governance - gymnastics australia

GOVERNANCE

An overview of the governance of sport and recreation organisations

Communities, Sport and Recreation

Corrina Smith

Client Manager, Sport and Club Development

Presentation overview:

• Governance overview

• GTAS Governance and Operational Structure

• Committee Management

• Gymsport Committees

• Meetings

• Code of Conduct

• Performance Management

• Committee Members

• Conflict of Interest

• Confidentiality

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GOVERNANCE

What is governance?

Governance is the system by which your organisation is directed and managed.

It influences how the objectives of the organisation are set and achieved, while spelling out the rules and procedures for

making organisational decisions.

In addition, it determines the means of monitoring and optimising performance.

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GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Key elements of good governance:

1. Planning

• Developing the strategic goals and objectives of the organisation.

2. Organisational performance

• Monitoring the performance of the organisation to ensure the goals and objectives are achieved.

3. Leadership

• Ensuring that the Board and sub-committees govern and act with the best interests of members and stakeholders in mind.

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GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Benefits of good governance:

• Better organisational management

• Improved communication

• Direction for action and unified purpose across the organisation

• Sustainability and growth

• Stronger linkages across the sport

• Increased membership through enhanced reputation and improved performance outcomes

• Increased capacity to apply for funding opportunities and to attract sponsors

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GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Organisational costs of poor governance:

• Legal costs

• ‘Time costs’ for the organisation/board/committees

• Organisational costs, including the possible split of a committee or organisation

• Lost opportunity costs, including sponsorship and funding opportunities

• Poor sporting performance

• Major disruption across all facets of the organisation

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GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Why do problems arise?

• Poor communication

• Absence of transparency in organisation’s administration and governance

• Lack of appropriate planning or structures

• Failure to follow the Constitution, by-laws and policies

• Lack of leadership

• Conflicts of interest

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GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW

Governance

• GTAS Board has reviewed it’s Constitution to ensure alignment with and

implementation of the ASC’s mandatory governance requirements

• GTAS has made good progress as to the adoption of the ASC/CSR good

governance principles

• Additionally, the GTAS Board has participated in a complete board

evaluation, which was conducted by the ASC. These workshops have lead

to the development of a Governance Action Plan, and the appointment of a

board sub-committee to review and monitor the plan

Strategy

• GTAS board has adopted the 2014 – 2017 Strategic Plan, which sets local

goals and strategies to achieve outcomes

• GTAS has established full delegation for operational responsibilities to GA,

in order to achieve the sport’s strategic outcomes in Tasmania

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GYMNASTICS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

GTAS Board Structure(as detailed in the GTAS Constitution – Clause 13)

There are to be no more than 8 Directors, being:

a) the President (who is also an Elected Director);

b) 5 Elected Directors (in addition to the President); and

c) 2 Appointed Directors.

Current Directors

President: Mark Moncur

Vice President: Leigh Oswin

Directors: Peter Doody

Michelle McFayden

Alison Fletcher

Alison Williamson

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GTAS Board Operations

• Meet no more than 5 times per year

• Approve specific yearly operational plan for Tasmania in line with

sport’s strategic plan

• Approve GTAS fees and charges

• Approve budgets for the year

• Sign off on the audited financial accounts/statements

• Approve state team selections

• Appoint delegate to represent GTAS as a member of Gymnastics

Australia

• Represent the sport ant appropriate government/other functions

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GA Operational Responsibilities

• GA CEO or delegated senior staff member to attend all GTAS Board

meetings

• Development of operational plans for GTAS Board approval

• Development of fee structure and budgets for GTAS Board approval

• Management of all GTAS accounts and assets

• Presentation of financial statements to GTAS Board on quarterly

bases and delivery of end of year accounts

• Appointment and management of all staff responsible for the delivery

of GTAS strategic and operational outcomes

• Full management responsibility of GTAS Gymsport Committees

• Events department to ensure the integration all GTAS competitions

into the GA operational delivery plans

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GA Operational Responsibilities

• Full responsibility for TAS State teams competing at National events

from the instigation of the selection process to logistical outcomes

for selected teams travelling and competing at Nationals

• Registration/Membership department to provide all services to

Tasmanian clubs

• Industry Training department to manage the delivery of all Coaches

and Judges courses

• Participation department to have full responsibility for Launchpad,

Club 10 and all other club development/participation activities

• All other operational requirements needed to deliver GTAS services

to it’s customer base in line with strategic and operational plans

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GTAS Board

GA CEO &

GA Senior Management

GTAS Sport Development

Officer

Club 10

Participation

Education

National Sport Program Manager

State Technical Committees

National Events Manager

State Events

Finance Officer

GTAS Financials

Management Structure

Gymnastics Australia Staff

Members SMC’s

State Technical Committees

Technical Members

Other members

Clubs

External Communication

Committee Management

To operate most effectively, the committee should:

• Understand its roles and responsibilities, as individuals, committee members, and as a committee

• Attract quality people and have a plan for how to do this

• Retain quality people and ensure succession planning is undertaken

• Meet regularly enough to perform its roles and responsibilities

• Operate under regularly reviewed Constitution and By-Laws that are up-to-date and do not impede the organisation from operating effectively.

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COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT

Role and function

• Best practice committees are designed to relieve the Board of certain

tasks and are developed to capitalise upon specialist skills of

personnel willing to contribute their time and expertise to the

organisation.

• A committee is generally required on an ongoing basis and forms part

of the essential governance responsibilities.

• Committees should not do away with responsibilities or assume the

role of management. They should have Terms of Reference (ToR)

which specifically sets their scope of work, roles and responsibilities.

The ToR should clearly identify and state the delineation between

committee and management.

• In terms of reporting, committees should be required to circulate

minutes of each meeting to the Board and management, as well as

being required to report to the Board at least annually.

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COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT

What is the role of Gymsports Committees?(as taken from GTAS By-Laws: Gymsport Committes)

2. Functions of Committees

Each Committee will work with, provide advice to, and make

recommendations to the delegated GA staff member/s regarding the

delivery of strategic and operational outcomes for their Gymsport,

including but not limited to:

a) preparation of technical regulations for approval by GA;

b) review their Gymsport’s performance and undertake forward

planning against the GTAS strategic plan outcomes; and

c) co-ordination and implementation of the technical regulations at all

GTAS state events.”

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GYMSPORTS COMMITTEES

What role do you think the Gymsports Committee’s play in

supporting GTAS’s strategic direction?

How does this occur?

Is this an annual process?

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GYMSPORTS COMMITTEES

Committee Meetings

• The committee should meet regularly

• Clear meeting procedures should be established and adhered to

• Accurate and clear minutes of meetings should be kept

• The committee should exercise the leadership necessary to ensure successful implementation of strategy.

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MEETINGS

CSR Good Governance Guidelines

2.15 Committee meetings have an agenda and minutes are taken

• Committee meetings have agendas, and minutes are taken to detail

discussions and document decisions approved

• The committee needs to ensure their meetings adhere to the time

limits in the agenda, and that adequate time is given to each agenda

item.

• Meeting minutes should be distributed in a timely manner, usually

within a week.

• It is important that committee members understand the legal

requirements of the committee as set out in the State Sporting

Organisation’s Constitution. This includes how many members are

required to have a quorum, the amount of notice required to call a

meeting, what items can be discussed at the meeting, and voting

procedures.

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MEETINGS

CSR Good Governance Guidelines

2.15 Committee meetings have an agenda and minutes are taken

Agenda template is available through CSR’s Good Governance Guidelines

http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/csr/sportrec/publications/governance_guidelines

Additionally, a minutes template is also available through the guidelines, and

includes a ‘Disclosure of Interest – Conflict of Interest’ section

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MEETINGS

http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/csr/sportrec/publications/governance_guidelines

Best Practice

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MEETINGS

Prior to the meeting (papers)

At the meeting

(discussion)

After approval (monitoring

performance)

Effective committee meetings

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MEETINGS

Well organised meetings

• Agenda

• Information

• Well facilitated by the chair

• Effective discussion

• Exchange ideas

• Encourage/respect alternate views

• Make decisions

• Support the decisions of the sub-committee

Why have a code of conduct?

• The committee and individuals members should adhere to a code of conduct

• This will define acceptable standards of personal behaviour and serve as a model for use through the whole club

• The code should also address the disclosure and management of conflicts of interest.

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CODE OF CONDUCT

• Act honestly, in good faith and in the best interest of my Gymsport

• Be consistent, objective and professional when making decisions

• Be independent in judgement and actions

• Accept and follow decisions made at meetings

• Respect confidentiality in all information gained through my position on the

committee.

• Show a duty of care and diligence in fulfilling the functions and exercising the powers

attached to my position

• Report all problems as they arise to the Sports Program Manager including incidents,

injury or conflicts and forward all related correspondence

• Not allow personal interests, or interest of any associated person, to conflict with the

interest of my Commission and ensure the integrity of the actions of the Commission by

avoiding granting special favours or unfair privileges to anybody or entity

• Abide by the standards of behaviour and ethical conduct required of all technical

members (Coaches Code of Ethics, Judges Code of Ethics)

• Not engage in conduct likely to bring my Commission, sport or Gymnastics Australia in

to disrepute

Code of Conduct

Performance Management – Why?

• Organisations should adopt a regular evaluation process to obtain feedback on the collective performance of the Board and committees, as well as the performance of organisation as a whole

• Performance management is necessary for effective organisation function, ongoing development and improvement

• It is recommended that goals are established and measurable objectives set to assist this process, with this tied to the strategic and operational plans of the organisation

• The performance management process should be undertaken at least annually.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Benefits of Performance Management

• Improved leadership

• Greater clarity of roles and responsibilities

• Improved teamwork

• Better decision making

• Greater accountability

• Improved communication

• More efficient operation of the committee as a whole.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Committee Members

The committee should comprise of people with an appropriate range of skills.

It is strongly recommended that organisations look to recruit people with specific skills wherever possible.

Anyone who becomes a committee member must fully understand their responsibilities, as well as the key

operational aspects of their organisation.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Succession planning and volunteer recruitment

• The recruitment process should provide potential volunteers with a

realistic preview of what a job entails.

• Volunteers need to understand the size and nature of the task ahead of

them before deciding to commit their time and energy to a position (job

descriptions and committee Terms of Reference are very beneficial.

• Information provided should include things like meeting times, major tasks

and average weekly or monthly time commitments for the position.

• Applicants should be in a position to make an informed decision about

whether a volunteer role might suit their skills, experience and availability.

• Volunteers need to feel valued by organisations and not feel as though

they are being recruited to fill a position that no one else wanted.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Workforce

• Successful organisations have good people doing great things. Thepeople in your orgnaisation, paid or volunteer, are your workforceand they are the people you need for your organisation to function.

• If you understand your workforce, the number of people and skillsrequired for the various roles, you are better placed to achieveyour clubs desired outcomes.

• Workforce planning is about ensuring you have:

• the right people

• in the right roles

• for the right time

• with the right skills

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Workforce

• In addition to these factors you should seek out people who reflectthe behaviours and attitudes of the organisation.

• As with any planning process you should apply these best practiceprinciples to your workforce plan:

• the current situation (current workforce breakdown)

• what you will need in the future (workforce breakdownto achieve desired outcomes)

• identify the gaps (what you need to add to achieve desiredoutcomes).

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Committee Members

Generally committee members should:

• Have the ability to think laterally

• Possess good communication skills

• Be able to understand, relate to and communicate with stakeholders

• Be ethical, honest and trustworthy

• Be a team player

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Legal duties of Committee Members

As a committee member you:

• Owe certain duties to your organisation and its members by virtue of the position of trust you hold (fiduciary duty)

• Are bound to exercise rights and powers in good faith and for the benefit of your organisation

• Act for a proper purpose and exercise powers (under the organisation’s Constitution and sub-committee’s Terms of Reference) for the purposes for which they are given

• Act in good faith and honestly

• Consider both short and long term interests

• Act with a high level of care, skill and diligence

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Managing Conflicts of Interest

• Conflict of interest for committee members will invariably arise because

we all have lives outside committee roles. The key is not to allow the

role to advantage any Committee Member, their relatives or friends.

• Management of conflict of interest is the key to minimising organisational

risk, embarrassment, or criticism of the Committee or the individual.

• Identification of a potential conflict is paramount. A conflict may exist

because:

• Personal interests, particularly but not exclusively personal gain or the

potential for personal gain exists

• Organisational interests, particularly but not exclusively where a member

may have to consider the same matter within a different organisational

setting

• Other commitments or arrangements individuals have, within and outside

our club or sport

• Family interests

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST


• An example of a conflict of interest is if a committee member is working

for a particular company and that company is being considered to be

contracted by the organisation to undertake work.

• What you need to do to cover yourself is for the employee to declare

the interest (in the Minutes) and to demonstrate that they have not

influenced the company's selection in any way.

• Removing yourself from the room during discussion (in the Minutes) is a

good practice.

• Obtaining tenders from a range of companies so that selection is fair and

based on a specific criteria is also good practice.

• It is often the case that a committee member may have a pre-existing

conflict and only realise this when the matter is raised in a meeting or

after a meeting.

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• This is not an issue so long as when a member of the committee

recognises that a potential conflict exists, he or she advises the

Chair immediately if in a committee meeting, or as soon as

practical at other times.

• As a committee you should consider the guiding principle that it is

in everyone’s interest to manage not just conflict of interest but

the perception that there is or was a conflict of interest.

• Accordingly, the ability for any Committee members to raise the

issue of conflict of interest at any stage is encouraged. It is

suggested that Conflicts or Interests is included in the early part

of the agenda at meetings as habit.

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Managing Conflicts of Interest – Key steps

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Key points

1. If you think it might be, disclose it!

2. Keep a ‘Conflict of Interest Register’

3. What will our stakeholders think?

4. Related party transactions must be disclosed

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST REGISTER

Name Position Person and/or

Organisation with

Interest

Nature of Conflict or Interest Date of Declaration

Conflicts of interest

Actions to protect yourself and the organisation from conflict of

interest include:

• Avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest

• Put the organisation ahead of your own interests

• Disclose any personal interests that may give rise to a conflict

• Keep information you obtained by being a committee member confidential.

If a conflict arises at a committee meeting, you should not vote on the matter and leave the meeting whilst the matter is being discussed. These actions should be minuted.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

It is integral that information you obtain by being a committee

member is kept confidential.

Examples

• Draft material sent to the Committee for review:

- Event timetable

- Release dates for coaching courses

• Discussions at Committee meetings about new initiatives

- New judge accreditation design

- Changes to the Australian Levels Program

• Survey results

Confidentiality

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