FOCUS TODAY - September 2002

Club Committees (Survey Results)

COMMITTEES:  HOW IMPORTANT AT YOUR CLUB..?  Although committees comprised of members have long played a vital role in the operation of private clubs, their usefulness has been in question in recent years. The complications of running a club in the 21st century, brought about primarily by increased legal scrutiny and legislative regulation, now require more professional administration and less volunteer oversight. Also, higher demands in their business and family lives are making it more difficult for members to give their time to committee work in the club.

Nevertheless, club officers, directors and committee members who read the PCA gave strong endorsement to the club committee system through a recent fax survey.  Seventy-eight percent said their clubs would not function as well without committees.  Twenty percent said their clubs would function about the same.  Only two percent said their clubs would do better without committees.

Fifty-three percent of survey respondents who have served on club committees said they found the experience satisfying.  Another 41 percent said their time on committees was a mix of frustration and satisfaction.  Six percent said their committee service was totally frustrating and a waste of time.

Here is some of the feedback from survey respondents:

• Committees are important because they…encourage more members to be active in the club…provide a training ground for future club leaders (“All too often boards of directors forget they are merely ‘temporary stewards’ of the interests of the total membership”)…provide input to the board and manager—“the club could not function without them (committees)”…can take some of the burden off the board and management…help control the negativity that might be associated with the board…help establish club priorities and communicate those priorities to the members…are alink between the members and the policymakers…expand member involvement in the decision-making process…heighten committee members’ appreciation of the club…give members a sense of participation in the club…require participation that leads to more active members…improve member satisfaction because they feel they have a voice…

• Committees are satisfying because they…provide opportunity to serve other members and address their needs… “committees are how people meet each other and make friends,” one said.  “I have friends from committee work 30 years ago and I still help on committees and meet new people”…”I enjoy giving back to the club, as it is a huge part of my life!”…help members become more familiar with the problem of making the club work…

• Committees are frustrating and a waste of time because…their input was not requested or encouraged by the board (“Meetings were more to update committees on what was happening”)… “you are given a job but have no authority to act”…lack of order and structure…committee members are neither educated nor motivated to do what is best for the entire membership…

• Committees are a mix of frustration and satisfaction because…suggestions are often ignored or altered by the board of directors… some committee chairmen accept their responsibilities willingly, but others are only interested in pushing a personal agenda…meeting both member wants and club needs is difficult; “most members do not have the overall good of the club in mind”…while committees provide input to management, it can put management in a difficult position when impractical requests are made… “20 percent of the members still do 80 percent of the work”…

The standing committees considered most important were house, membership and finance.  Representatives of golf and country clubs also gave high marks to their golf and greens/grounds committees.  Long-range planning was next in importance.

Most responses, as might be expected, came from member-owned clubs.  Most came from officers and directors of golf and country clubs.  We detected no difference in attitude toward committees from one type of club to the other, however.

Some members are concerned about the future of the club committee system.  “I wonder how much longer we can find people to volunteer their time,’ one wrote.  “I think our club should have more paid staff for planning and executing events.”

While committees received high marks from most survey respondents, some suggested ways to improve the process:

• Make certain each committee has clear objectives and a plan to achieve those objectives.  Also, acknowledge the reason committees exist.  “If they (committees) are to make members feel good, then that’s okay,” one board member said, “but recognize the reason they exist.”
  
• Make it clear by way of job description or orientation when a committee’s role is advisory.  In member-owned clubs, committees generally advise (or make recommendations to) the board of directors and advise management.  “When committees try to micro-manage,” said one reader, “that is when the trouble starts.”

• Make every effort to appoint strong chairpersons.  “If the chairman is not great, the committee is not effective,” one club executive wrote.  “I have been on such a committee.”  Another wrote how a committee can become counter-productive if the chairperson pushes his or her own agenda rather than focusing on the overall good of the club.”  “The chairperson sets the tone; the president needs to have confidence in his chairperson,” another said.

• Each chairperson should make sure he or she prepares well for the meeting, follows Robert’s Rules of Order and sticks to the agenda.

• Keep committees small—six to eight members, one said—so they will be more effective and less “talky.” On the other hand, if a strong member remains on a small committee too long, he or she can end up being “a committee of one.”

• Try to maintain regular turnover of committee members rather than allowing people to serve on the same committees year after year.  Turnover allows a steady input of fresh ideas and prevents “empire building” by a few people.

• Because most committees must work with the club staff, a representative of management should attend every committee meeting.

• And, one reader cautioned, “Drinking should not be permitted while the meeting is in session.”

This may have been the most critical observation about committees coming from the survey: “One person acts; 20 deliberate!”  Or this one:  “A benevolent dictator is better than a weak democracy!”