Kate M: Imagine this or remember this. You've just been elected to the committee. You arrive at your first meeting, excited and ready to contribute. But you don't know anyone and nobody introduces you. Someone slides a 100 page manual across the table to you Kate H: or worse, a thumb drive. Kate M: And they say, read through this when you get a chance. Three long months later, you're still not sure what your role is, who does what, or why half the things you're being asked to vote on are even necessary. Kate H: And the organisation wonders why their shiny new committee member isn't contributing all that much. Kate M: Today, we're going to fix that. Welcome to The Committee Room. Kate H: Welcome back to The Committee Room. I'm Kate Hartwig. Kate M: And I'm Kate McPhee. We help small, time poor, volunteer led committees run better meetings, make better decisions, build stronger structures, and have better systems with less stress and less mess. We're in our Great People, Great Committees series, and this episode is about induction. We'll show you how to bring new committee members in the right way. Last episode, we talked about how to get the right people around the table, but you can have the best election process in the world and find that it counts for very little if six months later those new members still don't know what they're supposed to be doing. Induction is a process, not a document or a password to an online storage system, and it should start much earlier than most committees think. Kate H: And a quick note before we start, this podcast is for general information on best practice governance for small to medium associations. It is not legal advice. Kate M: Let's start with the most common induction mistake, the 100 page manual handed over with, I'm sure, good intentions, but really is just a pile of reading material. It is not the same thing as a proper welcome. Kate H: Now to be fair, Kate, a manual is necessary. The only thing worse than a bad manual is no manual at all. I mean, at least a manual gives people something to refer to. Kate M: Well, does, but it doesn't do anything to build relationships. It doesn't convey culture or values. It doesn't make anyone feel welcome. And it doesn't prepare someone to walk into a meeting and make meaningful and useful contributions. The same thing applies for an online filing system, the Google Drive or OneDrive storage system. If new members can't find anything, a shared drive is just a digital version of a big pile of paper on your desk, Kate H: except harder to navigate. Yes. Because an induction is about people, not just paper or passwords. The goal is to have a new committee member who by their second meeting feels properly connected to the organisation and ready to contribute, not someone who's still figuring out the acronyms or trying to work out who's who and who's supposed to do what. Kate M: And here's something that surprises a lot of people: a good induction process starts before anyone has even been elected. Kate H: Absolutely right, Kate. Before someone puts their hand up, a short checklist in the nomination pack. Have they read the constitution and strategic plan? Are they clear on their legal responsibilities? Do they know what roles are required? Do they understand what those roles involve? And do they understand the time commitment? Kate M: Yeah. So it's a filter as much as a nomination pack. You want people walking in with their eyes open, not discovering three meetings in that being on a committee is nothing like they expected or that they don't fit any of the roles. Kate H: And it signals from the very beginning that this is an organisation that takes governance seriously, which means you're more likely to attract people who take it seriously too. And that's a very good thing. Kate M: So, the manual. Once someone is elected or appointed to the committee, what should they be given? Kate H: Well, it's a bit of a list, Kate, but it's all necessary. Firstly, the constitution and the bylaws, if the organisation has bylaws or a charter or whatever you want to call it. The code of conduct, organisational chart, strategic plan, the committee role description, current governance policies, including the meeting procedures, minutes from recent meetings so that they can see what's been happening, the last annual report, including the financial statements, that's really important, a committee contact list and the meeting schedule. That's your foundation. Kate M: Yeah. So it is a long list, Kate, but it's a really important one and I'm going to tell the listeners why. So the constitution and the bylaws tell you the rules. The code of conduct tells you the standards. The organization chart tells you who's who. The strategic plan tells you where you're headed. The role description tells you what's expected of you. The governance policies tell you how decisions get made. The meeting procedure tells you how meetings should be run. The minutes tell you what's already been decided. The annual report tells you where the organisation stands financially. The contact list tells you who to call and the meeting schedule tells you when to show up. Now, any of the listeners start hyperventilating, if they don't currently have all of those, don't panic. Just keep listening. Future episodes will help you get there. But if you can't wait, then head over to the show notes for the link to Just A Tick, covers all of those documents. Kate H: One thing we must acknowledge, Kate, is that some people will never read the induction manual. There's a reason flat pack furniture stores have a hotline. You can produce the most beautifully organised, clearly written induction manual in the history of volunteer governance and someone will still turn up to their first meeting having only read the cover, assuming they'll figure it out as they go. That's not a failure of your manual. That's just people. As you often say, Kate, insert eye roll. Kate M: Yes. Indeed. The problem is, of course, that figuring it out as you go is fine for an IKEA bookshelf, but it's a tad more serious when you're the governor of an incorporated association with legal responsibilities you didn't even know you had. Kate H: So who makes this happen? Well, it's the Secretary who is responsible for these types of governance matters. The induction manual should be compiled before the AGM and provided by the Secretary or the Governance Subcommittee within forty eight hours of the person joining the committee, along with a personal welcome letter from the chair. Not just an impersonal email, a letter. It sets the tone immediately. It tells the new member they're valued, that they're not just a new name on yet another list. Kate M: Which by the way, assumes the chairperson has been elected or chosen before the first committee meeting, which as we covered in episode five, is exactly how it should work. Kate H: Now let's look at the part that most committees skip over, the part of the induction that really makes all the difference, Kate. Before the first official committee meeting, arrange some informal one on one time. Coffee with the President and the other new committee members, a tour of the club, an introduction to the staff if you have them. Kate M: So this is where induction comes alive. You find out about the new member's background, about their interests and their strengths in more detail than just what was in their candidate statement. So you can match them to a role that really suits them. You brief them on current programs and key issues. You answer the first round of questions, including the questions that they didn't wanna ask in a room full of people. Kate H: You make them feel welcome, not just processed. Kate M: So a new member who walks into their first meeting already knowing the people around the table, already across the key issues, already feeling connected to the organization, that person can contribute from day one. Now you compare that to someone who spends the first six months trying to work out who everyone is, where everything is, and what's going on or not. And then Kate H: there's the first actual committee meeting after the AGM. Our recommendation is that this be designated as an induction meeting. Spend that time going through the foundation documents together. When you've done that, go through the routine items. Deal with anything that can't wait, but save everything else for meeting number two, then close the meeting. Kate M: It's really important to set the tone for the committee, not just for this first meeting, but for the whole year. So take time to get up close and personal with the foundation documents. Examine your objectives in the constitution, your values, the strategic plan and code of conduct, the conflict of interest policy, the meeting procedures. You don't just present all this stuff to new members. It makes them just wanna lie down under a table with a flunker over their head. You need to talk about this stuff together. Are these things still current? Are they still relevant? What needs updating? Kate H: And Kate, this does two things at once. New members get a window into how the committee thinks, not just what it does. And it also gives the whole committee a useful annual reset together. Are we still operating by the values we agreed to? Is our code of conduct still us? Does the meeting procedure need updating? All of these issues can be discussed and set the groundwork for a really good committee year. Kate M: That's absolutely right. It makes such a difference. Then after that first formal meeting, spend some informal time together over dinner or drinks. New members get to relax. They get to meet everyone properly and feel like part of the team rather than a houseguest who accidentally use the host's favorite teacup for coffee. Kate H: Oh, a faux pas. Well, some people do take their tea just a wee bit too seriously. For those associations that hold an AGM in November, the December meeting is perfect for this. Follow the induction meeting with a bit of Christmas cheer and you've started the new committee year on exactly the right note. Kate M: So summing up, induction is a process. It's not a document or a password. It starts before the election with a nomination checklist that sets expectations early. It continues with a proper paper or a digital manual plus a personal welcome letter. It comes alive through informal one on one conversations before the first meeting. The key messages stick with a dedicated induction meeting that gives new members a real introduction to the committee's culture and activities followed by a shared meal. Kate H: And maybe a few drinkies, but not too many. We don't need to get to know you that well. When induction is done well, new members can hit the ground running instead of needing six months to find their feet. In a volunteer's busy world, a great induction experience really does make a huge difference to productivity. Kate M: Dear listener, this week we are giving you a challenge and a helpful tool to make your committee life easier. Your challenge is to have a good look at your current induction process. Is it a process or is it just a pile of documents? Pick one thing to add or improve before your next AGM. Just one. Maybe it's a welcome letter. Maybe it's a pre meeting coffee with a president. Maybe it's finally organizing that shared drive so the new members can actually find the documents they need. Kate H: Now we've put an induction checklist and manual contents list from The Committee Companion in the show notes. You can download them and use these as your starting point. Kate M: Now if you've got a governance question you'd like us to tackle on the show or a situation you're not sure how to handle, we'd love to hear from you. There's a contact form on our website at thecommitteeroom.com.au. And you never know, your question might end up as the centerpiece of a future episode. Kate H: Remember, no question is too basic. If you're wondering about it, somebody else is too. Kate M: Now, if today's episode has helped you, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and share the love with someone on your committee. The show notes and the induction checklists are at thecommitteeroom.com. Kate H: Next week, we'll be looking at how to share the love, why it's not okay for the same three committee members to do all the work and what you can do about it. Many hands, mate, light work. Kate M: If today's episode has helped you, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and share the love with someone on your committee. The show notes and the induction checklists are @TheCommitteeRoom.com.au. Until then, I'm Kate McPhee, Kate two. Kate H: And I'm Kate Hartwig, Kate one. And this has Kate M: been The Committee Room. Remember, Kate H: you don't need good luck if you've got good governance.