Succession Planning Guide
Goals of Succession Planning
- Provide suggestions for clubs of various sizes to ensure there are no gaps in club leadership
- Create smooth transitions and knowledge transfer when club leaders need to step down
- Build a bench of engaged volunteers for club leaders to divide and conquer program planning
- Develop strategies for outreach to potential volunteers, with attention paid to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Club Size Considerations
Clubs’ volunteer needs will vary based on their size. Clubs should consider what positions are essential to ensure consistent programming and keep the club running smoothly.
- Some large clubs, such as VCNY, have formal bylaws mandating specific positions to be filled
- Smaller clubs may be able to suffice with two to five engaged volunteers
No matter the size of your club, strive to continuously recruit volunteers and identify leadership successors.
Volunteer Roles to Fill and Prioritize
Consider: What are the core leadership positions for your club? Refer to the Club Volunteer Roles.
For most clubs, the most essential positions are the President and the Vice President, or the Steering Committee Chair. The VP (or, for a Steering Committee structure, other steering committee Members) should be able to support succession needs in the event the President (or Chair) needs to take a step back and ensure that there is already an engaged volunteer on board. Both the President and the Vice President, or all members of a steering committee, should be highly involved in program planning and decisions for the club.
Other positions for club leaders to consider filling include:
- Program Chair
- Communications Chair
- Social Media Coordinator
- Virtual Events Coordinator
- Career Networking Liaison
The individuals in these positions can be tapped in the future to step into the VP, President, or Steering Committee Chair roles.
Clubs will ideally have a board or steering committee of committed volunteers that meet regularly and ensure the functioning of the club.
Succession planning should form part of every board/steering committee meeting, with reviews of term limits and discussion of potential successors when needed. Succession planning is an ongoing process that club leaders should always be thinking about. Identify successors early on to help prevent any lapse in programming and leadership. Don’t wait until a board/steering committee member announces they are leaving to start searching for a successor.
Continuously recruit volunteers for the specific roles that apply to your club, along with general board/steering committee members.
Recruiting with Intention
In building your board or steering committee, strive to model sustainable leadership that not only represents your diverse constituency, but also proactively works to maintain and increase engagement among all members of your area, with particular focus on those who have previously been unengaged or disengaged.
When identifying potential new volunteers, consider the following:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Club leadership should represent the diversity of the 41,000+ Vassar alums across the globe and in your club area. As much as possible in each location, leaders should aim to recruit a diverse board of directors with varying perspectives.
- Consider factors such as gender identity, race/ethnicity, cultural/religious background, etc.
- Be mindful that new volunteers shouldn’t just have a seat at the table, they should also feel welcome at the table.
Generational Spread
- Club leaders should reflect multiple Vassar generations, and aim to include volunteers from across class years.
- Younger alums often make up a large portion of club volunteers. Try to include those from earlier generations to help both with program planning and program attendance.
Geographical Considerations—Look to recruit volunteers from various parts of your club area.
- If you are a city-based club, consider volunteers from different neighborhoods and/or the suburbs.
- If your club has a wide geographic spread, look for volunteers in populated cities/towns/countries throughout your club area.
Skill Set
- Volunteers with a variety of skills will help to make program execution go more smoothly.
- Consider any gaps in skill set that you may be looking to fill. For example, think about recruiting a marketing expert to perform the duties of Communications Chair.
Recruitment Resources
If a club finds itself without a solid bench of volunteers, consider using the following resources to identify new board/steering committee members.
Approaching New Volunteers
In approaching new volunteers, talk to them about their experience on campus.
- What was their time like? What resonated with them?
- How can you tap into these connections with Vassar to make them strong club volunteers?
Explain the current structure of your club leadership and what your goals are in recruiting additional positions. Get them excited about volunteering by sharing a bit about the other members of the board.
Highlight the benefits of being a club volunteer, such as forming multi-generational friendships or connecting with people who shared aspects of your life at Vassar.
Be sure to understand what type of volunteer duties or roles interest them, and the amount of time they can give to the club.
Consider developing a list of small or one-time projects to allow potential volunteers to “get their feet wet.” For example, instead of planning an entire event, ask them to be responsible for recruiting one panelist.
Maintaining Board Positions
Set expectations with term limits
Whether you have two, five, or 12 individuals on your Club Leadership team, it is important to think about term lengths. These create a built-in mechanism to renew the commitment of your fellow volunteers and/or bring new voices into the fold.
- When approaching new members, terms provide a time-bound commitment that can keep volunteers from feeling overwhelmed.
- When reviewing commitments with existing members, it allows for a conversation to occur in a predictable manner so as to re-engage or to transition out.
Consider ways to keep volunteers engaged after their term ends
Creating an “Immediate Past President” role or Advisory Committee can help active volunteers from feeling ostracized as their term ends, and can allow them to continue providing needed support to the club.
Encourage volunteers to think about their own networks when identifying successors
As new volunteers join your board or committee, and before a member steps down, ask them to look into their networks (Class Year, Class Clusters) for a recommendation and introduction to retain generational diversity.
Similarly, ask them to look into their affinity group network (other Vassar Clubs, Major group, Dorm affiliation, Student orgs, or Industry group) for a recommendation and introduction to retain (or grow) demographic diversity.