Effective Committees
Developing effective committees in your organization should flow through
a standard process. By following these five steps, you can better
serve the needs of both individual members, as well as the entire organization
which you lead.
1. Analyze your organization
- How many members do you have?
- What types of activities do you coordinate?
- What has been the historical performance of committees in the past?
- How would you rate the leadership of the group? the followership?
- Here are some typical committees Notre Dame student groups have found beneficial:
- Social Committee - Coordinates social events for the group.
- Programming Committee - Coordinates campus-wide activities.
- Publicity Committee - Responsible for the marketing of the club and its events/activities/announcements.
- Elections Committee - Responsible for coordinating the nominations/elections process for the club's leadership.
- Recruitment Committee - Implements a program to increase the membership size of the club. Coordinates the club's table at Activities Night.
- Spiritual Development Committee - Responsible for coordinating club spiritual events (masses, spiritual retreat, etc.) and works with Campus Ministry to instill a positive spiritual component to the club.
- Community Service Committee - Coordinates service/volunteer projects for the club's membership. Maintains a good working relationship with the CSC.
- Professional Development Committee - Identifies information regarding potential career development opportunities and disseminates the information to members of the organization.
- Internal Operations Committee - Responsible for internal programming for club members only. Could also develop awards banquets, frequent recognition programs, etc.
- Fund Raising Committee - Typically chaired by the Treasurer.
- CAUTION! Don't create committees just for the sake of creating more levels of bureaucracy! Contrary to popular belief, creating committees does not necessarily make an organization more efficient. Some areas of operation are best served with one person, such as a web master, historian, or meeting coordinator.
3. Appoint committee chairs.
- Officers of organizations typically appoint committee chairs. Things to look for can include:
- Past experience with the organization
- Past leadership positions held
- Recommendations from other members
- Take into account the following when appointing a committee chair:
- Appoint members who have the time to commit to the organization. Too often, the most involved student leaders are chosen for leadership positions. Overextending involved students can lead to burnout, which is neither good for the individual or the group.
- For newer members appointed to leadership positions, be sure there is sufficient training or a mentoring system in place to provide adequate guidance in leading the committee. This would be a great opportunity for your advisor to get more involved with the group.
- Committee chairs must have the ability to make decisions when the committee cannot come to a consensus. Be sure your committee chairs have the ability to be open minded and objective, while also being able to guide a group toward its goals.
- Committee chairs are likely candidates for future officer positions within the club. Be sure to monitor the progress of these individuals so that you can have an idea how well they could serve as officers in the future.
4. Assign members to committees.
- This can be done in many ways, including:
- Sign-up sheets passed around at meetings
- Interviews with committee chairs
- Allowing committee chairs to appoint committee members
- Having officers appoint committee members
- Holding recruitment nights
- GOOD IDEA! - Some groups believe that club members should only serve on one committee. What better way to foster collaboration within your organization, than to have members serve on various committees! Not only will this increase communication between committees, but it also reduces apathy and burnout, since members are given the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks.
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of committees.
- This most important step is often overlooked due to time constraints placed on student leaders. Why is it important to evaluate the committee? Here are three good reasons!
- Future leaders of your club will most likely start out as a committee chair/member. By evaluating individuals' effectiveness with their peers in sub-organizations (committees), you can better assess the future leadership of the club.
- Evaluation shows committee members that they are valued assets to the organization. Imagine yourself in a Fortune 500 company, and the CEO asks you to evaluate your effectiveness with your position. How important would you feel? Think about it!
- Regular evaluation allows club leaders to understand how the organization.
- There are many different ways to evaluate committees. Here are a few you should consider:
- Formal Evaluations
- Written evaluations
- Surveys
- Club meetings
- Informal Evaluations
- Meetings with committee members and the committee chair
- Meetings with committee members and a club officer
- Meetings with committee members and the club advisor
- For suggestions on assessment, click here.
For more information regarding developing a more effective and efficient organization, contact the Student Activities Office.
