After months of preparation, organization, extra work to compensate for lack of volunteers, scheduling, and excitement, your activity is done. The sleepless nights worrying if you have enough napkins, thumbtacks, dollar bills, or shopping bags are over. The numbers- telephone numbers, budget needs, fundraising goals, supply costs, volunteers needed to make it work- they have all been counted. Your event was likely a great success! You did good! Nice work on a job well done.

Right?

Right. You did do a good job. You worked hard to make something happen, and the kids and families at your school benefit from the effort and energy you (and your committee) put into the event. Thank you, I say sincerely and with great feeling. It could not have happened without you!

Unfortunately, there are people who were not happy with the event. This is where a great conflict happens, and I want to address it so that you can get on with the patting on the back part.

Critique is good. Criticism helps work out kinks. People have ideas on how to do something differently, and their ideas can often bring about a fun twist to a future event. Let them speak, and do not take offense. Thank them for their input, and make a note of it for the next event. It might come in handy for whoever chairs next year.

That said, there are a few strong emotions that might get in the way of a good critique. If you are faced with a "Critiquer" who is very emotional or angry, of if you are feeling angry in the face of this critique, take a breath. Listen to what the person is saying, and try your best to remove the emotion from any statement. In other words, try and find the very basic complaint. Do not take the criticism personally- generally people are not angry with YOU, they are frustrated with a perception they have created from an unhappy experience. See if you can solve that problem: either by restating the rules, apologizing, taking notes for the future, or taking action.

Although the timing of complaints can often ruin the good feelings of your great event, remember that they are still an important part of the process. Again, avoid taking them personally. Take them in, note them for the future, and keep on smiling.

The end of the calendar year is often recognized as an opportunity to reflect back on all of your Personal and Local Unit success for the year.  It is also a great time for everyone to assess where you are as a group.  Grab a coffee or hot chocolate, and as a Board, look back on the goals your unit established at the start of the school year.

·         Begin with the positive!  What has worked well as a Board?  Enhancing what is strong will only bring more success.  Then you can take a more progressive look at what did not work well.  Maybe the program was tailored in such a way that by placing a leader with a different skill set, it would be launched into success.  Maybe personalities are clashing.  Did your unit have a few bumps in the road at the start of the  year?

·          Be sure and evaluate it! Come up with plans and ideas of
how you would do things differently next year.  We all know that ignoring
problems only makes them bigger, but this brainstorming exercise should be a safe place to throw out some fresh perspective, and an opportunity to change the way you have done business in the past.

·         Start your New Year off right!  I found this great quote on goals "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." (Carl Bard)
What better way to establish a goal then to ask your members!  There
are many ways to survey your members; you can send one home through kid mail, at a General Membership Meeting,  or you can email a link to an online survey (Survey Monkey is free and really easy to use!).  Creating attractive incentives to getting a response is one way to get them back in.
Everybody has a few minutes to give feedback, so you want to be sure that you carefully evaluate what important information you are trying to capture in the survey with quick and direct questions.  What do you want to know?  What kind of information are you trying to capture as a Board?  Results can play a key role in identifying strengths, areas to improve, or even where organization improvements can be made.    Be ready to respond to the information you collect in your surveys, and always thank your members for taking the time to participate.  Use the data collected in your decision making as you establish or enhance the goals for your Unit.  And as always have fun doing it! Please feel free to share with your
Local Units.

by Virginia Muniz
Region 7 Director
Washington State PTA

A few thoughts on what to expect from your parents:

1) Some folks can dedicate time, some can only promise to sign up. Everyone should feel that their contribution is appreciated and welcome.

2) Avoid over-scheduling. If you are finding that it is difficult to get volunteers for all the great programs your board wants to run, I encourage you to discuss your options! Scale back. Don't stretch your volunteers too thin!

3) Thank your members! Send a note to each person who joined your PTA. Send thank you cards to volunteers after an event. Send invitations to those interested in a future event.

4) And remember: whether or not your volunteer is a member of PTA, all parents should be welcome on the team. You do not have to be in PTA to volunteer at your school.

1) Ask each of your committee chairs and executive committee members to keep a folder/binder with notes, ideas, and training. The binder stays with the office or committee so your next leader knows where to begin!

2) Support a committee of 2 or more people for every event, program, and actvity. This committee will be a part of the process, and can be a great asset when looking for a new chair in the future.

3) Allow and nurture collaborative efforts for your events, programs, and activities. When people feel that their input is considered and welcomed, then they feel more invested in the whole process. Valued volunteers are valuable volunteers!

What do you suggest? What has worked for your team?