Developing a quality improvement system is no easy feat. It takes patience, creativity, vision and a fine eye for detail (oh, and did I mention lots and lots of coffee?). Getting started can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be so scary. With every major project comes challenges, some of which you didn’t see coming, and that’s all part of what ultimately makes it so rewarding. However, there are some common barriers that keep organizations from staying on track with developing (or significantly revising), their quality improvement system. 
 

1. Differing visions: Compliance vs. quality improvement

A shared, clear vision of what QI means internally is critical.  Is your organization solely focused on meeting licensing, funding, and regulatory body requirements, or is it determined to delve deeper to strengthen its practices on a continuous basis? It’s the difference between being compliance-driven and quality-driven.  The Health Care Compliance Association defines compliance as “systematic procedures instituted by an organization to ensure that the provisions of the regulations imposed by government agencies are being met.” The operative word here is imposed – the organization is guided by deliverables set by an outside entity. Quality improvement includes aspects of compliance.  Joseph DeFeo, author of Juran’s Quality Handbook, views quality improvement as being of “exceptionally high quality, defined only in terms of the organization’s internal standards.” Both compliance and quality improvement are connected to the same end user – the client — but success is defined in different ways. 

A quality-driven organization begins with quality-driven leadership. Leadership is responsible for creating a culture of improvement guided by factors beyond the expectations of external entities, and they need to be significantly motivated by internal targets/goals. This requires that leadership embrace transparency, and not disregard information that may cast certain aspects of the organization in an unflattering light. Exposing organizational weaknesses is fundamental to improvement, and leadership needs to be straightforward about it early on as they develop and commit to a definition of QI that will lay the foundation for the work ahead.
 

2. “We have plenty of time!”

Building a QI system takes time, so it’s better to err on the side of caution and give yourself a lot of it. True, time isn’t always on our side, and often those who oversee QI activities do so on top of other responsibilities. Don’t let time be the enemy; start early, and begin by educating staff on all the moving parts that comprise a quality improvement program. This way they’ll understand why you’re starting twelve months in advance rather than three months prior to the target implementation date.  

There are two major phases in this process: planning and implementing. In the planning phase, you need time to develop a work plan, meet with all programs and administrative departments to brainstorm metrics, create procedures, and put all the pieces together. Take into account that brainstorming sessions will likely take place over the span of several meetings. The implementation phase includes collecting, analyzing and reporting data, and meeting with different forums to discuss the information. These exercises shouldn’t be rushed, and may take significant time to complete. 

In the implementation phase, it’s important to obtain staff feedback on data reports and analyses to ensure the information is clear, beneficial and useful. To get perspective and efficiently address barriers in the way of advancing your QI system, schedule on-going meetings with departments and programs to get their perspectives on pieces that do and don’t work.
 

3. Neglecting the power of cheerleaders

The cheerleaders are your champions – those who have informal and/or formal influence within the organization and can push the PQI agenda forward. Your cheerleaders understand the value of quality improvement and can explain its significance to other staff. They provide guidance and foster a culture of improvement by creating spaces for staff to get excited about data. How is this done? Adding QI to meeting agendas, providing additional context to data reports, or exploring obstacles to using data with staff. 

Cheerleaders also support QI coordinators by offering tips on how to get certain busy individuals to meet their QI deliverables, or help determine when a task needs to be postponed or expedited.  To implement quality improvement, you need eyes and ears on the ground to ascertain the organizational climate as the initiative is rolled out. Establishing a quality improvement system can have its challenges, especially when unforeseen hiccups occur. Champions can help you strategize how to achieve objectives and deal with underlying issues as they arise. 

How do you know who your champions are? Meet QI cheerleaders, Nancy and Jesse…

Nancy, the chief operating officer, has oversight of the QI department at the organization. While the role of managing the agency’s QI system has been delegated to the QI coordinator, Nancy receives weekly updates on progress of the QI initiative. When she is informed that directors have been unresponsive to emails and meeting requests, in the next director’s meeting, she makes QI an agenda item to discuss the importance of the initiative and allow an open dialogue for questions and concerns.

Jesse, the office manager, has a warm and outgoing personality. He welcomes all clients and staff who enter the building with a smile. With his friendly demeanor and passion for helping others, Jesse knows most of the staff. He is just the person to bring excitement and energy to the PQI initiative. While he may not know all the ins and outs of QI processes, he is eager to learn and appreciates the benefits the work will bring. He asks many process-related questions about PQI strategies in the meetings that helps the team strengthen procedures and clarify responsibilities. 
 

4. “Let’s skip the basics.”

Compartmentalize! Compartmentalize! Compartmentalize! Oh, and did I mention you should compartmentalize? Patience is key in the planning phase, but slow and steady wins the race. It’s important to start small so everyone is on the same page. You might have colleagues who are eager to start data collection and try to skip over important preparation steps, or those who want to focus on high level outcomes without first getting a solid foundation for the basics. Slow them down! Looking at basic output data may not be super exciting, but when developing a formal system, you want staff to understand (and follow) the process just as much as you want to be able to make inferences about the data generated. Data that supports what staff know anecdotally through program experience and data that contradicts it are both equally important. This is what makes an organization data-informed. 

Meeting with programs to determine what indicators will be used to measure the impact of services on clients, also known as client outcomes, is an important step in developing your QI system. Once leadership approves the QI program, it’s easy to assume that all staff are on the same page in how QI is perceived and understood. This is not always the case, and it’s helpful to be prepared. Your colleagues may be confused, annoyed, excited, or anxious, about what needs to happen. You may need to train program directors, managers and staff about what QI means to the organization before you can explore the possibilities for outcomes. 

Ideas for training? Provide context by talking about the history and how the organization has gotten to this point with its QI efforts.  Make the training fun and encourage creative thinking with games or trivia. Use your cheerleaders to get others excited. Even if there is a desire for QI, there may be a gap in knowledge and skill that needs to be addressed. Provide clarity on the objectives to be accomplished and define key terms so that everyone is clear on the tasks and expectations. Share resources on data analytics, embracing change, and outcome measurement with colleagues so they may continually learn and challenge one another. 
 

Final thoughts

The end goal is to develop a quality improvement system that provides a framework to use data to support decision-making and enhance practices. The culmination of all this hard work is an organization that is able to transform data into knowledge, and strengthen its practices to better meet the needs of its stakeholders. Remember, improving practices does not mean they were inadequate before. It is using a platform to evaluate organizational performance in a thoughtfully planned manner.  
 

This article was reprinted with permission from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC), publisher of the RISK eNews.  

To say that the term risk assessment has many meanings is an incontrovertible understatement. My Google search of the phrase “what is a risk assessment” yielded more than 127 million results in an astonishing .88 seconds! From time to time at NRMC we ponder what the phrase means, and why it’s relevant-to the mission of the people and community-serving organizations we serve.

Why risk assessment matters

Stewardship is significant

The leaders of nonprofits are mission stewards, responsible for guiding, supporting and sustaining the missions, values and assets of their organizations. In his book, Finance Fundamentals for Nonprofits, thought leader Woods Bowman reminds us that: “…the risks of a nonprofit are borne by the people it serves (its clients), who have neither a voice in selecting the organization’s leadership nor the ability to manage the risks.” It is thus the responsibility of nonprofit leaders to manage risks that might directly or indirectly affect our stakeholders.

Stuff happens

All nonprofit teams face obstacles and difficulties–some capably forecast and some startling–throughout their organizational journeys. Thoughtful leadership and mindful management cannot eliminate the possibility of frustrating or resource-draining “stuff” obstructing your view or impeding your progress.

Reflection builds resilience

Reflecting on the risks in your landscape is a vital step in building resilience. Former NRMC board member Felix Kloman says it best: “The proper goal of risk management is to build and maintain the confidence of stakeholders. That combined confidence and trust is often translated into much-needed support, financial and otherwise, when surprise inevitably hits. It is the essence of resilience.

How nonprofits evaluate their risks

In the NRMC team’s experience, risk assessments take various forms. For example…

Intuitive approach

Some leadership teams (boards, staff teams, volunteer teams, etc.) intuitively ponder the risks associated with any change in strategy or new program. We’ve heard from our consulting clients and Affiliate Member teams that instinctive questions like “what are the risks associated with that?” often pop up during team meetings. Often a single team member can be counted on to ask that question, while in other groups various members take a turn with the risk champion or devil’s advocate role. One of the goals we’ve heard client teams reiterate time and time again, is to evolve risk management in a way that makes risk management skills–or the function itself–baked-in rather than bolted-on. One possible motivator for a baked-in risk function is the recognition that creating a new department of risk professionals is impractical and costly. Few leaders of ambitious nonprofit organizations have extra dollars or people available to support and fully-staff a new risk management function. A dedicated risk function also won’t guarantee that all of your team members are considering risks while making decisions each day. Read our article Designing a Durable, Doable Risk Management Function & Capabilities to explore this topic further.

Checklist approach

Still, other nonprofit teams use checklists to assess risk management capabilities and identify gaps. I wrote about the potential value of checklists in the Risk eNews article Making My List and Checking It Twice, describing them as “among the simplest and least expensive tools at your disposal.” I was inspired to rethink my aversion to risk management checklists after reading The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. In his terrific book, Atul Gawande explores how the simple device of a checklist can help translate a large data set into safer practices.

Deep dive, all-in approach

Yet another approach to risk assessment is a full-on review, facilitated by an internal or external risk champion. At NRMC we are honored every time we are selected to lead a

Risk Assessment or an Enterprise Risk Assessment for a nonprofit client. During these intensive engagements, we interview stakeholders representing diverse vantage points across the organization, we bring an outsider’s fresh perspective as we consider the nonprofit’s risk landscape, and we present detailed recommendations for action steps and strategies that will fortify the mission and key objectives of the nonprofit. These engagements often wrap up with training or risk champion coaching to equip our client teams with the resources they need to sustain lasting changes to their risk programs.

Each of these approaches offers a potentially meaningful, mission-advancing way to uncover and better understand the risks you face. Each approach can inspire action in the face of the inevitable uncertainty facing all organizations. Yet many nonprofit teams crave a self-guided option–one that is less time-consuming than an all-in assessment and more nuanced than a checklist.

My Risk Assessment

I’m excited to announce the release a brand-new self-assessment web application for nonprofit teams: My Risk Assessment. Inspired by earlier self-assessment tools developed by NRMC and lessons and insights from many deep-dive risk assessments we have led, the new My Risk Assessment is a powerful, practical and affordable fourth option for teams seeking to understand and act on their principal risks. How does My Risk Assessment work?

Risk Ranking capability

A brand new Risk Ranking feature enables users to swiftly create a team and invite colleagues to select and rank their top risks. Whether you want to poll a team of twelve or cast of hundreds, My Risk Assessment gives a risk champion the ability to quickly and efficiently gut-check different perspectives on risk. The Risk Ranking component features 100 risks suggested by NRMC and covers 13 areas of exposure and operations. Users have the option of adding two organization-specific risks before inviting their team members to weigh in. The web app aggregates team member scores and reports the number of votes and relative rank on a top ten list of risks. We recommend that teams use the Risk Ranking feature as a starting point for a conversation about priority risks, exploring the top ten list to validate it and to determine what risks require action.

Risk advice from trusted advisors to nonprofits

My Risk Assessment features 13 topical risk assessment modules that users can complete to self-assess the risks facing their organizations. The NRMC team updated the assessment questions, the pop-up advice, and the detailed report and recommendations shared after you complete one or more of the 13 modules. All of the guidance in My Risk Assessment is written by NRMC team members, who are risk champions with experience advising hundreds of leadership teams in diverse nonprofits.

Robust reporting

You asked and we answered! Users of My Risk Assessment are able to generate an Executive Summary containing a high-level overview of assessment highlights and suggested action steps, or a full report with detailed recommendations, context, and helpful resources. Choose the report format that suits your needs in the moment, and return anytime to download or share the shorter or more substantive version of your risk assessment report.

The app is designed for any and all risk management professionals – whether you’re a long-term risk champion who is rarely surprised by risk events, or a leader who has recently accepted a risk leadership role. We invite your questions and feedback as you use My Risk Assessment to delve into the always fascinating, never lackluster world of risk in your organization! 

This article was reprinted with permission from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, publisher of the RISK eNews.  Read past issues of this free publication. 

A big thank you to Jennifer Flowers of Accreditation Guru for this guest post!

As an organization evolves, it will inevitably face changes in leadership. While many of these transitions are anticipated, as when additional leadership roles are established or when a leader retires, other times the agency faces the dilemma of filling an unexpected opening. The key to making any leadership transition a seamless process for staff and clients alike is to develop a thoughtful succession plan that will guide decisions when the need arises. Here, we offer fundamental succession planning tips that can help your organization to Prepare for Greatness!™ 

Why participate in succession planning?

Succession planning should be proactively and thoroughly analyzed, planned for, and reviewed, in the same manner that an organization does so for budgeting, daily operations, and strategic planning, among others. While there are many motivating factors for an agency to participate in succession planning, two key elements at the forefront are to:

1. Ensure Organizational Sustainability– First and foremost, having a well-developed, formal succession plan supports organizational sustainability, while preserving the continuous coverage of duties critical to an agency’s continuing operations.
2. Increase Transition Success – Thoughtfully considering succession possibilities will lead to smoother transitions. The executive director or CEO serves as the direct line of communication between the board of directors and agency personnel; he or she is responsible for providing the leadership and guidance to help the organization meet its strategic and operational goals and fulfil its mission. He or she also provides an understanding of the intentions and policies of the board of directors by informing and guiding senior staff leadership, administrative functions, and operational staff in the daily work of the organization. It is important to ensure a continuity of this leadership in the event of unplanned and unexpected changes, as well as during planned changes due to termination, resignation, or retirement of top leadership, including the executive director or CEO.

According to The Bridgespan Group, succession planning remains the number one organizational concern expressed by nonprofit boards and executive leadership. Additionally, BoardSource recently reported that only 34 percent of nonprofits surveyed report that they have a written succession plan in place – yet, half of all CEOs intend to leave their positions within the next five years.  

Key succession planning considerations

• Always include the board of directors and all senior leaders in succession planning, its implementation, subsequent monitoring, and future reviews.
• When listing potential candidates, consider maintaining an adequate level of staff diversity, recruiting a wide range of individuals who provide the skills your agency will need in the future, and cultivating long-term employee retention.
• Develop a short list of potential leadership successors who possess the ability to lead effectively and recognize the emerging needs of the organization, matching each individual to the most appropriate position.
• Consider how vacancies may arise – while some are easily identified, as when an executive retires or is promoted to another position, others will be unexpected and provide no advance indication or notice. By properly planning for these scenarios beforehand, selecting a replacement will be less daunting and will support a smoother organizational transition.
• Consider whether the placement of an interim leader would be of greater benefit than placing someone in a position quickly just to fill a vacancy. This is especially important for the highest-level positions in the agency where it may be beneficial to seek outside candidates for consideration.
• Succession planning must include planned, unplanned, temporary, and long-term absences. Unplanned vacancies require emergency transition plans that outline the delegation of responsibilities and authority during leadership disruptions.

Communicate and keep communicating

Communication is essential. Communication means transparency. Thoughtful and timely communication before, during, and after any leadership transition will go a long way in supporting the success of a new leader and the organization – keeping the focus squarely on fulfilling its mission of serving others.

Planning tips for leadership transitions

• Secure agency-wide commitment and continued support to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
• Identify current and/or potential challenges and the corresponding leadership qualities necessary to effectively navigate these adversities.
• Adopt an Emergency Leadership Transition Plan to address the timely delegation of duties and authority whenever there is an unexpected transition or interruption in key leadership.
• Identify opportunities to cultivate the leadership skills of current staff and board members, thereby ensuring a selection of emerging leaders who are prepared as needs arise.
• Cross-train staff to minimize disruptions from unexpected personnel changes.
• Create a formal plan that adequately supports newly-placed employees that includes coaching, mentoring, and defining job-related goals and responsibilities.

Who is responsible for planning for leadership transitions?

Generally, a board of directors is responsible for initiating a succession plan for an executive director or CEO. The board must understand that succession planning is a critical component for ensuring the short and long-term sustainability of an organization and must be considered a proactive risk management strategy. Succession plans should be carefully reviewed on an annual basis. 

The human factor

Succession planning discussions often bring apprehension to many within the organization. Those in leadership roles may see this as a sign that their performance is lacking or signals that they are considering leaving the organization, while staff may misinterpret planning as an internal power struggle, among others. Regardless of the concerns that surface, it is paramount to unambiguously clarify that leadership is simply prioritizing the agency’s future sustainability and the needs of the community it serves. The ideal time to conduct such planning is while there are no transitions taking place, allowing for greater focus of planning without additional pressure.

Other questions to consider

• If an executive is suddenly unable to serve, is it clear within the agency who will fill that role until a permanent replacement is selected? Does the board of directors have the expertise required to evaluate and appropriately fill the position?
• Are the responsibilities of the leadership position reasonable and manageable? That is, can this position realistically be served by one individual?
• Is the position’s salary commensurate with those for similar positions in comparable organizations? Wage data compiled from a variety of statistics can be found by visiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Nonprofit Time’s Nonprofit Organizations Salary and Benefits Report.
• For nonprofit agencies, does the executive director also serve in the chief fundraising and development role? If so, what impact does this have on overall fundraising activities and organizational revenue?
• Are there any obvious internal or external candidates for the job?

Assigning an interim leader

Changes in leadership are inevitable, including those that are unplanned and immediate, as when an executive director is no longer able to fulfil his or her responsibility and the position is vacated. Often, the board president will work closely with the agency’s executive leadership team to identify a potential temporary replacement and offer this recommendation to the full board of directors for approval. The board will meet with the candidate, determine his or her ability to fulfil the role, and swiftly act to appoint the candidate to this interim role, as appropriate.

Following the appointment of the interim leader:

• Immediately notify the entire board of directors;
• Communicate with organizational staff;
• Direct the communications team to send press releases, communications, electronic messages, etc. to critical governmental and funding partners, families and clients served by the agency, community business partners, and the public to announce the interim appointment.

Soon after, the executive committee should meet to determine:

• Anticipated length of appointment:
  • Short-term (three months or less)
  • Long-term (greater than three months)
  • Permanent
• At what point in the future the interim position should be permanently filled
• Key benchmarks and timeframes to be provided for the board

Selection process for new agency head with advanced notice

When an agency head provides proper notice of intent to resign from his or her position, an official transition team should be assigned to conduct a formal search for a new executive director or CEO. The committee should include board members, senior staff representatives, and other relevant stakeholders associated with the organization. 

The committee should consider the following when conducting its search:

• Always consider both internal and external candidates for the position; this may include conducting a national search unless there is an internal candidate who is appropriately prepared and qualified for the job.
• Determine whether the agency’s senior-level positions could and/or should be realigned to meet the agency’s current and future needs.

Do not underestimate the power of time

It is not unusual for the head of an organization to give upwards of two years notice of his or her planned departure. However, this announcement can mistakenly be met with a “we have plenty of time” response from those involved in filling the future position. Procrastinating to fill what is arguably the most critical leadership role in the agency will often lead to unnecessary confusion and disruption throughout all levels of the agency. 

While the future is not easily predicted, taking advantage of all the time an organization is given to fill key leadership roles will not only allow the search committee to make intentional, strategic choices, those who are served by the agency will benefit, as well. Through a well-executed plan, an agency ensures that the transition is a time of focused, organized, and thought-out change. After all, uninterrupted mission fulfillment is at the forefront of every public service agency. 

The views, information and opinions expressed herein are those of the author; they do not necessarily reflect those of the Council on Accreditation (COA). COA invites guest authors to contribute to the COA blog due to COA’s confidence in their knowledge on the subject matter and their expertise in their chosen field.

Jennifer Flowers

Jennifer Flowers, Founder and CEO of Accreditation Guru, is an experienced accreditation consultant and has dedicated her career to the areas of accreditation and nonprofit management. Her 20+ years of accreditation experience includes serving as Director of Volunteer Services and Accreditation Commission at COA, as well as working with a variety of nonprofits in the education, health care, religious and social service sectors. Her background gives her an intimate knowledge of what Peer Reviewers look for during an onsite survey and what Commissioners need to make an informed accreditation decision. 

Prior to founding Accreditation Guru, Inc. in 2009, Jennifer has held key management positions in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and holds an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Jennifer is also certified in Nonprofit Board Education by BoardSource.

Community demographics are continuing to evolve nationwide, making the need for culturally competent organizations more prevalent than ever. In this article, we will discuss what this means for you as a provider of social services, and how your organization can progress in this realm by exploring the what, why and how of cultural competence.

The what

First, let’s define cultural competence. It can loosely be defined as the ability to respect, engage, and understand individuals who have different cultural or belief systems, where the elements of culture include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, geographic location, language, political status, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, tribal affiliation, and religion.

The why

The term competency in regards to culturally responsive practice has been debated. Can one ever truly be culturally competent? There might not be a consensus, but as a provider of social services promoting cultural competence will enable you to better meet the needs of the individuals, children, and families you serve. Understanding your community and those you serve facilitates stronger partnerships, resulting in higher quality programs and service delivery. Research shows that organizational culture impacts its effectiveness. An organization that commits to cultural competence is not only better equipped to successfully address community service gaps and needs, but also creates an internal culture that fosters responsive and respectful interactions.

Here are just a few of the many benefits, it:

• fosters stakeholder engagement and empowerment
• ensures strategic initiatives, goals, and objectives to be culturally appropriate and inclusive of community needs
• supports the recruitment and retention of a diverse and inclusive governing body and workforce
• creates a safe and supportive environment that accepts and respects diversity

The how

Seek stakeholder feedback

Connect with your community! The best way to do that is to offer formal and informal ways for clients and community members to provide feedback about the work that you do. That’s why COA highlights the importance of stakeholder involvement in performance and quality improvement systems in its standards. As an organization, you get a sense of what’s working and what’s missing the mark. You can then tailor your services and outreach efforts to ensure that they are culturally appropriate. Most importantly, when you incorporate client and community feedback it makes those you serve active in organizational decision-making processes and promotes engagement and empowerment.

Conduct a community needs assessment

Conducting a community needs assessment is an effective way to identify strengths and resources in your community. It also highlights current gaps and service needs. Collaborating with community partners can enhance this assessment. You can also review other external needs assessments conducted by organizations with a community-wide focus. KIDS COUNT data center, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, allows you to access local, state, and national level data and statistics on demographics and child and family well-being that can be incorporated into your assessment process.

Incorporate community demographics into your strategic planning process

Strategic initiatives should be responsive to changing community demographics and service needs. COA recommends that organization leadership review a demographic profile of their defined service population at least once every long-term planning cycle. However, it’s not enough to collect and review demographic data; it must inform an organization’s planning and operations. Promote cultural competence by establishing goals and objectives that are culturally appropriate for those you serve. Want to go a step further? Incorporate a cultural competency plan into your strategic planning process.

Foster a culturally responsive workforce

Promote cultural competence by having a diverse and inclusive workforce. A first step is ensuring that your human resources practices are culturally appropriate. Organizations should strategically recruit and employ personnel that reflect cultural characteristics of the service population. Is this a challenge for your organization? Create a plan that establishes goals for recruiting and employing individuals that represent your service population and community.

Another way you can commit to promoting cultural competence is by providing relevant education and training opportunities to personnel at all levels. Opportunities should not only focus on work with clients, but also address the internal workplace and interactions amongst other staff. Education and training should be tailored to the needs of your organization, but may include: language classes, interpreter training, mentoring programs, and diversity workshops. You can also conduct workforce assessments to inform ongoing personnel development opportunities to ensure that all staff is trained on culturally responsive policies, procedures, and practices. Once personnel have the necessary education and training, it’s time to integrate culturally responsive practices into everyday work with clients. As a provider, your goal should be to provide respectful, effective, and equitable care. This stems from adopting a service philosophy that is culturally responsive to those you serve, and culturally appropriate program-level policies and procedures.

Arguably one of the most important things that you can do as an organization is create safe and supportive environment where personnel can explore and gain an understanding of different cultures. You can do so by creating a cultural advisory committee to address workforce diversity issues or holding “cultural conversations” where staff can discuss diversity issues and learn from one another. Offering these types of forums reinforces a culture that is accepting and responsive to diversity.

Establish and maintain a diverse and inclusive board

One major responsibility of a nonprofit board is establishing and adopting organizational policy. Policies and procedures that support culturally responsive practice provide the framework for being a culturally competent organization. That is why having a board that reflects the demographics of the community it serves is so crucial. It’s no secret that board recruitment can be a challenge. If your organization is struggling to establish a board that is diverse and inclusive, establish a stakeholder advisory group that is representative of the community you serve and create a board recruitment plan that outlines strategies for getting everyone at the table. Need a little guidance? BoardSource is an excellent resource on board diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Don’t be. One of the most important things for organizations to keep in mind is that cultural competence is an evolving, active process; it’s not something that is attainable overnight. In fact, some researchers say there is a cultural competency continuum. The takeaway here is that every step you make towards becoming a culturally competent organization is a step in the right direction.

Want to learn more?

There are plenty of resources floating around the Internet that address cultural competence. Here are a few that you may find helpful:

National CLAS Standards

The National CLAS Standards are a set of guidelines that aim to reduce health care disparities and advance health equity. COA developed a crosswalk to demonstrate how COA standards align with the National CLAS Standards and support the provision of culturally and linguistically responsive services.

National Center for Cultural Competency (NCCC)

The National Center for Cultural Competency (NCCC) aims to promote health and mental health equity through the promotion of culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems and offers a variety of resources and publications geared towards the promotion of cultural competence.

Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice

Are you a social worker? The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) developed standards and indicators for cultural competence in social work practice.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a host of information around cultural competency in the field of behavioral health. Check out this manual which focuses on helping providers and administrators understand the role of culture in the delivery of mental health and substance use services.

Okay, your turn!

What are some challenges your organization faced in this area and how have you attempted to overcome them? Can you share any tips, tools or resources that lead to your success? Please leave a comment below and help others learn from your experiences.