Member Transition and Elections
Tips for an effective transition
One of the most challenging times for an organization often arise when leadership is in transition. Too often, organization leaders dedicate themselves to successfully leading their groups for an academic year and at the end of their terms, leave the positions without time spent making sure the incoming officers have the opportunity to be trained. When that happens, all the information regarding the previous year’s lessons learned are not passed on to the incoming officers, thus slowing down their progress.
The following tips will help you effectively transition at the appropriate time:
- Were the finances adequate for your group and managed properly?
- Document key duties and maintain copies of budgets, financial reports, contracts, bank statements, checkbook, copies of paid invoices, etc.
- Make sure all contracts, bills and invoices have been submitted to the appropriate places.
- If any are in process at the time of transition, document noting what is complete/what needs to be done with them.
- Document any problems or disappointments you encountered as a part of your position and suggest ways of avoiding or correcting them.
- What did you try that did not work? Why did it not work? What problems or areas will require attention within the next year?
- Were meetings run effectively? Was their frequency adequate?
- Did the committee structure work?
- Did we have scheduling conflicts with other groups or activities?
Before the newly elected officers of your organization officially assume their responsibilities, it is wise for the old and new officers to get together for a transition meeting. This opportunity provides continuity and continued growth for the organization while allowing the new officers to learn from the experiences of the outgoing officers.
Our staff can help guide you through the things you need to talk about when changing organization leadership. Additionally, we can give your new leadership a walking tour of the CSI office to better equip your organization for success. Please email us to schedule a transition workshop.
Elections
When planning the student organization’s yearly calendar, it is important to think about the election process of new officers and leaders of the organization. It is recommended that organizations develop a standardized election process that it written in their constitution or bylaws (or both) and is agreed upon by the organization as a whole. Once the election process is decided, choose a method to collect votes such as the “Forms” tool within BuffConnect or other tech options that exist in the world.