Effective Officer Transition in Student Organizations at Drexel University

1. Effective Officer Transitionin Student Organizationsat Drexel University

2. This Tutorial has been prepared by the Leadership Assistants (LA): a team of students engaged in helping to strengthen your student leadership and your organization. Please visit our website to see what services we can provide for your organization!

3. Officer Transition Purpose of an Effective Transition What do you need to Transfer? Outgoing Officer Survey / Incoming Officer Survey Setting Up a Meeting Schedule Officer Transition Checklist Meeting 1: Outgoing and Incoming Officer Meeting 2: Incoming Officers Meeting 3: Outgoing and Incoming Officers List of Forms Contact Information

4. Is your year as an officer is coming to an end? How do you leave your position gracefully? How do you ensure that the new officers are ready to continue to provide your organization with strong leadership? Are you a newly elected officer? What do you need to know to be effective in your new role? How do you hit the ground running? See Tip Sheets for more information about certain aspects of leadership (ie. Delegation, Time management)

5. A thorough leadership transition plan is: The responsibility of both the outgoing and incoming officers A way to help the group avoid starting over or starting from scratch every year A transfer of significant organizational knowledge A way to minimize the confusion of leadership changeover A way to give outgoing leaders a sense of closure A great opportunity for outgoing leaders to evaluate the year An orientation process for new leaders

6. Think back to your first few weeks as an officer What could you have used to do your job better? Were there things that should�ve been easy, but may have been difficult or turned into a nightmare? Suggestions 1) Complete the Outgoing/Incoming Officer Surveys 2) Set up a Meeting Schedule 3) Complete the Officer Transition Checklist http://www.drexel.edu/oca/l/tip_sheets.asp **These forms are all available on the website or can be picked up at the OCA office**

7. If you�re an Outgoing Officer, complete the Outgoing Officer Survey This should help guide or direct you as to what the Incoming Officer needs to know Use this as a tool for your meeting � in addition to the Officer Transition Checklist If you�re an Incoming Officer, complete the Incoming Officer Survey This should help organize your thoughts and prioritize your needs Use this as a tool for your meeting, in addition to the Officer Transition Checklist These are available online (see next page) or at the OCA office (Creese 215)

10. Meeting 1: Outgoing and Incoming Officer meet 1-1 to go over all of the details using the Surveys and the Transition Checklist Meeting 2: Incoming Officers meet to constructively plan for the upcoming year and make sure they have �covered all the bases� before the Outgoing Officers depart Meeting 3: Outgoing and Incoming meet again (even just over email/phone) to go over the issues raised at Meeting 2 and for final thoughts.

11. Complete a �Change of Officer Form� with OCA Forms available in OCA at 215 Creese Student Center or online This is the same form as the Annual Recognition Form, but just check the box for �Change of Officers/Advisors�. Only needs to be completed for the President, Treasurer, and Advisor

12. Example of Change of Officer Form

13. Try to transfer as much information as possible either electronically or on paper. This is critical if the Outgoing Officer is graduating, etc. Make sure the incoming officer has a copy of the following items: Copy of Constitution and By-laws (copies available in OCA if needed) Position description of officers and members List of committees and their description Member & officer contact list Contact information of important people/offices on campus List of basic annual procedures and/or calendar of annual events Web page and webmaster information. How do you maintain the site? Mission, philosophy, goals and/or purpose statement of organization Financial records Evaluations of previous and current projects Meeting minutes and agendas Any historical records of the organization

14. Look at your calendar from the past year: What were the busy times? What were the down times? How would you have scheduled things differently? Look over a calendar for the upcoming year: How can you effectively plan your schedule? Start penciling in ideas of events, etc. if there are certain things that you know you�ll be doing.

15. Make Introductions to Resources Schedule time to walk around campus together People to meet: Office of Campus Activities � Creese Room 215 Creese Student Center Staff � Creese Lobby - Info Desk Event Services � Creese Room 001 Academic Departments Organization Advisor

16. What can OCA do for you? SOOT Presentations Activities Unlimited (held beginning of Fall and Spring Terms) Staff advisors and Leadership Assistants to assist groups with concerns Student Organization Registration Form each year for recognition Resources: retreat and program planning, teambuilders, etc. (http://www.drexel.edu/oca/)

17. Review Budgets and Funding Visit: SAFAC Website What is SAFAC? What�s the financial status of your organization? Where did your organization get money from? Did your organization apply for SAFAC funding and did you receive any? Did you do fundraising? Did it work?

18. Review past and future organization events Which events were successful and should be repeated? When should planning start for each event? Which events were unsuccessful? Were they poorly attended or poorly run? How could your organization improve its events? Get acquainted with Reservations Office - Website CLICK HERE for a Resource Guide

19. Meetings and Organization When were they held? What times generally work? How do you make room reservations? What is a typical week like? What were the most and least challenging experiences? More information about Reservations Office CLICK HERE for a Resource Guide

20. Recruitment activities What did your organization do to recruit? What did you do that worked or didn�t work? Why did new members stay�or leave? Use Activities Unlimited in the Fall and Spring Quarters for recruitment. Just register with OCA and then find group members to staff your table! Resources on promoting your organization

21. The Next Step Make a �Things To Do� List and prioritize it together Exchange contact information so the outgoing officer can be reached for assistance

22. At this point, all of the Outgoing and Incoming Officers have had their 1-1 meetings and gone over their own checklists Use Meeting 2 as an opportunity to get to know the other new officers and plan goals for the year ahead Try to make clear goals and delegate responsibility among the Incoming Officers by the end of Meeting 2 Fill out Incoming Officer Survey (see next page) Visit Tip Sheet Webpage which has Teambuilders and other leadership resources that might help in planning for Meeting 2

23. Even if it�s just over email or the phone, try to create an open dialogue between the Outgoing and Incoming Officers Based on the discussion at Meeting 2� Are there any unresolved issues or certain items that you need more information about? What are your plans or goals? Does the Outgoing Officer have any other information or tips that might help you? Find out if it�s okay to contact the Outgoing Officer in the coming year for assistance where necessary.