Summer can be a lovely stretch of time when inboxes are empty, school bags are swapped for beach towels, and the out of office replies start to pile up.
For Associations that rely on volunteer led boards, the summer holidays can sometimes feel a bit like a logistical nightmare. Meeting dates regularly shift around, and decision making can slow to snail’s pace.
While summer can be a juggle, it doesn’t have to cause an issue. With foresight, July and August can be an opportunity to work smarter, not harder.
Plan, Don’t Panic
Summer roles around every year, but still somehow manages to catch organisations off guard. The key is not to resist the slowdown, but to build it into your planning.
If you know that several key board members are going to be on annual leave, avoid scheduling decision making meetings for the middle of the school holidays. Shift big-picture conversations earlier into the year or hold onto them until early autumn when they can be given proper attention.
It’s helpful to keep hold of a “Board Availability” calendar and gather planned annual leave so that everybody can be kept on the same page. If your board runs on a tight calendar, consider whether it’s realistic to rearrange certain meetings.
What can Wait?
Not everything is urgent, but somethings could do with being addressed before September.
Use the time now to prioritise the associations workload. Ask yourself if there’s a decision the Chair could make under delegated authority, or if other committee members could handle specific issues without needed to escalate to the wider board.
Ensure roles and permissions are clearly documented for you to refer back to later down the line, when the chair has already jetted off on holiday.
Clarity Over Chaos
Key decision making and communication are two of the top things to consider during the summer. It’s vital to clarify who is holding the reigns when key people are away. Establishing who has responsibility to make decisions will help to prevent bottle necks and keep business as usual.
Failure to do this will result in a huge backlog of emails and an overflowing inbox when board members return from holiday.
Keep Communication Flowing
There’s no need to update the board member on annual leave with an email every time something of note happens. There’s a reason they’re on holiday and their out of office is on.
Schedule an email to send to them for when they return, updating them of anything noteworthy that’s happened while they’ve been away from their desk. It’s also useful to remind them of any upcoming meetings that may have been planned in their absence.
It’s all about maintaining trust and transparency, while not badgering them mid ice-cream run.
How We Can Help
Organising summer administration is a bit like parenting, it’s not always perfect and occasionally chaotic. Set your expectations realistically, plan what you can, and trust that with good communication and flexibility you can carry on as normal (even if a third of your board are away floating on a lilo in the middle of the Mediterranean).
At Cygnul we work in partnership with our clients and are seen as trusted advisors to the Board. We can undertake the full range of membership, secretarial and bookkeeping services as well as offering advice and support to associations around the UK. If you want to explore how these services could help your organisation, please get in touch with us.
