The Table - A Publication for Boards of Directors

September 2022 issue 3

the table A Publication for Boards of Directors

In this Issue: Your SARC Board at Work In Focus: May 2022 - September 2022

Know Your SARC Board

Spotlight on South West Region Board Representative, Jenna Moore

Call to Action

Disability Service Sector HR Strategy

Staying Focused on Strategy

by Desiree Tirk

Mark Your Calendars!

Join SARC and SARC’s Board of Directors as we provide updates on strategic initiatives, Board decisions, governance resources, and more.

The SARC Fall Conference is October 26 & 27 in Regina

The Updated Elevate Program Launches at the Fall Conference

know your sarc board Jenna Moore South West Region Regular Board Representative Rosetown, SK Hi, my name is Jenna. I have lived on a farm near Rosetown, SK for 11 years now. Although I identify our farm location as Rosetown, we do live near Herschel, SK which is where the bag company (Herschel Supply Co) is named after. I am married to my husband, Kendal, and we are very fortunate to have many fur babies on our farm that are very much our family.

I served in a senior leadership role at Central Plains Co-op for ten years, where I oversaw human resources, marketing, member relations, accounting and finance. In April 2022, I took a career change and embraced my entrepreneurial spirit by devoting all my time to our businesses in Rosetown – which includes Athlete’s Haven, a sporting goods and clothing store (you can check it out online at www.athleteshaven.ca), Athlete’s Customs which is a division of Athlete’s Haven that creates custom apparel and promotional items for businesses and teams, and Collective Leadership Consulting which is my personal practice to assist leaders and businesses with human resource and leadership consulting. My free time is spent at our cabin at Lac La Peche, which is very close to where I grew up so it allows me to reconnect with family and friends every time we visit there. Kendal and I also enjoy traveling, so we try to get in a trip or two every year.

In addition to my many other commitments, you will ind me volunteering with various boards and organizations in Rosetown, as well as serving on the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board.

Although my time with the SARC Board has been short (as I just joined the Board in June), I have found the experience very rewarding, knowing that our advocacy and decisions have a direct effect on the many people and organizations in the Disability Service sector across Saskatchewan.

I am a values driven individual, and I feel that my personal values of authenticity, courage, and kindness are directly linked to the values and strategic direction of the SARC organization.

Your SARC Board at Work In Focus: May 2022 - September 2022

On June 24, 2022, SARC held its first in-person Annual General Meeting since 2019 in Saskatoon. Although there was an option for in-person attendance, SARC also offered Members the option to attend virtually. Alongside the regular business, SARC said goodbye to two dedicated individuals who completed their terms on the Board. Bill Powalinsky, North Region Regular Manager Representative from Prince Albert, will be missed for his sharp mind and quick wit. Yvonne Nyholt, North Region Associate Board Representative from North Battleford, will be missed for her perseverance and kindness. Both Yvonne and Bill were active Members of the Board, each chairing committees and serving on the Executive Committee during their tenure.

The SARC Board also welcomed four new Board Members: Cameron Nicolle, North Region Regular Manager Representative from Valley Action Abilities, Rosthern; Elaine Carter, North Region Associate Board Representative from the Onion Lake Health Board, Onion Lake; Jenna Moore, South West Region Regular Board Representative from Wheatland Regional Centre, Rosetown; and Valerie Budd-Pritchard, South Region Regular Manager Representative from Moose Jaw Diversified Services, Moose Jaw.

Following the AGM, the SARC Board elected/appointed the following members to its Executive Committee for 2022/23: President - Jim Morrison Vice President - Valerie Budd-Pritchard Treasurer - Lionel Prefontaine External appointment Secretary - Stefan Thomas Past President – Dawn Desautels

ACCREDITATION As previously referenced in the Spring 2022 Edition of The Table, SARC is pursuing Level 3 Accreditation through Imagine Canada's Standards Program. Staff have expended many hours gathering and reviewing evidence required to accompany our accreditation application package to be submitted at the end of September. SARC’s Accreditation Oversight Committee also met in August and September to review resources and provide input and perspective on materials SARC intends to submit. The SARC Board also devoted a full day in August and another half day in September approving items that will be submitted on September 30. From October to March, SARC’s application, accompanying documentation, and evidence will go through an initial screening, completed by Imagine Canada. Once we have successfully completed that process, our package will be put forward for the full peer review. SARC will receive the results in April/May 2023.

Melanie Weiss, Director of Member Services/AED

ACCREDITATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Jim Morrison, SARC Board Stefan Thomas, SARC Board Bill Powalinsky, Former SARC Board Member Amy McNeil, Executive Director Melanie Weiss, Director of Member Services/AED Corinne Sonntag, Assistant Director of Member Services Corleen McLean, Executive Assistant

CLOUD-BASED POLICY MANUAL As a result of the review and preparation of materials to be submitted for accreditation, SARC made the decision to do a complete overhaul of our entire Operations Policy Manual as well as our Governance Policy Manual. While most of what is being updated is cosmetic, e.g., updating fonts, adding hyperlinks; we are also migrating our policies to a secure SharePoint website that was developed over the last few months by one of our summer students. By June 2023, we aim to have reviewed, updated, and uploaded every policy to our new cloud-based, SharePoint site.

Call to action

Disability Service Sector HR Strategy sarc’s 2022 Member advocacy package On September 6, the 2022 Member Advocacy Package was emailed to all Regular and Associate Members. The package contains resources and information on several ways SARC Members can engage in the campaign in support of increased funding toward employee wages and benefits in the sector. These ideas came as a result of Member feedback at the Spring Regional Meetings about the types of activities Members would be willing/able to support at this time. They also provide a blend of elements that we feel are necessary for a successful advocacy campaign:

Issue Lobbying - facts about our sector’s HR challenges and proposed solutions sector promotion - enhancing awareness about our sector and promoting its value sector education - basic information on what our sector does

WRITE A LETTER/ EMAIL Issue Lobbying

MEET YOUR MLA

Write to your MLA and the Minister of Social Issue Lobbying Services about how Present MLA funding for employee Information Package wages and benefits and relay Key needs to be increased Messages regarding in order to address our sector’s turnover and vacancy challenges and issues in the sector. proposed solutions.

ENGAGE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT Issue Lobbying, Sector Promotion, Sector Education Share SARC posts.

Post about your involvement in any of these initiatves (ex. meeting with an MLA, hosting an event, attending a SARC event).

HOST AN EVENT Sector Promotion, Sector Education Ex. BBQ, grand openings, anniversary celebration, open house.

ATTEND A SARC EVENT Sector Promotion, Sector Education Ex. SARC Awards Banquet at Fall Conference or future MLA Mixer.

PARTICIPATE IN OTHER SARC CALLS FOR ACTION To be determined based on how strategy is progressing/ government response (ex. petition).

For this year’s campaign, we are engaging in more activities, and we need more people involved. In discussion with SARC’s Advocacy Committee and Subcommittees, which are comprised of 19 Member organizations, it was determined that we need a larger voice – engaging boards, employees, people supported, and families/friends of those supported will amplify our message for greater impact.

We need to make an impact – now more than ever.

health human resources action plan On September 7, the Government of Saskatchewan released its Health Human Resources Action Plan. While this is good news generally for the people of Saskatchewan and a positive move for the healthcare workforce, it will be extremely harmful to our sector with its 4-point plan around recruitment, training, incentives, and retention. As an example, part of this $60 million plan includes a Saskatchewan Rural and Remote Recruitment incentive whereby newly hired Continuing Care Assistants can be eligible for up to $30,000 over three years in eligible communities, including 30+ communities where SARC Members deliver services and compete for the same staff.

In response, SARC issued a letter to the Minister of Social Services, copied to all MLAs and SARC Members, on September 9. The letter called for an immediate response of $24 million toward the development of a similar action plan for the Disability Service sector, including employee wage/benefits funding increases. We requested an urgent meeting with the Minister to discuss this further and have since met with the Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy Minister for Disability Programs and Housing.

As part of our Member Advocacy Campaign, we had asked all Members and their stakeholders (employees, people supported, family members) to write letters to their MLA and the Minister of Social Services. Please incorporate this latest information on the Health Human Resources Action Plan and our sector’s specific requests (as contained in SARC’s letter dated September 9) into your correspondence. It is vital that MLAs understand the negative implications that this plan will have on our sector if we continue to be overlooked.

Even before this plan was released, we knew that previous government announcements in support of health, education, and early learning sectors were negatively impacting SARC Members’ ability to recruit and retain employees and that we would need to come together as a large and loud voice to bring our sector’s needs to the forefront. This is now more important than ever, and we cannot wait and hope for results in the 2023-2024 provincial budget – the sector needs a response now.

Call to action We are asking all Regular and Associate Members to: •

Write a letter to their MLA and the Minister of Social Services and encourage employees, people supported, and family members/friends to send their own letters

by September 30, 2022, as September is a key timeframe for provincial government budget deliberations.

•

Meet with their MLA (working with other SARC Members that share the same MLA, if applicable) by November 15, 2022, to express our sector’s urgent need for action.

•

Follow SARC on Facebook and Twitter, and encourage board members, employees, people supported, and family members/friends to do the same – share our posts that promote and profile the Disability Service sector to help raise awareness of the value of the Disability Service sector.

•

Engage in the other activities outlined in the 2022 Member Advocacy Package.

Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amy McNeil, Executive Director, at (306) 933-0616, ext. 229 or amcneil@sarcan.sk.ca, or Melanie Weiss, Director of Member Services/AED, at (306) 933-0616, ext. 245 or mweiss@sarcan.sk.ca.

staying focused on strategy

By Desiree Tirk As boards reconvene this fall, planning for the year ahead is likely a top priority on the board and executive director’s ‘to-do’ list. As a result, the board chair and the executive director need to work together and with the board as a whole to keep focused on strategy and strategic issues ahead, as outlined in the organization’s strategic plan. According to Joan Garry, nonprofit leadership expert, “Strategy defines the organization in a profound way and in this endeavor, the E.D. and the board chair must work as partners. Because they lead together.”

So, in practice, how can the board and executive director work together to keep strategy at the forefront of the overall work of the board?

Have Regular Strategic Plan Updates As you already know, strategic planning is not just a one-time event; it is a process of collaboratively charting a course of action for the whole organization and should be considered a living, breathing process that is constantly referred to, updated, and reported on regularly.

It is imperative to have regular communication between the executive director and the board to continually keep the board current on the state of the strategic plan, its progression, and any signs that indicate if the strategy is not on course. A strong relationship between the board and its executive director based on mutual respect, honesty, trust, and feedback ensures clear understanding of the shared goals that the organization is working to achieve and holds one

another accountable for achieving the mission and vision.

Consider Using Dashboard Reports A dashboard report is considered a collaborative exercise, between board and management, that enables the board to maintain its governance role and allows more time to focus on mission impact and outcomes, strategic effectiveness, and fiduciary oversight. The dashboard provides a high-level overview of strategic initiatives that the executive director then translates and provides context for, which can drive effective decision-making.

According to BoardSource, dashboard reports offer a high-level overview, on a single page, that provides an update of progress towards strategic goals. “Each strategic initiative from the plan will have a set of measures that tell the board whether the intended effects of that initiative are being realized.” The executive director can present this dashboard to the board, quarterly, semiannually, or annually, and provide clarification of how the organization is progressing with strategic goals, whether or not the organization is on track, identify proactive measures needed, identify patterns of performance, and bring all directors up to speed with a basic understanding of what the organization is facing. “Faced with inadequate progress, the board can ask some good questions as to underlying causes, which may result in changing certain policies and practices that will better ensure attaining the vision year goal in question, modifying the goal itself, or some

combination of both.” Dashboards alone will not provide the full picture, so together the executive director and board can use this tool to better understand the organization’s health and instill an organization-wide policy-level perspective.

Engage In Discussion about Strategic Priorities Boards have limited time together, so it is important to make that time valuable and focused on strategic priorities. Together, the executive director and board should engage in discussion about emerging trends, issues, and opportunities that come up that could impact the progression of strategic priorities, and be prepared to pivot and adjust those priorities when necessary. Boards can offer different perspectives than that of the executive director by providing diverse skills, experience, and expertise.

According to Preparing for More Effective, Focused, and Strategic Board Meetings by BoardSource, “Board meetings should be a place for the discussion, debate, and consideration that can’t take place in a written report or presentations from the chief executive and committee chairs.”

Tie Strategic Issues to Board Meeting Agendas Creating a board agenda is a joint effort between the executive director and board chairperson and they should ensure there is time for discussion and questions about strategic initiatives in every board meeting. Structuring agendas to include future, ‘big picture’ thinking will enhance the board’s effectiveness in its role as a strategic partner with the executive director.

There are a number of things the executive director and board can do to ensure that board meeting agendas are strategic. According to donorbox.org, organizations can:

constantly reminded of it. This will help the board meeting agenda remain strategic, mission-focused, and can serve as a beacon to guide the board’s decision-making.

•

Spend at least 80% of the meeting focused mostly on decisions and strategic discussions, not on updates and staff reports. This ensures the board remains focused on governance and strategy rather than operations during a board meeting.

Consider Using Consent Agendas To reserve more time for discussion of strategic issues, this type of agenda is used to streamline meeting procedures by ‘batching’ routine or non-controversial items that do not require discussion. This may include the minutes from the last board meeting, executive director and committee reports or meeting minutes, for example. Items that do not need conversation are bundled into one group, where a single motion and vote is passed. This allows the board and executive director to spend more time on issues that relate to the mission and vision of the organization such as reviewing the strategic plan or risk management and spend less time on updates and reports.

As your organization undergoes planning for the fall, be sure to visit the Board Resource Area on SARC Learning Central for downloadable planning tools such as policy templates, checklists, and resources, or access a variety of training opportunities available for SARC Members.

About Desiree

•

Review one strategic goal during each board meeting (depending on the number of strategic goals and the number of board meetings they have in a year).

•

Ask, “How will this circumstance help us do a better job at achieving this strategic goal?” during agenda topic discussions and decisionmaking.

Spending the past 25 years working in community development in the nonprofit and government sectors, Desiree brings a variety of experience with developing and facilitating workshops and has held positions as Program Manager, Facilitator, and Trainer. Desiree has over 20 years’ experience as co-owner of a business and holds a Bachelor of Indian Social Work and Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies.

•

Include their nonprofit mission statement on the top of each agenda so that everyone is

To connect with Desiree Tirk about your Board’s resource needs, email her at dtirk@sarcan.sk.ca.

2022 SARC FALL CONFERENCE

REGISTER TODAY! sarclearningcentral.ca/ program/sarc-fallconference/

October 26 & 27 Regina, SK The Atlas Hotel MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE FALL CONFERENCE 2022 – OCTOBER 26 & 27 SARC is pleased to be hosing our first in-person conference since 2019 – join us in Regina to network with other SARC Members from across the province and take in some great learning opportunities on managing change; board governance; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and much more. To close the conference we will feature an exciting keynote on how change can be a communication template for team driven initiatives. On the evening of October 26, we are thrilled to once again be hosting the SARC Awards banquet where recipients, friends, family, and other dignitaries come together to celebrate the accomplishments of people and businesses for their hard work and contributions to their community. You can read more about the SARC Awards here.

THE UPDATED ELEVATE PROGRAM WILL BE LAUNCHING AT THE FALL CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER

Be one of the first to see and experience the new ELEVATE program complete with updated content, resources, and videos. This online board development program has been taken by hundreds of nonprofit board directors across Canada in the last six years, and we have worked hard to update the content to reflect new and emerging best practices as well as a wealth of other information! There will be an ELEVATE display in the exhibitor area at the conference where you can experience the updated program for yourself and ask our team members any questions that you have.