Board, staff and volunteer relationships

The board takes overall responsibility for the charity. Where staff are employed or volunteers appointed to carry out its day to day work, the board are responsible for setting the boundaries within which staff and volunteers operate. 

The relationships between the board, staff and volunteers are very important to the effective running of a charity. The practical relationships between the parties vary from charity to charity – for example:

• Boards of larger charities might employ a chief executive to manage a staff team and the day to day running of the charity
• Boards of smaller charities might appoint staff or volunteers to carry out individual tasks or run specific activities.

It is common for trustee boards to find that roles and relationships between the board and staff/volunteers overlap. Sometimes, these overlaps lead to tension between the board and staff and can even lead to dispute or damage to the charity.

The board must ensure there is clarity about the work and decisions that are delegated by trustees to staff and volunteers. Trustees might set this out via trustee role descriptions, staff job descriptions, volunteer role descriptions, policies, procedures and internal controls.

The board should also ensure that all parties have a clear and shared understanding of their respective roles and areas of overlap. Trustees might, for example, use inductions, supervisions, appraisals and board/staff away days to clarify respective roles and expectations.