It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of October and in a few short weeks your chapter will likely have elected new officers for 2021! Transitioning new chapter leaders is a challenging undertaking in the best of circumstances and we know that 2020 has been anything but!
Outlined below are our suggestions for a smooth transition of leadership as we look forward to 2021!
Create Groups in MCR for the incoming officers
The key to a smooth transition process is communication. There will be a few weeks between electing new officers before they are officially installed and setting up systems to assist with communication will be key to successful communication. Create an admin group for each level of leadership (Executive Board, Directors, Committee Chairs) and you can now easily send mail, create events, and share documents with these groups of individuals.
Create a system to keep track of transitioning and stick with that system.
Tossing a binder at someone and telling them “Everything you need to know is in there” is not an effective way to transition. While creating and utilizing reference documents (from the chapter and your national organization) is important and helpful, the nuance of personalized communication and planning cannot be replaced.
We recommend using Projects within MCR to assist in transitioning, especially in a virtual environment. This quick video will show you what this can look like.
Schedule Transition Meetings
Utilize the calendar feature within MCR to schedule transition meetings with incoming and outgoing officers and advisors. Utilizing Zoom or a similar platform you can set up a virtual meeting with everyone getting an overview and then sending individual officers and advisors to breakout rooms to discuss specifics pertaining to their position. Incoming officers should also have a chance to meet together and plan for the year ahead, this can be done at the end of the meeting with outgoing officers or on another later date.
Make sure that incoming officers are trained on the admin/leader features within MCR.
MCR is a very robust tool that helps leaders to effectively manage the responsibilities of being a leader. Like any tool, knowing how to use it is how you get the most benefit. The MCR Learning Lab is set up to help leaders master the basics of MCR at their own pace. In addition, we are happy to do an audit of your chapters MCR usage and set up a time during a transition meeting with incoming officers to give specific training and advice to help you get the most out of MCR for your chapter.
Outgoing officers will want to make sure that leaders know how to do the following:
Admin Leaders
Processing excuses and achievements
Sending announcements (Difference between SMS/MCR announcement)
Managing Membership in MCR (Adding New Members, Resigning Members, Alumni status etc.)
Executive Board Officers
*These are for VP Finance & President only
Look ahead to calendar planning for the spring semester
The calendar is a living document for your chapter that helps all Members to effectively plan ahead. You should be setting your baseline calendar at least by the end of the previous semester. If you are not doing calendar planning in advance, you should not be surprised when Members have conflicts that they cannot plan around. Spend some time now thinking through your spring calendar. Remember, of course, that things change and especially right now Leaders and Members will need to give grace to each other if/when things need to change.
Calendar Planning Suggested Events to Plan for:
Chapter Meetings
Leadership Meetings
School Holidays/Breaks/Significant Dates
Assessment Day(s)
Spring Break
Alumni Weekend
Spring Game
Graduation
Founder’s Day/Significant chapter days
Recruitment / Recruitment Workshops
Initiation
Regional Workshops
Council/FSL Events
“Greek Week”
Awards Banquets
Philanthropy events
Membership Development Activities
This is not an exhaustive list and obviously you will not know how some of these things will look in the spring. But committing to specific dates you know are unlikely to change (for example, Alumni Weekend) allows you to prioritize planning and be prepared even if you have to plan a little differently than you have previously.
Finally, once the incoming officers are installed, the outgoing President should update officers under My Access so that each officer has the correct access within MCR.