Two members of a club committee in Singapore are going home in the summer. One is going to the USA. the other is going to England. It is hard to do a voice call. They are on different time zones.
Flag of UK
The President of the club is going to England.
Flag of the USA
The VPE is going to the USA.
The president gives the opening speech. The VPE prepares the printed and / or projected onto a screen and/or on members' phones meeting programme.
I used to be shy about admitting a problem. Now I find the quickest way to solve a problem is to tell the world. Somebody, somewhere will be keen to share their knowledge and share the knowledge to reduce the worry and vaorise the stress.
One solution to not being present is to pre-record a speech, or a standing for office speech. What I have done in the past and what I hope to do.
Absent Committee Members
This is a frequent problem. Vital people disappear. The president who should open the meeting and oversee all the others. The treasurer who should be banking the renewed subscriptions, paying the rental of the room, keeing us all informed. What do do?
President's Ultimatum
I had advice a year ago from forthright president 'Sue' (I am anglicisng the names to make this more readable and so I can publish my blog straigth away without spend time emailing everybody for permission and accuracy in the quotes and waiting a week for replies).
Sue told me:
1 I told them: "I am the president. I am not the VPE or the treasurer or the PR or the membership secretary. I do my job and you do yours. I can't do six people's jobs and I won't. You have to pull your weight or you are out and replaced by somebody who wants the job and is prepared to do it."
2 You don't have to do every job yourself. You just have to see that it gets done. If you are away, find somebody to replace yourself.
One thing I noticed when I came to Singapore. I had a friend who kept phong me to say that she could not attend a meeting as a speaker or evaluator or time or another role. She asked if I would go in her place.
I was very grateful. I found it hard to get a speaking slot or a role at the last minute.
I wanted to know half a day in advance. Then if I had a speaking slot I could take along my props. I did not want to carry heay items around all the time in hopes, nor get caught out wthout the props.
If the speaker finds a replacement, that makes much everything easier for the meeting organizer.
More recently, Lee told my committee how he organizes his club's commitee:
I told him that in some clubs we have members who are away. And now two of our key members will be way at a meeting.
You risk the people who attend resenting the people who are away, thinking they don't care about the club and might never come back. The takeover people might compalining that he left me to do his job, or he gets the credit and does nothing, or he is never here, or where is he and will he ever come back.
Lee told us: "We have a roster. When anybody is away, we move the next person on the list into that peosition. We change the roles every meeting so everybody gets proace at sdoing every role.
If the role holder is around, they can train up the other member, or all the oter members, with what needs to be done.
Less Stress
When we have an 'emergency', it is never an emergency. Somebody already trained can take over the role with no stress to the absent person and no stress to the person suddenly porpelled into that role.
It increases everybody's confidence. It makes for teamwork. Everybody knows exactly what everybody elese is doing and how it should be done.
If somebody falls ill and a member has to do two roles, it is only like doing two half roles because they are condient and quick at doing both roles.
When somebody is away for a meeting they are still involved. They can work from home or overseas to pepare the meeting programme or do a role which does not requrie eing there. The people who are there to give the opening speech do not have to worry about preparing the agenda because the stay at home members is looking after it.
The person who is missing the meeting still feels they are involved and know what is doing on and what happened. The person who is absent is acknowledged on the metting programme of the committee meeting agenda.
The Absent Member Gains
You are not paying a year's membership and getting nothing because you cannot attend. You are still in contact for networking or making friends by phoning and whats apping and emailing. Win-win al round.
Useful Websites
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
