and disciplined way and that as
many Committee members as possible attend them. This does
not mean that they have to be very formal, but there is rather
more to a Committee meeting than simply sitting around
‘having a chat’.
An important part of a good Committee meeting is the agenda.
This is a written list of all the business to be discussed at the
meeting. It helps to ensure that the discussion sticks to the
point and that important things do not get forgotten.
Good attendance at Committee meetings can be helped by
giving Committee members advanced notice of a meeting.
This might be just a telephone call, but better still if it is in
writing with a copy of the agenda and any other important
papers to be referred to in the meeting. This allows people to
prepare for the meeting by reading things beforehand and
saves time at the meeting. Good attendance can also be
helped by agreeing the date, time and place for the next
meeting at the end of the one before.
It is important for the Committee to agree who has
responsibility for calling a meeting and sending out any
papers. Often this job is done by the secretary. A Committee
member who cannot attend a meeting for whatever reason may
send apologies beforehand, letting the others know that she
or he will not be there.
The person responsible for leading the meeting is usually called
the chairperson or convener. The Committee may have a
regular chairperson who leads every meeting or it may be
decided at the beginning of each meeting. If the Committee
has a regular chairperson, decisions may need to be taken
about what happens of she or he cannot be at the meeting.
There may be a vice-chairperson who takes over if this
happens.
The chairperson makes sure that the Committee sticks to
matters on the agenda. She or he may introduce each item,
explain why it has been brought to the meeting and invite
others to give reports, ask questions or make relevant points.
Not every item on the agenda will need a decision to be made.
Some matters may be for information only. But where
necessary the chairperson ensures that decisions are agreed,
including who will carry out any action and by when.
Minutes are a written record of what takes place at a
Committee meeting. Well written minutes are a reminder of
what was agreed for those present and a useful summary for
anyone who missed the meeting. They should include the date
and time of the meeting, who was present and who gave
apologies and record any important decisions that were
reached.
It is good practice to start each Committee meeting with a brief
look back at the minutes of the previous meeting. These
should be agreed (or changed if necessary) as a correct
record of the meeting. Any developments that have taken
place since the last meeting may be raised as matters arising
from the minutes.
Some business will appear on the agenda of every Committee
meeting. These are called standing items. Common standing
items include reports from sub-committees, financial reports,
staff reports and so on.
Most Committee meetings end by allowing time for any other
business (AOB). This gives Committee members a chance to
raise other items which were not listed on the agenda. These
items should be kept short and are normally just points of
information. It is not good practice to allow other business to
take up too long, especially if people need to leave the
meeting.
Sometimes it may not be possible to discuss all the items on
the agenda, because time has run out or because not enough
information is known to make a decision. In which case an item
may be deferred to a later meeting. It is not good practice to
keep on deferring items as a way of avoiding them.
Usually Committees reach decisions simply by verbal
agreement or consensus.
This may be a unanimous
decision, where everyone agrees, or by a majority.
Occasionally, on very important matters or where there are
serious differences of opinion a vote may be called for. This
will usually be done by a show of hands, but if some
Committee members do not wish their position to be known a
secret ballot can be held.
Matters to be voted on are normally the result of a formal
proposal or motion put to the meeting. Sometimes another
Committee member who supports the proposal will second it.
Votes may be cast in favour of or against the proposal.
Anyone who does not wish to vote may abstain from doing so.
If the votes cast in favour and against a proposal are equal the
chairperson may decide the matter by a casting vote.
Only people are actually members of the Committee may vote.
There may be other people present at a meeting as observers
or advisers, employees and so on, but their attendance is
non-voting.
It is not usually necessary to have every Committee member
present for a meeting to go ahead. The constitution may make
provision for a quorum. That is, the minimum number of
Committee members who must be present before the meeting
can proceed. An inquorate meeting should either be
adjourned to a later date or should confine itself only to
general discussion, since formal decisions cannot be made.
In general, Committee meetings work best when they are well
attended by members who have read their papers beforehand
and brought them with them to the meeting, thought about the
points they wish to raise and who then contribute to the
meeting in a clear, polite and constructive manner. Respect
for others at the meeting, disagreeing with them without
resorting to arguments and personal insults and conceding
points on which you hold a minority view all make the job of
the chairperson easier and the meeting more worthwhile.