By Carolee Colter, Helena O'Connor 161 July - August - 2012 An audit can be described as an unbiased examination and evaluation of systems and processes of an organization in order to demonstrate whether they are in compliance with a standard. The human resources (HR) function of any business, including cooperatives, covers all aspects of the employer's relationship with its employees: personnel policies, hiring, [...]
All board committees should have a charter – a description of the committee’s purpose and authority. One person, generally the board secretary, should have primary responsibility for drafting charters as directed by the board. This helps the board have a consistent approach for how charters are written. Committee charters should include: The lifespan of the committee (An ad hoc committee should exist only as [...]
Boards delegate to their GM the task of effectively managing the co-op’s operations, which requires a clear system of accountability to ensure the GM is doing this job well. How can a board and GM maintain this system of delegation and accountability during the more risky and busy time of an expansion project? How can the board be sure that good financial management continues [...]
From September 2014 Our CBLD team recently updated our set of template policies (which you can find in “Sample Policies” section of the CBLD Library) to incorporate new learning and feedback from our client boards and managers. The new “Planning and Financial Budgeting” policy template was redesigned in order to help boards and managers focus attention on Ends accomplishment. Now, in the GM Report [...]
Shared challenges in board governance have perennially driven co-ops to establish shared resources and services. Consultants and collaboration around governance and leadership development have been key to building shared cooperative identity and local community impact. From the early days of the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) program, consultants serving co-op boards and other mission-driven organizations have been asking the question, “What resources do [...]
“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” -- Thomas Jefferson “You have to remember one thing about the will of the people: it wasn't that long ago that we were swept away by the Macarena.” -- Jon Stewart Why screen and nominate? Screening and nominating candidates makes sense. More and more, co-op boards are recognizing that finding [...]
By Michael Healy When it comes to numbers and data, context matters. The context in which we place particular numbers helps us make meaning of those numbers, and this is particularly important when we are talking about financial data. Over many generations, managers and accountants have developed financial reporting tools that help them do their jobs. Balance sheets, income/expense (aka profit/loss) statements, and [...]
Along with the template Financial Conditions policy, in the CBLD Library you can find an easy to use monitoring report template that reflects the trends approach outlined in this article. When it comes to numbers and data, context matters. This is particularly important when we are talking about financial data; the context in which we place particular numbers helps us make meaning of [...]
By Bill Gessner 180 Sept-Oct 2015 Expansion projects for food co-ops fall somewhere between a labyrinth and a maze. With continuous improvement and development of best practices, expansion projects are moving closer to the one path of a labyrinth and further away from the messiness of a maze. We invite you to step into the expansion labyrinth. You will learn to navigate it through [...]
By Todd Wallace 164 Jan-Feb 2013 The use of committees by boards is ubiquitous—as it should be, considering a small group’s agility when compared to a whole board. Unfortunately, boards often end up with unwieldy committee structures, groups that take up time and resources with little to show for it, or committee participants who feel burnt out and overworked. To avoid these undesirable results, consider the following suggestions when [...]
