After 30 years the founder of a $3M/year non-profit Christian organization left the organization and within 6 months started another non-profit that offered a similar service. Approximately 50% of the donors followed the founder and shifted their support to the new organization. The replacement CEO was forced to make significant reductions in staffing and ultimately decided to relocate the ministry to another state. After leading the organization for about a year, the CEO moved to the new location leaving about 12 staff in the original office. I was asked to determine the best course of action regarding team development and the migration/relocation of the ministry.  

The Challenge:

• 12 staff were still trying to do the job that previously took 40 to accomplish. (It wasn't working)
• There was no clear single point of leadership on site.
• Conflicting messages left staff confused and unable to focus on the most important issues.
• Job descriptions did not exist for most employees.
• Performance plans had not been created for years.
• The CEO wanted all of the staff to join him in the new location but he had promised to allow existing staff to remain where they were.

The Solution:

• Conducted a job duties analysis to determine what each staff member was responsible for.
• Identified functions that could be eliminated in order to simplify the process.
• Created a General Manager position to provide on-site leadership.
• Constructed an organization chart that included all positions required regardless of whether they were filled or not.
• Positions that could not be filled internally were put on hold or filled via volunteers, vendors, contractors, etc.
• Job descriptions were created and or updated for each staff member.
• A performance feedback tool was created.
• Performance plans were developed with each staff member to provide clarity on what was expected of them.
• A new office was set up in the new city and 1 staff member relocated.
• Remaining staff were moved into home offices so the existing facility could be sold.

The Results:

• Increased productivity.
• Staff engagement improved.
• Talent and corporate memory was retained by allowing the staff to work from home.
• Sale of the building reduced the overhead of a facility too large for the current staff and put over $600,000 into the organization's product development budget.