“Keeping Your YE Committee Engaged and Involved” Pauline Perreault/Dave McRae District 5370 Youth Exchange Committee AB/BC/SK/NT Canada NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Outline District Some Facts and Figures Our Committee Structure What our Committee Told Us (The view from the trenches) Our Engagement Strategy (Using the “6 Be’s”) Key Engagement Drivers NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

District 5370 – Some Facts and Figures 520K sq.m. (1.347M sq. km) - #3 in the world! 62 Rotary Clubs; 9 Rotaract Clubs; 36 (+4) Interact Clubs 2300 total members Involved in RYE since incorporation in 1999 as 5370; prior as part of 5360 Award-winning program from RI exchange students annually NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013 NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Our Committee Structure District Chair OB/IB Coordinators Regional District Advisors (RDAs) ROTEX support Rene Cavanaugh (administrative support) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

What our Committee Told Us Give meaningful jobs Share the workload Make them feel appreciated Have retreats (get to know each other) Share successes Don’t get too many people involved Keep actively engaged with the students NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Our Engagement Strategy The 6 “Be’s” Be First Be Curious Be On Purpose Be Grateful Be of Service Be Here Now NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be First Engaging RYE committee members – Inviting them to District RYE events to spark interest (prior to joining committee) – Make them feel welcomed at District events (greet them, find out about them) – Be the first to ask how they are doing in their role; Do they need help? Are they struggling? How are relationships with their counterparts? – Don't wait for the team to ask questions on student/program updates - be the first to share it NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be Curious Be curious regarding skill sets of committee members – Match skill and passion in the RYE world Get to know members as people – We spend so much time together - we might as well like each other!?! Bring "retired" members back – Be curious if they are free for your training weekends and have them play a role (they’ll love it) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Get to know each other Most of all, have fun with your committee

NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be On Purpose Getting your Committee members onboard – Complete a strategic plan SWOT analysis – District philosophy Approach to the D’s Student misconduct Travel policy Parent visitation policy Your District’s student “brand” NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Working with the BEST Having fun Transforming Lives

Be On Purpose Annual strategic planning retreat Balance team size with responsibilities – Don't over staff - it will lead to committee boredom NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be On Purpose Strategic Planning Retreat – First weekend in November – Bonding opportunity (No TV or internet - but lots of wine!) – Strategic Planning – review goals, set new ones – Succession planning – Debrief Fall Orientation (September) – Plan for Spring Orientation (March) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be Grateful You can't thank volunteers enough – Committee members put in long hours and need to hear about the good work they're doing – Share volunteer hours and depth with clubs. (Honour a RYE committee member with a Paul Harris?) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

A tribute to Kris Price Our District Committee shared the exemplary service of Kris Price with her club – And she received the honourable Paul Harris award as a result – Sometimes our clubs don’t even know how many HOURS we pour into RYE NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

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Be of Service Know what is going on with your team members – Do they need some help? – Do they need to take a step back? Take a rest? Provide information – Share what is happening with the students and clubs (this always leads to higher engagement!) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Clearly our current chairman Wayne needs a break (congrats on your 5 year term as Chair) NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Be Here Now Work with the strengths and passions of current team – Not the wonder team from days gone by Your team might feel solid and well-staffed, but things can change in a heart beat – Develop ongoing recruitment efforts and events NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013 Engagement of a District RYE team District Philosophy Team Members Role/Tasks Support from Chair Appreciation/ Celebrations Communication

District Philosophy Do you even have one? – Having fun, working with the best, transforming lives Approach to dealing with: – Struggling students, counsellors and clubs – D’s – Travel and parent visitation etc You NEED a foundation from which to make your decisions NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

District Philosophy Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Team Members Do you respect each other? Do you like each other? Do you have fun together? Do you trust each other? Do you look forward to being in each other’s company? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Team Members Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Roles/Tasks Are you passionate about the role you are doing? Do you get access to your favorite part of RYE? (whether it’s the trips, the students, the counsellors, NAYEN conferences etc) Are your team members in roles they are best suited for? Are tasks evenly divided amongst the team? – Avoiding over work and under work? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Roles/Tasks Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Support from the Chair Do you respect your Chair person? Do they back the committee decisions? Do they act fairly in student/counsellor concerns? Do you admire their leadership of your committee? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Support from the Chair Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Appreciation/Celebration How do you celebrate each other? Do you offer feedback to each other after student weekends/programs? Do you take time to reflect on your successes? How do you share “good news” and wins from the program? How do you honour parting committee members? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Appreciation/Celebration Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Communication Do often does your committee connect? How effective are your meetings? Are you informed to program/student changes in a timely manner? Do you understand why key decisions are made? Do you get a chance to participate in them? Are you often unaware of decisions made by the team or chair? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Communication Give yourself a rating from 1 to 10, where 1=very poor 10=excellent How are you doing in this area? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

What’s your score? Total possible score 60 If you scored: – 50-60, congratulations you have a strongly engaged team – 40-49, you have many wonderful pieces in place for an engaged team. Keep stretching! – 30-39, some things are working great, some aren’t. Keep working! – Below 29 – some improvements could be beneficial to your team. NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013

Questions? NAYEN – Orlando February, 2013