Organizations get things done through people. The Executive Director’s job includes making sure that the organization has the people it needs to do the work and that everyone knows who does what. This means having some form of organizational structure, job descriptions, policy manuals, training and supervision for everyone — both employees and volunteers. Smaller organizations can be quite informal in this although some written guidelines are valuable — especially when people leave and must be replaced. It is particularly important to establish what is done by staff and what by volunteers, who is accountable, and how much authority each.
