You know your community better than your funder, and your programs are only successful when staff feel supported and have the capacity to do their jobs.
Your staff knows your programs so much in fact, that when you report to your board of directors or engage new funders, you rely heavily on them to provide details of the nuances of a program that warrants more funding and other forms of support.
As we know, sometimes programs are created in response to a variety of influential factors, including why programs are evaluated. Stakeholder needs (particularly ones with the most power) are a major factor.
One of my first consulting projects was the evaluation of a popular leadership program in New York City. I conducted several site visits to observe the participants and facilitators, administered the program survey and conducted focus groups.
Involving the staff in the evaluation (outside of getting logistic assistance from them) wasn’t on a radar until I started paying attention to their conversations with each other. In particular, conversations around the actual program.
The program’s main location was located in Manhattan, while this program site was in a different borough. I decided to speak more to the staff about their perspectives on this program, its location, and the intricate details that went into running it.
The program’s new site was chosen due to local landscape analysis (wanting to choose an area that didn’t have a program of this kind). This location ran concurrently with the Manhattan location and was chosen to test if the program could be replicated in another borough, provide more community-focused curriculum, and deliver the same level impact for participants living in this borough in comparison to the Manhattan site (which had participants from all five boroughs).
While participants enjoyed having the program in their community (it allowed them to travel less, plus they were able to connect more with local borough residents), what I got from the conversations with staff was that they were frustrated. It had been difficult engaging the local community, from knowing where local resources were from the tiring travel back and forth between all of the sites for this program (including the sites located outside of New York City).
When I brought this up with the executive director, I was informed that a key factor that determined the new site’s location was at the request of a funder, who saw the area as “up and coming” and wanted the organization to capitalize on it.
I knew how problematic this was, and using a landscape analysis as justification was just as problematic. Despite being an external evaluator, I felt that I didn’t have the power to advocate for the staff.
Looking back, I see how I prioritized wanting to look as competent as possible as an external evaluator, despite these concerns and others. I made some recommendations related to staff support, but nothing that would have led to a stronger emphasis on using the voices of staff in the program’s implementation and improvement.
Hindsight is 20/20, and I’m becoming more intentional in determining how to not only incorporate staff in program design, strategic planning, and evaluation activities, but also how to center them as key players.
From outreach and engagement to the creation of the budget, staff play an integral role in the success of a program. They know your programs better than you because they see the day-to-day. They’re engaging with participants, addressing concerns, re-engaging participants back into the program, implementing the curriculum, and in many cases, are in charge of evaluating the program.
They see everything you’re not seeing as you’re not involved in the day to day, nor should you be. They’re there to move the program forward, to highlight what’s going well, and should feel comfortable and confident enough to address concerns with you with the knowing that they’ll be heard and supported.
Staff are also stakeholders; and unfortunately, their voices are often deprioritized in order to appease participants, funders, and other stakeholders.
Your job as an organizational leader is to include staff voices more in your program decision-making and to advocate for their needs as much as you advocate for your program participants.
So, how will you do that?
Raise Your Voice: How can you incorporate the voices, ideas, and leadership of your staff in your programs? Share below in the comments section.
Was this useful? Subscribe to the Raise Your Voice newsletter, and explore my consulting services.
