Lands Trust Alliance BC | Organizational Assessment

Standard 7: Volunteers, Staff and Consultants

The land trust has volunteers, staff and/or consultants with appropriate skills and in sufficient numbers to carry out its programs.

Background

The work of a land trust is substantial, diverse and often technical or specialized, and includes fundraising, public relations, financial management, landowner contact, designing and carrying out transactions, legal and tax matters, and land and/or conservation agreement monitoring and management. A land trust that acquires, owns, or manages land or conservation agreements, even temporarily, is dealing with complex issues and thousands or even millions of dollars’ worth of assets. Conducting this work properly takes trained individuals. If a land trust is completely managed by volunteers, they have a responsibility to see that the work is carried out with appropriate expertise and supervision, and that a sufficient number of people share the work. If the land trust has staff, it must be sure that the staff is properly trained to manage the complex tasks of land conservation, and the board must establish appropriate policies and procedures to guide staff. All land trusts must engage outside expert help in the event they do not have sufficient time or expertise in-house and must be sure to select projects that are consistent with their capacity.

Relevant Law

Consultant/contractor relationship :

Income Tax Act, SC 1985, c. I;
see Canada Revenue Agency guide “Employee or Self-Employed?” at:
- http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4110/rc4110-08e.pdf

Personnel policies :

Employment Standards Act, RSBC 1996, c. 113.
Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 1996, c. 492.
Human Rights Code, RSBC 1996, c. 210.
Canada Pension Plan, c. C-8.
Employment Insurance Act, SC 1996, c. 23.

PRACTICE

C. Staff

If the land trust uses staff, each staff member has written goals or job description and periodic performance reviews. Job duties or work procedures for key positions are documented to help provide continuity in the event of staff turnover.

Background

Staff help provide organizations with capacity to take on certain projects and with specific technical skills. When hiring staff, written job descriptions are important. The process of writing a job description helps evaluate whether the duties assigned to that person are reasonable. Job descriptions protect employees, outlining what is expected of them and providing a basis for evaluation. Likewise, a job description protects the organization by making sure that the responsibilities are not disputed. Key staff should periodically document the processes they use to carry out their responsibilities and the lessons they have learned in developing or implementing programs. This documentation helps organizations learn and grow, and makes transitions to new staff easier.

Assessment Questions

CLTA Assessment Questions

Does the land trust have written job descriptions and annual goals for each staff member?
Are job duties or work procedures for key positions documented to help provide continuity?

Resources: Example Policies & Template Documents

Template Documents

Example Policies

SSIC Policy Personnel Hiring Policy