Nonprofit Q&A
A service of Jeane Vogel and Fund Raising Innovations 
March 21, 2005 

Here's this week's question:
I'm the Executive Director of a very small nonprofit. With the help of a large grant we expanded our staff from two to five. Here's the problem: one of the new staffers is the daughter of a board member. There was a conflict between this staff member and her new supervisor. The daughter went to mom and mom involved the board in the problem solving. I was completely left out. The board president acts as if it's unimportant. I feel like my authority with the staff has diminished. How should I approach this?

WHOA! You have to take control back fast! And you need a grievance policy, which I'm guessing you don't have. Without a grievance policy, employees can just complain and tie you up in a web of accusations that will spiral out of hand quickly.

Approach you board president again with the suggestion that your growing organization needs a grievance policy. There's no need to mention this last situation.  He or she can appoint a committee to work on it. Often this is handled by a personnel committee or executive committee. An ad hoc committee is fine too.

The grievance procedure should clearly outline who reports to whom, and what is the method an employee uses to lodge and resolve a complaint. Many grievance procedures use several layers of immediate supervisors or staff committees to resolve issues before they get to the board level.

Most grievance procedures use a board personnel or grievance committee has the final step in the process. It should be the FINAL step, when all other avenues have failed.

Each employee should understand and sign the policy. It's a good idea to give examples of how NOT to handle a complaint, such as going directly to the board member who's your mom. Each board member needs to sign the policy also.

When your policy is in place and everyone has made a signed commitment to it, you will have the beginnings of the authority you need to enforce it with staff and at the board level.

There are many sample policies available for you to use to help you get started. It's a very good idea for a labor attorney to look it over before the board approves it. Your policy will be invaluable as your organization grows. Properly conceived and executed, it can help resolve differences at the earliest stage, and maybe keep you out of court. That's always a good goal!

Finally, I think you need a heart-to-heart with the staff member. She probably didn't realize what potential damage she was doing. A simple conversation is probably all you need to help her understand the boundaries of work and family.

© 2005 by Jeane Vogel and Fund Raising Innovations

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