Structure Task Force Survey 2015 Feedback and Actions: you said, we did!

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1 Page 1 Structure Task Force Survey 2015 Feedback and Actions: you said, we did! As an immediate action to improve understanding and communication as we review and develop the function and form of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI), we felt it would be of help to see respondent s views from the survey and how they are being/will be addressed. The survey sections have been extracted into groups for ease of reading. 1. HOW AWARE ARE YOU OF THE ROLE OF RIBI AS SHOWN IN THE RIBI STRATEGIC PLAN IN DELIVERING Support and strengthening clubs : 51% of those surveyed expressed either a limited awareness or were not aware at all versus 49% who had an awareness or were totally aware Training and development for the District and club leadership teams is a vital service provided by RIBI to meet this key strategic objective. Change this year in the RIBI Assembly has enabled Rotarians, irrespective of the role they hold, to benefit from the Regional development programmes provided. The Membership Teams have produced and delivered membership development support directly to clubs through a series of online, readily accessible webinars and regionally based Rotary Growth Opportunity (GO) seminars. Additionally, the recent Secretariat organisational restructure focuses on a dedicated Club and District Support service to further assist on a day-to-day basis giving additional help to correct this imbalance. However, what is recognised is that not all Rotarians know about these support opportunities, clearly highlighting that we are not reaching our members in an effective way. This need must be addressed urgently. Focus and increase humanitarian service : 56% of respondents expressed either a limited awareness or were not aware at all compared to 44% who had an awareness or were totally aware RIBI provides support services to its members through dedicated Service Committees firmly supported by Rotary Foundation service programmes (global grants). These committees work directly with the District teams who in turn support the needs of clubs within their region. However, what the respondents views show is that either there is a lack of knowledge on how/who to reach out to for support (poor communication) or that the services being provided are not those that the clubs/members need. This requires urgent attention to understand the root cause of this problem. Enhance public image and awareness : 53% had an awareness or were totally aware as opposed to 47% who had a limited awareness or were not aware at all The Marketing, PR and Communication committee works with Districts and clubs to provide support and resources (both financial and material) to help enhance the public image and awareness of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland. Additionally, campaigns have been developed such as Thanks for Life, We re for Communities and more recently The Rotary Effect for all clubs to work with in presenting a common look and feel when promoting Rotary to a public audience. The common theme being seen through the views captured in the survey is that

2 communicating the messages to clubs is not sufficiently effective or efficient to ensure each campaign can be utilised by the clubs to best effect on a national scale. Training for all District and RIBI officers : 62% had an awareness or were totally aware compared to 38% who had a limited awareness or were not aware at all RIBI training had previously been limited to District and RIBI Officers/Service Chairs meaning that unless a Rotarian chose to take on a role beyond their club they would not be directly affected by these valuable programmes. To address this issue whilst still providing the development support for the District leadership team, the new RIBI website offers a diverse range of training packages available to all Rotarians. These training packages are designed to complement and enhance the regional seminars and online webinars that are now also available. Improved and earlier communication of these resources is recognised as an important factor in addressing the identified awareness issues. Annual conference and business meetings : exactly three quarters (75%) had an awareness or were totally aware compared to 25% who had a limited awareness or were not aware at all Improvements are constantly being made to the annual conference; from ease of online booking to benefit from early bird discounts, to online voting at the business meeting so voting delegates do not have to be present in person giving the flexibility of voting from anywhere in the world (internet permitting). Communication in this area has improved but systems review and improvement are part of the annual process related to providing each club with the opportunity to shape the organisation going forward. 2. HOW AWARE ARE YOU OF THE STRUCTURE OF RIBI AND THE COMMITTEES Regarding respondents awareness of the role of General Council, 63% of those surveyed expressed either a limited awareness or were not aware at all versus 37% who had an awareness or were totally aware We clearly need to advise Rotarians on the role of the General Council. This is the body that comes together, representing the views of our clubs as we seek to develop support to our Rotarians across Great Britain and Ireland. This is the Governing Body responsible for policy, finance and constitutional development. Clearer lines of communication are needed. Regarding respondents awareness of the role of RIBI Committees, again 63% of those surveyed expressed either a limited awareness or were not aware at all versus 37% who had an awareness or were totally aware When considering that the objectives of the Committees are to support and strengthen clubs so they can increase their ability to deliver humanitarian service, it is clear that we need to better publicise how these teams can help as well as reviewing whether the structure meets the needs of the membership. Regarding respondents awareness of the role of the Executive Committee, 72% of those surveyed expressed either a limited awareness or were not aware at all versus 28% who had an awareness or were totally aware Following the 2015 Business meeting, the Executive Committee now hold responsibility for the effective management of service committees, ensuring their work is meeting the needs of members. As a part of the Structure Task Force work, a review is needed to determine what the support needs of our members are and how we will deliver that support to them. Page 2

3 3. ROTARY AND YOUR COMMUNITY Just over half of those surveyed (53%) were of the opinion that Rotary is either well known or very well known and understood in their community as a service club providing a service to their community. 47% believed it is not well known or not well known at all Enhancing the public image of Rotary is a key priority. With each club able to deliver service directly into its own community, a key component of ensuring that Rotary is understood is to help Rotarians deliver a consistent brand message. Regional seminars have been delivered in the past Rotary year but further development opportunities are known to be required and are being developed by the Communications Team. Building from consistent brand messages, common initiatives that span the whole of RIBI such as the Rotary Ride this year provide an ideal spring board for national PR and media coverage that further enhances the public image of Rotary. The recently approved Marketing Strategy ( ) embodies this need to enhance public image with tactics to deliver over against this. 64% of respondents believed Rotary is well or very well known and understood in their community as a charitable giving organisation versus 36% who felt it was not well known or not known at all Rotary is clearly recognised as a charitable giving organisation, however, we need to focus on keeping this message alive, by being active within our communities and keeping people informed of what we are doing this is very much along the lines of the point above but our charity The Rotary Foundation is not being showcased to full effect and we need to fully address this issue. Seven in ten (69%) thought Rotary is well or very well known and understood in their community as a fund raising organisation compared to 31% who felt it was not well known or not known at all Rotary is evidently well known as a fund raising organisation and perhaps we should communicate more what good becomes of the funds raised. One specific change that has been successful in addressing this is the change in style for the Rotary Magazine. All features now reflect not how much was raised, but what has been achieved with the money raised thereby informing the reader of what Rotary achieves in its fundraising role. 4. HOW WELL DO YOU THINK THAT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS REFLECT YOUR COMMUNITY S VIEWS OF ROTARY Just over half of those surveyed (51%) agreed that a business networking organisation reflected their community s views of Rotary Business networking was the start point for Rotary and it is through the networks and associated connections that so much of our service to each community is able to be delivered. In this past year, there has been much headway in creating Corporate Partnership opportunities and in the new Rotary year a roll-out of corporate (business) partnership models for clubs, District and RIBI will be completed. This new initiative will enhance the perception at public level, equipping Rotarians to maximise return on closely linking with business small and large. It is recognised that the communication plan for this activity will need to be much better than many previous RIBI wide initiatives have been to overcome the challenges by the survey respondents. Page 3

4 Nearly three quarters (73%) disagreed that a dynamic and visible national organisation reflected their community s views of Rotary RIBI is seeking to engage more fully in the wider social issues that affect communities in our countries. By example, the team is in discussion with the Commission for Social Mobility and Child Poverty to help address their agenda that aims to give progression opportunities for children and young people. Another example is Rotary s involvement and pledge to Step-Up- To-Serve that aims to double participation in volunteering by young people. Once again though the public promotion of what Rotary is doing and the difference it is making is not good enough and this has to be enhanced at local and national levels. 63% agreed that a rather out of touch organisation reflected their community s views of Rotary We need to be viewed as being in touch with what is going on and be involved as much as possible in community issues/events and in so doing hopefully increase our membership and public perception. This change can only be achieved at a local level but the RIBI teams recognise they have an important part to play in supporting this development. 55% agreed or strongly agreed that a well kept secret reflected their community s views of Rotary Concentrating on increased PR activities should enable communities to understand what we actually do. As in the point above, this will realistically need to happen locally with effective support from RIBI and District teams. Over half (55%) agreed that a male only club for business professionals reflected their community s views of Rotary Certainly the wrong image we wish to portray, we acknowledge that greater emphasis needs to be placed on publicity relating to our female presidents, officers and Rotarians, as Rotary is open to all irrespective of gender, age or ethnicity. Equality and diversity need to be culturally embedded and we need to ensure appropriate, accessible resources are available to all. Six in ten respondents (62%) agreed that Rotary what s that? reflected their community s views of Rotary We need to educate people in what we do, information is key but impact is gained through visible activity and measurable benefits. We need to change our thinking on promotion and start to proudly show our communities how Rotary has helped and encourage others to get involved to gain even greater impact. Training, development and material resources will support this and we need to ensure Districts and clubs are fully supported in the ways that they need. Nearly all of those surveyed (94%) agreed that Well meaning organisation reflected their community s views of Rotary This is very positive and we need to build on this trust factor that Rotary has maintained over all of its years. Page 4

5 5. IMPACT RIBI HAS ON YOU OR YOUR CLUB ACTIVITIES 64% felt RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing support and guidance on funding bids versus 36% who thought it had some impact or high impact in doing so This highlights one of two possible issues namely that communication is poor i.e. the resources such as The Rotary Foundation team for Rotary grants and the External Advisory Funding Group for access to third party funding are not known about and therefore not used, or that the support we do have is not what is needed by our clubs. This needs to be understood and addressed as a matter of urgency as it directly ties in with the key strategic objectives for Rotary: Support and strengthen clubs; Increase Humanitarian service and Enhance public image. As a result, a new format of website training available to all Rotarians is being devised to include support and guidance on funding bids. 61% thought RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing governance compared to 39% who were of the opinion it had some impact or high impact in doing so Training and support are provided to Districts and clubs on annual and on-going basis. As with the point above, we need to ascertain whether we are not promoting these services effectively or whether our customers need something different. The Secretariat receives approximately s and 1000 telephone calls per week providing support to Rotarians from clubs and Districts. A recent change has been the inclusion of a dedicated switchboard option to take telephone enquiries direct to the governance department and there is a resource area on the members website containing all governance and compliance documents. Over three quarters (77%) believed RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing support for club activities and projects as opposed to 23% who thought it had some impact or high impact in doing so A wide range of promotional materials are available through the website, in addition to the loan of exhibition materials through the Club and District Support department. Specialist services such as support with creative design and market research are also on hand at the Secretariat supporting not only the club activities but the Service Committees who have specialist knowledge to assist with projects as required. This feedback shows that again we are not communicating the services available or we are not delivering the type of support that might be required. This is an area for review and development. 73% of respondents felt RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing support and guidance on PR activities and projects versus 27% who thought it had some impact or high impact in doing so The Marketing, PR and Communications Team have been running specific PR and media days to support clubs in promoting their projects and activities at a local level. Those who participated gave very positive feedback. The assumption that may be taken from the respondents view is that we are not reaching high enough numbers of Rotarians with these programmes and more should be done to reach out to club/district clusters when offering these free to access services. Almost two thirds (66%) thought RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing guidance on membership compared to 34% who thought it had some impact or high impact in doing so The Membership Committee has been running a series of online webinars and regional seminars to support membership development within clubs. The Rotary GO seminars have been of particular success and requests for additional dates to be added to the calendar Page 5

6 have been gladly accepted. From a wider support perspective, a new and improved handbook is being created to provide guidance on membership development together with a frequently asked questions and answers section within the website, and of course telephone support is available from Monday to Friday. However, even with these resources in place, if the respondents are not aware then we are doing something wrong in the way we communicate the availability of these resources and opportunities. 66% believed that RIBI has limited impact or no apparent impact on their or their club activities in providing support for club administration as opposed to just over one third (34%) who thought it had some impact or high impact in doing so Direct support in the form of training, development and query handling is available to all clubs and Districts. An internal organisational restructure at the Secretariat has created dedicated Club and District Support available Monday to Friday by telephone, or dropin service. District Teams are there to support all administrative process and queries and this needs to be effectively communicated to clubs. 6. FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES YOU THINK RIBI SHOULD CARRY OUT TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF CLUBS Six in ten (57%) agreed RIBI should develop wider involvement in other national charitable events e.g. Red Nose Day by Rotary, although 43% disagreed The skills of our newly appointed PR agency, HROC, have been employed to assist with this and help us attain the right balance. Currently work is underway in a variety of areas, for example: Corporate Partnership programmes; Shakespeare Schools Festival; Big Bang; Scout Association Partnership; Wheelpower Partnership; Step-up-to-Serve; Business in the Community; BBC Children in Need; Commission for Social Mobility and Child Poverty to name a few. There is still much work to do to gain the substantial PR leverage that these opportunities bring and clearly our members need to be better informed of the activity that is being undertaken. Over four fifths (85%) were in agreement that RIBI should initiate international projects e.g. End Polio Now It is fully recognised that greatest PR gain comes from collective activity. The International Committee has been supporting a multi-district overseas project called Sand Dams, this has attracted significant financial support from the Rotary Foundation and as the project is delivered it creates good PR opportunities for the Communication team to home in on. End Polio Now is the number one humanitarian focus for Rotary and linked with World Polio Day Rotarians have worked together to raise funds and awareness and participate in National Immunisation Days to combat this terrible disease. More initiatives such as these can be brought forward giving opportunities to our clubs to support others collectively. 81% agreed RIBI should initiate national events and projects e.g. A National Rotary Day 23 rd February is a key date in the Rotary calendar, it is Rotary Day! As part of the approved Marketing Strategy (2015/18) national initiatives will be developed to create improved public image and awareness through Rotary Day - with the assistance of HROC we trust this will be better publicised in the future. This has happened previously with initiatives such as Thanks for Life and this year on Father s Day, 21 st June, we have the Rotary Ride fighting prostate cancer with Rotary Clubs across Great Britain and Ireland taking part encouraging over 20,000 people to get on their bike! The views outlined in this survey indicate that strategic campaigns need to be introduced, put forward by the members, for all to get Page 6

7 involved in giving a strong voice for Rotary across Great Britain and Ireland in the public arena. 87% were in agreement with the statement that RIBI should facilitate funding bids to Rotary and other potential donors for club and District projects As mentioned earlier within this document, a new format of website training available to all Rotarians is being devised to include support and guidance on funding bids. Alongside this a new approach to working in partnership with other donors is being considered particularly through Corporate Partners and access to funding streams via the External Funding Advisory Group. More than four fifths (85%) agreed that RIBI should initiate and co-ordinate club responses to international emergencies e.g. Ebola emergency This is exactly what RIBI does through partnerships with organisations such as Shelterbox and Aquabox. The Donations Trust is used to collect donations raised immediately following a disaster which is then utilised in sustainable rebuilding projects in the affected region. Rotary continues to support international emergency situations but needs to ensure that effective communication to clubs on how to best give support (financial in particular) are in place. 7. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS Exactly three quarters of those surveyed (75%) were in agreement with the statement: RIBI is still a relevant organisation in the 21 st Century We need to do more to gain the respect of the 25% who disagreed with this. To achieve this, we need to continually review our processes and practices to ensure relevance to the needs of our members and clubs. Our structure should be dictated by the needs of our clubs and we are currently going through a major review of needs, structure, processes and practices. Changes in the By-laws at the 2015 Business meeting, stimulated by the early work of the taskforce, have provided the environment for any change that may be identified. Again, communication back to our members on the progress of this is imperative but as with anything it needs to be provided at a time when the research and considerations have been fully explored to prevent mixed messaging and confusion. 68% were in disagreement with the statement: the current structure appears to be fit for purpose to best manage RIBI As outlined above, we fully acknowledge the needs for improvement, hence asking for member participation in the survey and we are taking seriously the feedback received - change is necessary 84% agreed that the current structure needs reviewing to better reflect the needs of clubs in the 21 st century This view did not come as a surprise but what it does identify is that the opportunities for the structure of the organisation as a whole to modernise needs to be understood and effectively communicated. At club level, the development of e-clubs goes some way in assisting Rotary to adapt to lifestyle changes by creating greater flexibility members don t have to appear in person at a set venue they can be anywhere in the world and go online and be part of their online community. Flexible and innovative club setups and satellite clubs further enhance the opportunities for modern day, busy, men and women to participate in Rotary and experience the pleasure that is gained by working through a network of like-minded people to put something back into society. The organisational restructure at the Secretariat to create a dedicated Club and District Support Service is designed to improve the service Page 7

8 offered to clubs and meet their needs, and to further support the volunteer committees (teams) that provide information, advice and guidance to clubs and members. 63% disagreed that the current structure of RIBI supports the work of my Rotary Club We need to ensure every club matters, feels they are our highest priority, and adapt our structure to maximise support given to the work of our clubs, including making it known to them what specialist services are available. This has to be a key priority during the continuing review and redevelopment stages of the Structure Task Force work. 57% disagreed that the current structure provides an appropriate stable decision process that supports the needs of RIBI We are seriously working on the provision of an appropriate stable decision making process that supports the needs of RIBI, and it will be regularly reviewed to ensure it keeps up to date with needs. The most recent change that will undoubtedly enhance this organisation is the new, clearly defined differentiation between the roles and responsibilities of the General Council and the Executive Committee. The Executive are responsible for implementing policies and managing the committees that deliver the valuable support to clubs and Districts, there will be clear lines of accountability and removal of process duplication in decision making. The General Council will focus on strategic review, Governance and Finance to ensure a stable, responsive organisation fit to lead the way in making Rotary the Humanitarian Service Organisation of Choice. In addition to the detail above, three further quantitative questions were asked relating to time in Rotary, age of the respondent and roles held in Rotary beyond initial membership. Furthermore, 8 qualitative questions were asked. The table below shows the number of respondents who chose to provide additional comments: Q5 Q7 Q9 Q11 Q13 Q15 Q17 Q The comment information has been reviewed and the Task Force will continue to work with this data in the next phase of their work. Page 8