All service providers must have clear management structures that identify the roles and responsibilities of all post holders involved in the planning, management and delivery of the service.
Whilst some of the language and particulars of this section have highlighted issues for voluntary organisations, the principles of clarity of role, system and decision-making apply in all types of organisation.
All staff and volunteers should know the boundaries around their own roles and the roles of others in their service. These should include, where appropriate, management committee members, paid managers, all paid and unpaid staff.
It is important that management structures recognise the often stressful and potentially isolating environment within which advice staff may be working and that they provide for adequate support mechanisms to address these factors. For example, by ensuring that advice staff have the requisite time and resources to manage time-sensitive work without undue or prolonged stress.
Whilst many small services operate on the goodwill and enthusiasm of individuals, the long term viability of a service as individuals move on is dependent upon the clear definition of roles and the assignment of responsibilities and expectations. The structure and the delegation of responsibility need to be clearly understood by everyone, so that there can be no confusion as to how policy and strategic decisions are made, who is responsible for their execution and for the day to day management of the service.
In developing management structures, the service provider will need to address a range of questions.
Who is responsible for making policy and strategic decisions within the service?
Are there limits to their powers and responsibilities?
How can powers be delegated?
What are appropriate divisions of responsibility between committee members and paid staff?
The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 reforms and modernises charity law in Scotland. A key provision of the Act is the establishment of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator ( OSCAR) which is responsible for the regulation of charities in Scotland. A Scottish charity or a charity regulated in Scotland is an organisation entered on the Scottish Charity Register. Any organisation wanting to be entered on to the Register and become a charity will need to apply to OSCAR at www.oscar.org.uk.
Further guidance can be sought in the document Guidance on Registration with OSCAR for Charities in England and Wales available at www.oscar.org.uk.
All voluntary organisations are controlled by a governing body. These can have a variety of names, including management committee, Board, Council, and so on. Whatever the name, they all carry broadly the same range of responsibilities. These are discussed below.
All governing bodies are made up of individuals. We refer to them as 'Trustees'. A Trustee is a person responsible under the governing document of a service for controlling the management of that service, regardless of whether they are called committee members, governing body members, non-executive directors, council members, and so on. These are the people who carry the ultimate legal responsibility for the stewardship of the assets and resources of the service. Even where a voluntary service is incorporated (that is, a company limited by guarantee), members of the governing body can still be personally liable if it can be shown that they have not acted reasonably and prudently in all matters relating to the service.
TIP In developing a management structure, voluntary services should consider the golden rule: 'Trustees can delegate authority but they cannot delegate responsibility'.
It is important that all staff and volunteers understand the role of the governing body and its individual members. Its members also need to be clear about their roles and boundaries of authority. Increasingly, good practice suggests that job descriptions should be provided for honorary officers.
The central role of the governing body within a voluntary service is a key component in defining the management structure and responsibilities for the service. It may decide to delegate some of its work to sub-committees, and these should also be clearly shown within the service's organisational chart. Any sub-committees should have clear written terms of reference and reporting back procedures, as the delegation of responsibilities to a sub-committee still leaves ultimate responsibility in the hands of the governing body.
In most services, day to day management is delegated to staff. However, as the governing body remains ultimately responsible for all decisions taken within the service, the manner in which delegation occurs and processes for decision-making should be set out clearly. The governing body is the ultimate employer of all staff, and has to ensure that the service is well managed and operates within agreed policies, its budgets and the law.
TIP In determining the areas where different people have authority it is also worth considering who should speak for the agency in public (for example, to the press), and so on.
Services should review their structure regularly. Are there sub-committees that were established for a specific purpose, but which are now moribund? Does the service need a new sub-committee? Review can ensure that the governing and managing structure of the service meets the challenges facing the service. Any new committees and sub-committees established should have clearly defined, written terms of reference.
All standard office procedures must be documented.
Procedures and practices vary greatly between services and are subject to constant modification and improvement. The smooth running of a service depends upon all of those involved in its delivery being fully conversant with the practices and procedures of the service.
Staff and volunteers need to know what is expected of them in relation to overall service standards. The Office Manual should ensure that policies and these standards are readily available to all, so that poor performance cannot be attributed by staff to not knowing what is expected. The Office Manual is a key resource in the induction of new staff, volunteers and committee members.
The Office Manual will detail terms and conditions, all relevant policies and procedures and show how such policies are made or amended. It should contain the performance standards required within the service and details of office practice. It is often forgotten that good office practice and administration is one of the key elements in ensuring that a good service is delivered to service users. The nature and detail of all the documentation to be included in an Office Manual will depend on the service. However, there are basic guidelines that should be followed by all services.
This section covers some of the detail of the policies and procedures required in an Office Manual.
TIP The manual should be clearly divided into sections on what the service will do (policy) and how it will do it (procedure).
Incoming and outgoing post. Are there any special procedures that need to be followed, for instance, in dealing with confidential items or with letters including money or cheques?
Office security - who is responsible for overall security and ensuring that the office is locked when unattended, and so on? Who are the key holders in emergencies?
TIP Presenting the procedures guides as a process map rather than pages of instruction can help some people visualise them better.
Some services issue manuals to each member of staff, which can include their personnel records (leave cards, and so on), arrangements for supervision and appraisal, access to training and training records. This may be a costly option for some services.
TIP The Office Manual should form a keystone in the induction of all new members of staff, volunteers and management committee members. Where individual manuals are not issued to members of staff, the main manual must be available at all times in an easily accessible point in the office.
It is essential that responsibility for the review maintenance and updating of this manual should be clearly assigned in the management structure.
All service providers must have robust systems for financial management.
In order that both funders of services and service users can be confident that a service can survive and meet its obligations they need to be assured that all monies are properly accounted for and that the service is financially viable.
To comply with this Standard, there should be clear documentation on how responsibility for financial management is exercised. In addition, voluntary organisations should be able to demonstrate that accounts are monitored, at least quarterly, by their management committee / board of trustees.
TIP In organisations where the budget for information and advice is subsumed within a more general budget cost centre it is important to be able to identify the cost to the organisation of providing this element of the service. This can be done through calculating from workplans the percentage of each worker's time that is devoted to provision of information and advice, the percentage cost of office supplies for this area of work, stationery, photocopier, postage, telephone charges, and so on.
To meet this Standard, services will need to ensure that there is a clear division between day to day management and administration of the service's finances and arrangements for the careful stewardship of the service's resources. Services need to develop appropriate means of reporting financial and management information to the designated decision-making bodies. Stewardship should include both internal and external checks on the accuracy and honesty of bookkeeping and on the preparation of accurate and appropriate financial projections.
Budgets need to be constructed realistically and carefully monitored, to ensure that good management can be practised. Careful costing of priority areas and any new projects is essential and reviews of overall financial performance should not only be regular, but regularly reported to the governing body of the service.
Two areas often overlooked in preparing budgets in voluntary services are the real costs of administration, and the fact that good personnel practice has a cost. Further details of preparing budgets in line with Full Cost Recovery guidance can be obtained from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations [ SCVO].
There must be clear lines of internal communication.
Good lines of internal communication are important to ensure the efficient operation of the service and as a mechanism for updating all staff in policies, procedures or priorities.
To comply with this Standard, there should be regular meetings for all individuals involved in the delivery of the service.
There are two reasons for this Standard. The first is to ensure the efficient operation of the service and familiarity of all with its key policies and procedures and any changes to these. The second is to ensure a good flow of information about changes in case law and practice and other issues that may arise in advice work among the different advisers in a service.
TIP Formal minutes are not always required for team meetings but an agenda and a note of the main points discussed and any decisions made is a useful record. Notes should be filed for future reference and shared with anyone not able to attend the meeting to make them aware of decisions affecting them or their area of work.
Each service provider must be able to demonstrate that it is complying with all relevant general legislation.
All services must stay within the law to protect those responsible for the planning, management and delivery of the service from the risk of prosecution and to maintain public confidence in the service delivered.
The need to stay within the law and to protect all of those responsible for the planning, management and delivery of the service from the risk of prosecution is self-evident. In addition, as a service that is concerned with protecting the legal rights of service users, service providers should place a special emphasis on ensuring that they are above reproach.
This Manual does not provide an exhaustive list of the legal requirements placed upon service providers. These are many and various, dependent in part upon the size of a service, the number of staff employed and the type of work undertaken. In addition, services that are branch offices of organisations that are based in England may be subject to English Law as well as Scots Law. All UK law affecting services, whether passed at Westminster or Holyrood, is now subject to laws approved by the European Commission.
TIP Individual agencies who are members of for example CAS or AdviceUK may be covered by group licences - check with your member organisation.