When Offices are discussed, the conversation tends to focus – often solely – on the negative aspects and difficulties of the job. It is not common to hear any positive aspects, whether enhancement of a service ethic; improving experience and CV-relatable skills; contributing to group guidance and governance; working with good teams and forming valuable networks and relationships; satisfaction in seeing growth and development for groups, people and events.
Under a Principality it would be easier to develop a national focus on lessening perceived negatives and barriers to taking up Offices, such as outlined below. Many are already under development now at Kingdom level due to inspiration and impetus from the initial Principality discussions - but local implementation would benefit from the strategic structure and mandate that a Principality, and the pathway to it, could provide.
Addressing these issues is one example of non-regretful action, where we can take action towards a possible goal and gain important benefits regardless of whether we get there or not (concept courtesy of Master Bernard Stirling).
What are the barriers and responses to taking up an office?
- financial: I can’t afford SCA membership ($30/3 years):
- call for/offer private membership sponsorships (offered already in SG)
- offer as event raffle prize or other appropriate group funding
- transport: I can’t get to meetings or events
- have designated transport people willing to help; call for offers of assistance
- have a deputy assigned to go/take notes etc
- actively assess physical locations eg on public transport routes, accessibility
- (may be less of an issue post-COVID with more online meeting capabilities)
- lack of information: I don’t know what is required
- make role descriptions publicly available, in ads and notices (now done, see
https://seneschal.lochac.sca.org/officer-job-descriptions )
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- encourage managed handovers (software support for this now underway)
- hold officer information and support workshops, eg https://seneschal.lochac.sca.org/the-sca-needs-you
- workload: I probably don’t have the time or the experience
- identify basic requirements and time generally needed to fulfil those(well under way at Kingdom level, being rolled out to groups)
- encourage focus and support structures
- strengthen support for deputy or mentoring roles
- encourage managed handovers to clearly identify responsibilities
- develop support systems for workload management
- support regular training sessions or role-based gatherings and develop
- support groups and networks especially at national level (LOTS 2 has just been undertaken, LOTS More is in early planning)
- encourage administrative-focused Collegia classes to help up-skill, or make use of relevant local body/NGO resources, education and support services
- recognition: What’s in it for me?
- encourage local/Coronet recognition from simple thank-yous to formal awards
- develop CV-appropriate descriptions covering SCA service
- criticism: People are really mean and I’m just a volunteer
- active mentoring to provide support and awhi, discourage incivility
- develop coping strategies and promulgate them
- calling out discourteous behaviour and developing training/resources on how to give/deal with criticism or challenging behaviour, as well as how to listen and act positively to criticism (some resources already completed; see https://seneschal.lochac.sca.org/helping-make-behaviour-better )
- encouraging and modeling courteous interaction, particularly on social media encouraging active support and appreciation of volunteer service
- negativity bias: The whole officer thing is just awful
- encourage Officers (and former Officers) to recognise and mention positive aspects of their role in ads and job descriptions and while undertaking their activities and reports (under way)
- remind Officers that they may be jaded or near burn-out coming to the end of their term and they need to be careful not to let that colour hand-over
- develop recognition strategies (see above)
- office capture: So-and-so has put their hand up and is more experienced/a Peer/better known than me; Everyone just takes one step to the left
- encourage long-serving Officers to take a break, not just to renew themselves, but to allow space for others to have a chance
- actively promote the awareness that new/change/different is not necessarily a bad thing and that there may well be advantages in trying someone or something new
- actively shoulder-tap new Officers by identifying in-coming people who may already have relevant skills (eg for Reeve) or special interests (eg Captain of Archers)
- promulgate the idea that it’s desirable that more than one person applies, so there is no need to drop out just because someone has gotten in first
- run Officer workshops targeted at those who have never held an Office
- make sure advertising is clear and widespread so that potential new Officers know what is required (see job descriptions link earlier)