Issue #11

Weekly evaluation inspiration for...

Non-profits who DARE

Hi! I'm Allison and I help organizations use learning and evaluation to improve their programs and communities. A key challenge that I often see in organizations is a lack of processes.

A lot of organizations recognize the heavy workload that staff have, and work hard to try to find ways to lighten it. Unfortunately, I find that sometimes short term time savings can come at the expense of longer-term improvements.

This week, we were trying to buy tickets for two dance recitals that often sell out quickly. For the first one, we didn't have a plan and when the ticket window opened my mom and sister started sending frantic messages to make sure we all got seats together (hi mom!) The second time, we had a quick chat ahead of time and I bought the block of tickets, no frantic messages required. Taking a little extra time to connect made things run a lot more smoothly.

I recently worked with an organization that had their own version of frantic messages. This time, their client-facing staff had recognized some challenges but hadn't yet shared them with the rest of the team. In the meantime, they had each come up with their own process for doing things.

They all got the thing done, but the clients noticed that there were inconsistencies. They didn't feel really clear about when and how they would be engaged, and they didn't always know who to go to when they had an issue.

Meetings are often the first thing to go when time gets tight. Fair enough, if they aren't well-used. Here's a quick set of questions you can use to make a meeting meaningful and streamline some processes while you're at it. I always encourage sending questions ahead of time so that people have time to think.

1. Think of an area where everyone's doing their own thing, or maybe the people you support are raising concerns about. (Plan this ahead of time.)
2. Have each team member individually write down what they do in that situation.
3. Start a dialogue where each person share's their process and explains why they do it that way. The why is critical - it gives you insights into which pain points need to be considered.
4. Take a step back and think about which elements will make a process that works for the people you support and your staff.
5. Don't forget to communicate it and keep it somewhere handy! Go back to it from time to time to see how it's working.

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