Knowledge Peers

Bonuses – the good, the bad and the downright ugly

It is people’s abilities and behaviours that drive business success (and also failure).  

Training, leadership and motivation are critical to success. For people to perform well they should understand the purpose of what they are doing and its relevance to the organisation as a whole;  it is also important for them to have feedback.  Something that may also encourage people to go that extra mile is a bonus.  Bonuses are likely to influence behaviour, however behaviour can be good, bad or downright ugly:

One client operated a number of depots and was experiencing problems in collecting money from customers. When I looked into the reasons it became apparent that the credit controller was having problems in getting depot managers to respond to customer queries, which in turn was delaying payment.  The managers received bonuses based on their depot’s profit and I suggested that this was changed to also reflect the collection of money from their customers – this together with some other improvements resulted in the equivalent of an extra two weeks’ sales in the bank.

New business landscapes are emerging for charities

As 2012 austerity drives begin and generating revenues becomes an acute challenge for charities, supporter acquisition, revenue streams and looking at trading in new ways are all going to be undoubtedly key themes for the coming year.

From the vantage point that Visceral Business has as change strategists and developers of social capital value, for charities and commercial organisations, we’re involved in creating new social engagement business models that eliminate the ‘for profit’ or ‘not for profit’ conundrum by simply being ‘beyond profit’. These ‘beyond profit’ user-led social business models can make a tremendous difference to charities as they reconcile the challenges ahead and seek to improve operational performance.

The Child’s i Foundation, for example, of which I’m privileged to also be a Trustee, has a cost of donor acquisition rate of 19%, compared to the average standard of around 30%. It uses retailing channels like Shopify to develop event experiences online that give supporters a real stake in the charity that enables them to see the charity as a work in progress, happening in front of their eyes.

Charities and Trading... A Conflict of Interests?

Money has been touted as the root of all evil since biblical times, whereas charitable acts have only ever been seen as undoubtedly good. Yet it is actually generating income that enables our charity, Leap Confronting Conflict, to do some of its most profound, life-changing work with young people caught up in chaotic lifestyles in prisons and gangs.

Why every Charity Chief Executive needs a dog

I can already hear all those who don’t have dogs shouting out in horror.  “Doesn’t she know how irresponsible that would be?  What about the walks?  What do I do when I have to travel?”  Please understand, I’d be the last person to advocate irresponsible dog owning.  I have dogs and my husband owns a dog sitting and training business – so I know all about the responsibilities that go with being a dog owner.

The joys of benchmarking

I can no longer deny it, I am a complete saddo. Because I like benchmarking. Give me a thick book of dense statistics on the fundraising programmes of different charities and I am very happy. At each of the organisations I have been fundraising director, one of the first things I have done (after finding money to invest in growth of course) has been to sign up the organisation to the Fundratios study or the Donorcentrics scheme or, if it’s WWF, both.

Funnily enough, each time I have left a charity, they have stopped participating in these studies. Which can only lead to one of two conclusions. Either I am completely mad or these organisations are missing out on something. Hmm, don’t answer that one...

Stand Up for the Youth of Today

I write often about giving our young people a chance whether through employment opportunities, mentoring and support or just by listening to them.

This resonates clearly with how I choose to volunteer, most notably as a Trustee for Centrepoint, a charity that works hard to give homeless young people a future. At Centrepoint we believe that through help and support young people can succeed. We provide opportunities like the Centrepoint Parliament which gives young people who have experienced homelessness the chance to have an influence within the charity itself and with national government to help others like them. It is the only body that gives homeless, young people, a voice.

Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves

I was recently reading about crying at work – good or not? That got me thinking whether it was acceptable to show emotion at work or not.

In my youth, keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity was seen as admirable and to do otherwise was seen as un-English.  One of my favourite ‘Carry On’ film scenes (oh dear, showing my low brow tastes here) is the parody in ‘Carry on up the Khyber’.  The English hold a dinner party, seemingly oblivious to a cannon attack, amongst other things. 

Growth: Time for direct action?

The Government’s “Plan for Growth” was published in March 2011.  When you hear Ed Balls (and others) shouting “there’s no growth plan”, well perhaps they could just go ahead and download it here. When I first read it back in April, my reaction was “good ideas, right direction, a bit thin on substance”.  When we interviewed Mark Prisk, Minister for Business, there was more of the same - see here. Not really a lot to disagree with.

The right kind of conflict

Leap Confronting Conflict helps young people to build their self-awareness and emotional resilience.  You might think that we teach young people to avoid conflict - we don't.  We help young people to learn how to manage it - and avoid violence.  Conflict provides great opportunities for learning, but you need to have self-awareness.  In the spirit of walking the talk I've been reflecting on how to be more mindful, to actively choose how to behave in the wide range of situations that face your typical Chief Executive and to learn.

Getting boards to understand the need to invest

I’ve been in the voluntary sector quite a while now, long enough to have seen certain issues come around again and again. One of the hardy perennials that charities still seem to agonise over is whether, and how much, to invest in fundraising and marketing.

Each time I have joined a new organisation as Fundraising Director, I have discussed with my trustees the issue of investment. It has been interesting to see how much attitudes differ on this subject between boards. I have some responses which question the need to spend any money at all promoting the organisation. “Isn’t this money we should be spending on the work?” as one charity’s board member asked me.