Reducing Staff Workload Through Effective Member Participation

1. Reducing Staff Workload Through Effective Member Participation A Workshop Prepared for Staff & Managers Conference February 2009 Neily Jennings & Mingwei Huang, NASCO Education

2. Co-ops At A Glance SCA - Eugene 72 members 0 full-time staff 1 part-time staff MCC - Madison 200 members 3 full-time staff 1 part-time staff Guelph Campus Co-op 400 members 13 full-time staff 4-8 part-time staff WCRI - Waterloo 900 members 9 full-time staff 3 part-time staff Pacifico - Davis 112 members 1 full-time staff 0 part-time staff MSU-SHC East Lansing 196 members 2 full-time staff 1 part-time staff BSC - Berkeley 1283 members 21 full-time staff 6 part-time staff 20 paid member-only positions ICC – Ann Arbor 550 members 8 full-time staff 2-4 part-time staff OSCA - Oberlin 175 housing members 455 dining members 1 full-time staff 2 part-time staff UKSHA Lawrence, KS 48 members 1 full-time staff SBSHC – Santa Barbara 75 members 1 full-time staff `1 part-time staff UCHA – Los Angeles 415 members 5 full-time staff 6 part-time staff College Houses - Austin 531 members 5 full-time staff 1 part-time staff ICC – Austin 188 members 4 full-time staff 0 part-time staff

3. Types of Co-op Tasks • Administrative • Education & Training • Member support • Marketing & Representation • Maintenance • Financial planning & management - Typical Tasks Performed by Officers- Potential Tasks to Assign to Officers- Tasks That Should not be assigned to members

4. Officer compensation • Stipends • Rent reductions • House labor credit

5. Three Basic Models:1. Required Office Labor2. Office Helpers and Interns3. Paid Member-only Positions • System • Tasks • Training • Tracking • Compensation • Strengths/ Weaknesses

6. MODEL 1: Required Office Labor • Case studies: • ICC-Ann Arbor • Michigan State University-SHC • Santa Barbara-SHC • Madison Community Cooperative • Systems run smoothly and account for turnover • Accountability & tracking varies • Tasks tend to be administrative; don’t always draw upon member skills

7. MODEL 2: Office Helpers & Interns • Case studies: • ICC-Austin • SCA-Eugene • Madison Community Cooperative • Fewer, Longer-term positions • More competitive • Trained by staff • Lower turnover

8. MODEL 3: Paid Member-Only Positions • Case study: • Berkeley Student Cooperative • Competitive Positions • Variety of tasks utilize specialized skills & knowledge • Supports member development & employment • Less turnover

9. Sharing “Best Practices” • Member Training • Member Accountability • Engaging and Empowering Member Projects/Member-Driven Projects • Addressing Confidentiality • Improving Office Efficiency (outside of member participation)