States why the organisation exists, how it will go about conducting its business, and who can be involved.

BUSINESS PLAN

This is the document which sets out what your organisation is all about - how it got to where it is, how it fits in with everything else that is going on, where it intends to go and how it will get there. The Business Plan will also show realistic financial forecasts of all income and expenditure for the period covered by the Plan.

It will be used by the Committee to focus discussions at meetings, and make sure that the organisation is on the right track. It is also an essential tool for potential volunteers and funders. It is worth finding a good accountant to help with financial projections.

PROCEDURES AT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

This will outline the frequency and format of meetings, conduct during meetings, voting procedures, sub-committee remits, how discussions and decisions are recorded, what should be included on the Agenda (written reports on finances and from workers should be available at every committee meeting). It is advisable to include a paragraph or two about potential conflicts of interest - better to be prepared than face a crises and have to invent a policy ‘on the hoof’ - a rarely successful course of action.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

While there may be an Equal Opportunities Statement contained within the Constitution, you will still require a policy stating how your organisation will ensure that anyone who wants to be involved can be involved (eg making provision for people who are visually impaired, or whose first language isn’t English), how vacancies will be advertised and new staff and/or volunteers selected.

VOLUNTEERS’ POLICY

All voluntary organisations have volunteers - even although management committee members may not see themselves as such - and their interests need to be safeguarded too. Such a Policy will outline how - for example - volunteers (including the Committee) will be recruited, inducted to the organisation and treated once they’re in
(eg access to training and travelling expenses). A ‘Volunteer Job Description’ Roles and Responsibilities, Confidentiality Statement and a Complaints and Grievance Procedure are also important, and help to avoid later difficulties, if provided at the outset. Contact Volunteering Fife (East) at 01334 412998, for more information.

COMMITTEE ‘JOB DESCRIPTION’

Every organisation wants to make sure that it has the best people for the ‘job’ on board - a ‘Job Description’ will help to define the responsibilities of the committee as a whole, and of the individual committee members their time commitment, how the organisation expects them to relate to paid staff and volunteers, and what restrictions are placed upon them - eg confidentiality in their dealings with other individuals and organisations.

CONFIDENTIALITY CODE

This will outline how your organisation, and the individuals within it, use the information it needs to do its work, ie who has access to which bits of information, how it will be used, and what the implications might be for those breaking the Code.

This may be particularly important for organisations which are involved in providing one-to-one counselling and support, or which have to access information about other people or organisations.

The Human Rights Act and Data Protection Act may also have a role to play in this.

INDUCTION PROCEDURE

Essential for all new volunteers, staff and committee members entering an organisation for the first time, this procedure will ensure that all new starts are given the same background information on the group, eg Business Plan, Constitution, how it operates, use of office equipment and machinery (including personal use), confidentiality issues, what policies are in place and where they are located. Induction procedure will normally also include a meeting - or meetings - with relevant people involved with the organisation.

COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

All voluntary groups are providing a service to someone - and even with the best will in the world things can, and do, go wrong. Putting together these Procedures well before anything happens means that you are prepared - not that you are expecting things to go wrong - and are not leaving the organisation in a vulnerable position while the appropriate policy is ‘magicked up’ only to find it falls short of the mark.

It may be that one procedure will cover staff, volunteers and users, or that you will require separate ones. You will need realistic time-scales for dealing with problems, an appeal process and a statement of who will be involved.

HEALTH & SAFETY

This is a much overlooked aspect, since many groups feel that Health & Safety issues are common sense. Sadly not everyone is blessed with common sense, however. A written Health & Safety Policy is essential to safeguard volunteers and staff in the workplace (be it home, someone else’s home, or an office), and to avoid possible litigation by a service user. In the eyes of the law ignorance of health and safety matters is not an excuse, so if something does go wrong and you find yourself on the receiving end of a claim - you can’t plead ignorance.

EMPLOYING STAFF

When employing staff, voluntary management committees and the individual committee members become employers - a position which brings certain legal and moral responsibilities. A range of other policies and documentation is therefore required.

RECRUTMENT PROCEDURE

This will outline how the Recruitment sub-committee will conduct business including, drawing up Job Descriptions and person specifications, agreeing salary scales, where the job(s) will be advertised and what wording will be used, how the short-listing will be carried out, who will conduct the interviews, what questions will be asked, how and when candidates will be contacted, who will draft and write the Terms & Conditions of Employment.
(The Equal Opportunities Policy will also play a part in forming these procedures).

STAFF - OR VOLUNTEER - HANDBOOK

You may wish to produce a Handbook which can be used by everyone involved within your organisation. It will act as a point of reference for all the policies and procedures which are in place, and can be used to highlight other practices and issues, eg personal use of telephone - and other items of equipment, overtime working, annual leave.

OTHER PROCEDURES

You will already have these in place because - being a well-managed organisation - you have given them serious consideration and seen the merit of having them. Your staff and volunteers know where they stand, what to do if something goes wrong and who to go to. All the previous policies and procedures apply as much to staff as to the Committee and other volunteers.