Question 5 - Team work & Time commitment

[Maple Leaf]

With the committee members being spread out wide across the UK, the committee meetings are held online (2014/15 had 9 meetings) and allow us to keep a written record of the dialogue from which the minutes are created. However, there are limited things that can be discussed online in 1.5 to 2 hours and therefore the meetings are normally used to make final decisions with the initial discussion happening in the committee forums.

One of my personal frustrations since being Chairman (not just this year) is that not all committee members are connecting in-between meetings. There has been periods of weeks and sometime months between a committee member participating in the committe forums or even logging in!

I know this is a voluntary job, but we can't do all the things we want to (and need to do) with only 2hrs of discussion every 4-6wks. These days with most people having smart phones and access to the Internet, it isn't difficult to set up alerts for posts and interact and communicate with the rest of the team.

Naturally, there are some job roles that will require more time than others (or at specific times of the month/year) but the most important thing is that the committee works as a team to get things progressed.


Therefore, my question is:

How much time do you think you need to commit to the GAGB in a week?

How much time do you actually have to give?

[richlay]

It's difficult to put a precise figure on it. I reckon I probably average 3-4 hours a week which tends to eat in to time when I probably ought to be asleep.

[Antreid]

I believe that on a normal day I can check in 3 or 4 days a week. Sometimes that might be just checking that nothing is happening or sometimes it would be more, like writing an article or encouraging someone else! I don't know how many abnormal days that might happen in a month, eg if family or work prevent it, but at least checking email or Tapatalk should be possible.

Sometimes we need campaigns and those will require more time, eg calling media, councils, etc or organising a CITO.

[twoofnine]

This is a difficult question as I have no terms of reference re GAGB. I was secretary of a charity group in days gone by and I spent 5 - 10 hours a week. I would expect a couple of hours each week on GAGB but I know that this will vary at times. I am retired so you would expect that I have a lot of time on my hands but gladly that is not the case! However, as you say, we all have modern communication aids which will keep everyone up-to-date. I am new to tapatalk but that looks easy to use. One thing that I will have to get used to is the Forum. By choice I have avoided Forums in the past as the ones I had seen were very poorly regulated. I have a similar issue with FB groups and rarely post as the threads are easily hi-jacked. I am as guilty as many others for using bad punctuation which has already lead to misunderstandings in posts that we all have read here in the last couple of days. So a big learning curve here for me.

So to answer your questions: A. 2-3 hours per week and B. at least that! :)

[Jackie Fox]

I would be able to give an hour most weekday nights, more if necessary depending on what was required or needed doing. As for weekends this would depends on my other commitments as I have to leave time for caching don't I :)

[Griff Grof]

As twoofnine said, it's difficult for me to say as well. Obviously there will be things to check and do on a daily basis, especially if I end up helping with social media or the website and forum. This shouldn't take too long, perhaps up to two hours a week in total, and I will regularly check the site and post, with the exception of the odd busy day, within this.

As I said in my manifesto, as I am currently in my final year of A Levels. This will ultimately have to come first, which means that my input could be limited at certain times, but I would always ensure that the rest of the committee are aware with forward notice. On the other hand, at other times, I may have too much time to do what's required - it's all about finding the right balance, and I hope I can do that, but I just thought I should reiterate this so that it is kept in mind. :)

[Leonards193]

Interesting question asked here and I can see immediately who it is aimed at.

Some weeks, it may be more difficult than others to remember to log on to the forum and read and comment on everything that has gone on since the last time you logged on. Twitter and Facebook seems easier, but that is my personal opinion.

I would hope to be able to give between 2 to 4 hours per week to GAGB matters, be that trying to set up discounts with caching retailers, talking to local councils and landowners, talking to new cachers directly or attending events to promote the GAGB.

Being on the committee is a commitment and I hope to be able to commit more if re-elected.

[UKCACHEMAG]

My time this year has varied a lot. Sometimes I do little. Sometimes I do a lot.

I personally work better with emails than forums.

If re elected I will aim to use these much more pro actively and give up a fair amount of time depending what projects are going on at the time within the gagb.

[abiherts]

I would hope to be able to offer around at least an hour a day to the gagb depending upon my role. Sometimes life does get in the way of plans so I would guarrantee at least 5 hours a week to be safe.

I've installed tapa talk to my phone as the email notifications about new forum posts don't always come through.