Committee Healthcheck Ritual

What's the purpose?

We want to make sure that our committees are running effectively, sustainably, and to check that everyone involved is having a good time and getting what they want out of their involvement. We run a health check to get feedback on whether we are meeting this goal and to see if people’s priorities or time commitments have changed for the coming year.

When do you do this?

At the end of the year, after the last event is done and you’ve run the last retro. You can run this ritual in the same meeting as the final retro for the year, but they should be two separate rituals with a break in the middle.

How to do it?

Before the meeting:

1. Copy the form template https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19l5xKg1-Nj9ezSnrepBJ9Ke3LhTQtaMr71aaXELqrnU/edit 

2. Edit the template to be relevant to your node

   • The first section should stay the same with only very minor wording changes 

   • Edit the squads list to include the squads that you have now or intend to have in the new year

   • Edit the new opportunities list to include anything new happening in your node or any opportunities outside of the committee (e.g. node liaising, GPN Junior etc)

3. Copy the ritual notes template Committee Health Check Notes Template 

4. Send out a meeting invitation for 90 minutes to the existing committee members

5. Between the 2 node leads, decide who will be facilitating (talking with the committee members/running the meeting) and who will be time keeping and note taking

During the meeting:

1. Go through all the questions in the form as a group so that everyone has a shared understanding of what they are asking

   • As the facilitator, remind people that their answers are not anonymous and we want to be able to discuss the results

   • Point out the new opportunities and any changes to the squads in the committee for the next year and what they 

2. Go through the rules of engagement:

   • You are present and attentive.

   • You are honest. Accept that we all see the world through a different lens and embrace those differences.

   • Listen with an intent to understand, not correct.

   • Take the spirit of the questions. Ask questions if you need clarification, don't look down at your team/function.

   • Don’t sit on the fence.

   • I (the facilitator) talk less than you.

   • We are not comparing nodes or squads! Your results are for you alone. And if you do get a few reds and yellows, don't be disheartened - this is perfectly normal as teams evolve and it is unlikely it'll ever be all green. This exercise is about helping your team identify opportunities for improvement.

   • Always remember the retrospective prime directive: Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.

3. Go through what Green/Yellow/Red means

   • Green = we are good at this, no change needed 

   • Yellow = we could be better at this, there are things that we can do to improve. Or you’re not sure/don’t have a strong opinion.

   • Red = we’re not doing well here, a change is needed for the team

4. Give the team some time to fill out the form in quiet - maybe 5-10 minutes

5. Bring up the results from the google form, share screen and start the discussion of what the team ratings were

   • Have a look at the distribution of Green, Yellow and Red ratings and start the discussion with the worst rated attribute, then the second worst etc.

   • For each attribute, ask why people rated it Green, Yellow or Red. Can ask specific members what they rated and why to get the conversation going. As the facilitator, ask questions rather than give opinions/statements. Try and get a range of people talking - it’s important to understand the different opinions (e.g. if someone rated Green and other Red, why?) 

   • Capture the notes in the pre-made ritual notes document 

   • Try and steer the conversation towards actions that we can take to improve the rating (e.g. setting up recurring meetings for increased communication, updating the task list with more info etc.) 

   • Keep an eye on the clock and try and manage the time so you can discuss all the problem areas - but be aware that you may not get to discuss everything and that’s alright.

   • People can be quiet at first, so it’s helpful to pick out people who haven’t spoken yet or aren’t speaking as much and ask them what their thoughts are.

   • Guide people to give both positive and negative feedback

6. If you have time after going through the attributes, you can also talk through the second section where people have their preferences for next year

After the meeting:

1. If there are any committee members that missed the meeting, it may be worthwhile for them to complete the exercise on their own, but the real point of the activity is the conversation around the results, so it’s alright if they don’t fill in their ratings and just do the second section around preferences and receive the notes. However, it’s important that once they’ve received the notes from the meeting they have a chance to give their feedback, perspective and raise any issues as well.

2. Send through the action items captured during the ritual - try and have these assigned to specific people

3. Look through the preferences for the next year and make assignments to squads and new roles/opportunities as needed.

4. Depending on the changes in time commitments from the committee members, you may need to invite new people to the committee before the next year.

5. You may want to raise some actions or feedback to the Australia committee or executive to get advice or resources