A Practical Look at Committee Efficiency and Development

Think back to a time when you were on a committee that was poorly run or just plain bad. How did you feel?

An important and productive tool for an association, board or council is the work of a committee. Committees are indispensable, enabling work to get done in the most efficient manner. It is also true that committees (and meetings) can eat up countless hours while not accomplishing the intended goals and outcomes. A committee: “A group of people who talk for hours to produce a result called minutes.” (A. D., quoted in READER'S DIGEST, 5/76.)

Like that of policy creation, how do you create an effective committee? Is it the people? Is it the meetings? Is it the directive?

Committees don’t work well when there is:

1. Lack of goals both short and long term
2. Reliance on bad information (not enough)
3. Inability to focus on the right issues
4. Poor involvement or incorrect membership
5. Lack of clear purpose

Committees can benefit from many of the same approaches and tools that make board meetings more effective---an overview by the committee chair at the beginning of each meeting, a strategic focus for discussions, prioritized agendas, annual calendar of committee meetings and major decisions, consent agendas, and evaluation of the committee and the meetings.

For me its all that and a little bit more. Committee creation, development and maintenance is no different than that of creating a policy or procedure. First, I ask why (sometimes a few times)? Then I begin the development phase and population stage, then there is review and maintenance.

Like a policy or procedure, many times lack of attention or attendance is due in part from lack of review and reflection of the purpose and mandate.

What makes a term of reference effective?

• Does it clearly describe the purpose?
• Does it define the roles and accountabilities for everyone---members, administration, and support?
• Is it collaboratively developed with input and approved by the authority body?
• is it easy to read and understand?
• Is it fluid and does it evolve with the nature of the work and organization?
• Do you use a consistent template and process as the rest of the organization?

For me, the basic purpose of a committee is to determine, through a collective wisdom and research, the best solution to assist leadership in the decision-making process. There are many elements that will directly impact a committee’s ability to be successful.  Once you have the overall purpose and function of the committee, a key is the right membership and understanding of the purpose.

Have you thought about the different experiences and diversity that are needed to do the work of the committee and how the members will be recruited? Are the members on fixed terms or will there be opportunities to refresh the membership to offer a balance of experience and fresh perspective?

Have you provided roles and accountabilities for the committee and the members so that they can know what to expect?

What is the role of the chair, do you have a vice chair (co-chair) to help with responsibilities? Leadership is important, with a chair, having a back up, each position has a role to avoid the situation of ‘cracks in the sofa cushions,’ which could happen in situations where there are changes.

With a clear mandate and function, the committee should align itself with the overall strategic initiatives and follow a clear and transparent path. It’s not all about the terms of reference document, but it’s the start.

As you can see, the important details of developing strong, functional committees are like that of developing policies, having efficient and effective terms of reference can help set your committee and organization for success. Have you looked at the terms of reference lately? Is your steering committee steering?