Ten ways to keep your job

As the chief executive of a charitable organisation, you may feel that your job is safe. In this article we look at the reality of the situation and what you can do to protect your position.

Chief executives are almost never made redundant, because an organisation will always need a leader. Chief executives are rarely dismissed for misconduct reasons, as they are generally individuals with high personal standards of conduct and integrity. Usually, chief executives are also highly capable and experienced employees, so performance issues are rarely formally raised against them.

The single most common reason that a chief executive is asked to leave his or her position is though a breakdown of trust. You would be well advised to focus on retaining the trust of the Board of Trustees and also of your Senior Management Team. A CEO may sense that such relationships are not quite right, but in many cases it comes as a surprise when an issue is suddenly deemed so serious that the CEO needs to be asked to leave the organisations.

While this will hopefully never happen for you, the trouble is that if things were to begin to go wrong, then the position can very quickly take a turn for the worse. Below are our ten Top Tips in terms of areas to watch out for and where you can proactively assist in retaining the trust necessary for a good working relationship.

The Board of Trustees

A good relationship with the Trustees may sound an obvious strategy for preserving your employment relationship. However, building and preserving such a relationship requires work on your part and this is sometimes neglected by CEOs. Focus on the five areas below should safeguard against difficulties.

Establish with the Trustees clear goals, priorities and agree a clear strategy for the Charity
Identify clear boundaries between the Executive role and function of the Board
Communicate with your Board regularly and keep lines of communications open/on-going
Ensure Trustees understand their Corporate Governance responsibilities - arrange training for them if necessary
Avoid duplication of effort though efficient co-operation so neither the role of the CEO nor the Board is undermined

The Senior Management Team

You need to gain and retain the full support of your Senior Management Team. If you were to loose the goodwill of the SMT team, then a grievance or two raised against you by its members, however unfair these may be perceived to be from your point of view, can result in your removal. It is always easier to replace you, even if the Trustees have to pay a settlement to you, than to replace the entire SMT team.

Establish clear job roles, responsibilities and job descriptions for each member of the SMT
Communicate fully with SMT though an 'open door' policy so you know of any concerns or discontent before these build up within the team itself
Make sure you conduct annual appraisals. Performance reviews help set targets and is also an opportunity for the individual to comment on how well they work with you.
Have regular SMT meetings (and make sure you personally attend these) to ensure everyone has an opportunity to discuss and participate in the management of your organisation
Do not usurp a function delegated to a member of the SMT which may undermine that individual - make sure you use appropriate management techniques and employment policies to deal with any issues of underperformance.

If you ever were to find yourself in a position where matters begin to go wrong for you, it is sensible at an early stage to seek independent legal advice on your position. As employment lawyers at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP we can assist in trying to turn the position around for you. If this is not possible, which is often the case if theparties are not willing to try to rebuild trust, then we can assist in safeguarding your legal position and assert your employment rights while negotiating a settlement agreement for you. Alternatively we can seek to resolve the matter through mediation. In addition to any obtaining a financial settlement, we can also advise you on how best to safeguard your reputation in the process of leaving your employment.

Jesper Christensen, Partner, Bircham Dyson Bell