July 15 2007 - AFS USA Organizational Study Update

From AFSWiki

Dear Volunteers and Staff

Last month we announced on AFS Online and in the AFS USA Inbox that AFS USA had commenced an Organizational Study. In that communication which was posted on June 3, 2007, we reported that we would provide regular updates on the study and its progress.

We have been busy in the last month, and here is a brief update on what we have accomplished so far.

1. External Research

We have engaged a team from Rutgers University Business School in New Jersey to help us in researching outside volunteer based organizations. There is an active group of volunteers and staff that have been working with the team at Rutgers. The volunteer and staff members of this External Research Workgroup include:

• Meryl Lewis (IT Dept) – Group Leader
• Andrea Rogers (Volunteer Great Lakes Region)
• Susan Moon (Volunteer Southeast Region)
• Megan Hartman (Business Development)
• Sandro Tejada (Development)
• Paulo Araya (Marketing)
• Melissa Liles (AFS International)

The Rutgers Team will work with the External Research Workgroup on:

1. Researching the latest trends in volunteerism and define psycho-graphic, behavioral and demographic characteristics of the 21st century volunteer

2. Survey U.S. non-profit, volunteer-based organizations both in the exchange field and those that work to deliver other types of programs through volunteers

3. Provide research, survey findings and information and make recommendations to help AFS USA evaluate its volunteer organization and structure

4. Identify best practices that will help inform our decisions about how to best structure AFS-USA for the future

The External Research Workgroup and the team at Rutgers have regularly scheduled meetings which are already underway. An initial report on the external research findings will be presented at the upcoming leadership summit in Chicago the weekend of Sept 7-9, 2007. The final report on the external research will be completed by November 2007.

2. Process Review Workgroup

On June 5-6, 2007 a group of volunteers and staff met at the AFS USA National Office in New York to engage in a high level review of the core processes in AFS USA. This group examined the Sending, Hosting, Volunteer Development, Fundraising, Sponsored Programs, HR/Training and Business Development processes in AFS USA.

These meetings were facilitated by Dominik Scherrer (Chief Information and Consulting Officer for AFS International) with the assistance of Eduardo Assed (former Partner Director of AFS Brazil and currently working as Senior International Consultant for AFS International). The volunteers and staff who participated in these meetings were:

• Dale Derouin (Volunteer Northwest Region)
• Mary Porterfield (Volunteer South Central Region)
• Mary Ann Offer (Volunteer Great Lakes Region)
• Brett Winholtz (Volunteer Southeast Region)
• Julie Baker (IT Department)
• Stefan Bussey (Sending Coordinator – Western Region)
• Jorge Castro (Regional Director – Central States Region)
• Katie McCracken (Admissions Center)
• Robin Weber (Intercultural Education and Quality)
• Theresa Collignon (Vice President Operations & Field Mgmt)
• Margaret Hunt (Vice President Business Development)
• Joanne Yokoyama-Martin (Volunteer Services)

A summary report of the Process Review meeting and an outline of the next steps of the process review are attached below for your information.

3. Volunteer and Staff Structure Evaluation Workgroups

These are two separate workgroups that will be responsible for reviewing our current volunteer and staff structures. The work of these two groups will be synchronized as closely as possible since the two parts of the structure are integrally linked.

To start this part of the study we need to develop the plan and process by which we will evaluate our current volunteer and staff structure. To that end a group of volunteers and staff will be meeting in Portland, OR the weekend of July 21-22, 2007. The purpose of this meeting in Portland will be to develop the evaluation criteria, data sources and optimal stakeholder engagement for the evaluation of the current volunteer and staff structures.

The volunteers and staff that will be attending this upcoming meeting are:

• Esra Kucukcifti (Volunteer Southeast Region)
• Betsy Nortrup (Volunteer Northeast Region)
• Sharon Clayton (Volunteer South Central Region)
• Amy Myers (Volunteer Great Lakes Region)
• Karin de Riszner (Volunteer Southwest Region)
• Kristen Bates (Volunteer Services & Process Improvement)
• Scott Hume (Regional Director – Great Lakes)
• Sarah Kriile (Hosting Coordinator – Great Lakes)
• Connie Kurtz (Admissions Advisor)
• John Williams (Development Department)
• Joe Collins (Office Manager – Western Region)
• Jhorna Hochstedler (Participant Support Coordinator – Northwest Region)
• Theresa Collignon (Vice President Operations & Field Mgmt) – Volunteer Structure Evaluation Workgroup Leader
• Joanne Yokoyama-Martin (Volunteer Services) – Volunteer Structure Evaluation Workgroup Leader
• Kerry McCollum (Director HR and Training) – Staff Structure Evaluation Workgroup Leader
• Jim Laden (Training and Organizational Development Specialist) – meeting facilitator
• Lucas Welter (International Consultant AFS International) – meeting facilitator

Carl Moccia (Vice President & Chief Financial Officer) is a co-leader along with Kerry McCollum on the Staff Structure Evaluation Workgroup but is unable to attend this face to face meeting in Portland.

The agenda and planning for this meeting is currently being developed and a summary report will be written and be provided in a future communication on the AFS USA Organizational Study.

Once the criteria and process for evaluation is decided, we then aim to engage as many volunteers and staff as possible in the information gathering process about our current volunteer and staff structures and the analysis of the data we gather.

Our aim is to have an interim report on the progress of this evaluation work ready for the Chicago II conference.

How are Volunteers and Staff selected for these workgroups?In terms of the selection of the participants for each of the workgroups formed for the initial stages of the Organizational Study, the goal and intention is to have equal volunteer and staff representation (excluding the workgroup leaders and meeting facilitators). Additionally we work to ensure that the participants represent different regions/departments, roles and responsibilities in AFS USA.

Volunteers are selected through a nomination process. An email was sent out to all the Area Team Chairs, Regional and National Council Members outlining the different Organizational Study Workgroups asking for volunteer nominations. In situations where we did not receive nominations from a particular region, we have contacted the Regional Director directly for input and suggestions.

Staff participation is determined through a sign up sheet that is posted in each of the offices. In the case of the Regional Offices, those sign up sheets can be found in the office of the Training and Organizational Development Specialists and in the National Service Center the sign up sheet is located in the HR Department. Staff needs to get the approval of their manager in order to participate in these workgroups.

Volunteer and staff participation in the AFS USA Organizational Study is not limited to the workgroups listed above. As the Organizational Study progresses there will be additional workgroups and opportunities for participation and we will include those opportunities in future communications that will be posted on AFS Online and in the AFS USA Inbox.

We welcome all of you to get engaged in this process.

Questions about the Organizational Study? If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about the AFS USA Organizational Study please direct those to Joanne Yokoyama-Martin via email at jyokoyama@afs.org on behalf of the Planning and Operations Committee of the Organizational Study.