Branch Committees

With close to 25,000 members, the Branch faces a considerable work load. The Board of Directors has set up a number of committees and groups, to tackle Branch tasks that have to be resolved, and to perform a number of ongoing member services. This organization of responsibilities is not static, as we constantly face new challenges. All directors participate in one or several committees and groups, and we also rely on the assistance of a number of Branch members at large.

The following are the committees and groups in 2007:

* Executive Committee

* Communications Committee

* Membership and Services Committee

* Policy and Resolutions Committee

* Information Technology (IT) Committee

Executive Committee  

The Committee will be comprised of the Branch President, aPast President, two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, and the Secretary.

The mandate of the Branch Executive Committee is to:

• Ensure that the management of the day-to-day operations of the Branch are executed in an efficient, effective and fully accountable (audited) manner;
• Receive progress reports from the Treasurer, Managing Director and others as required;
• Maintain contact with the Chairs of Branch Committees, as appropriate, to verify that necessary action is being taken to implement Board decisions; to seek to remedy operational constraints faced by other Branch committees in the implementation of their approved Action Plans; to facilitate inter-committee coordination where issues require such; and to identify issues which Committee Chairs wish to have placed on Board agenda;
• Operate within the delegated spending authority as approved and as set out by the Branch Board of Directors;
• Operate within any other written directives that may be received from the Branch Board of Directors from time to time;
• Establish and maintain relationships with other organizations with similar or shared interests;
• Prepare agendas for Branch Board of Directors, Annual and General Meetings;
• Hire all Branch Office staff and approve their remuneration;
• Determine its own Committee procedures;
• Produce Minutes of all its Meetings;
• Make note of and act on developments that affect Branch members’ interests; and
• Take all other action necessary to ensure implementation of Board decisions, including to act between Board Meetings in order to take cognizance of and act on, with the full powers of the Board and in its stead, all such matters concerning the Branch as may require administrative, operational and/or immediate attention.

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Communications Committee

The members of the Committee include the editor of the Branch Report/newsletter/CONTACT, the Branch webmaster, and a representative of the Branch Membership and Services Committee. The President of the FSNA Ottawa Branch is an ex-officio member with voting rights. The Managing Director is also an ex-officio member but without voting rights.

The Committee will also be comprised of at least two Ottawa Branch Board members (the Chairperson of this Committee and at least one other member of the Committee) and at least two other volunteers who are not members of the Board but who must be members of the Ottawa Branch. The Committee will have a balanced approach as between Branch Board members and other volunteers who are Branch members.

The Branch Communications Committee is charged with:

(1) Assessing and ensuring the appropriateness, effectiveness, and quality of the media and the messages that the Branch issues;

(2) Developing, interpreting, and delivering messages regarding FSNA policies and programs; and

(3) Developing new strategies and methods for communicating with Branch target audiences.

The Communications Committee also acts in support of complementary policies and initiatives of the FSNA National Office to:

• Raise the profile and make visible in the community the FSNA, its services and its activities;
• Ensure communication, to all members of the Ottawa Branch, of information critical to their benefits, health care, and retirement lifestyle;
• Promote the FSNA Ottawa Branch and support the recruitment of members to FSNA; and
• Optimize all communications functions by strategic use of information technology.

Below is the Communications Committtee in action.

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Membership and Services Committee

Generally, the M&S Committee will be comprised of Ottawa Branch Board members and volunteers, as deemed appropriate by the Committee Chair.

The Ottawa Branch M&S Committee shall seek and implement ways and means to enhance the value of membership to members and potential future members.

  Develop and oversee a range of relevant services and discounts for Branch Members

• Conduct, in conjunction with the Branch’s Communication Committee, an ongoing information package of services to members.
• Provide administrative support services to bereaved members through a Sub–Committee;
• Undertake surveys, focus groups and other activities to obtain and analyse input from current and potential members;
• Provide advice and assistance to members and potential members to resolve or clarify questions related to retirement and their superannuation accounts; and
• Organize activities to provide opportunities for members to meet and exchange information and ideas

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Policy and Resolutions Committee

The Committee is comprised of at least two Ottawa Branch Board members and at least two other volunteers, who must be members of the Ottawa Branch. The President of the FSNA – Ottawa Branch is an ex-officio member with voting rights. The Managing Director is also an ex-officio member but without voting rights. The chairperson must be a member of the Board.

The P&R Committee shall examine issues identified by its members, referred to it by other committees and or by the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors, and will develop the appropriate documentation required on a case by case basis.

The documentation could result in the development of recommendations, proposals, draft resolutions and action plans, etc., for Board consideration. Such consideration may be expressed in form of a proposal of a new policy, a change in existing policies, or changes in the Branch’s By-laws.

The P&R Committee shall examine the policies and by-laws of the Branch and the National Office for the purpose of helping in the development of a Branch Policy Manual.

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Information Technology (IT) Committee

The Committee will be comprised of at least one Ottawa Branch Board member, and at least two other volunteers, who must be members of the Ottawa Branch. The President is an ex-officio member with voting rights, and the Managing Director is an ex-officio member who shall determine the implementation schedule for any new processes or procedures that require the operation by, and/or training of, Branch staff and/or other Branch volunteers. Generally, the IT Committee will be comprised of Ottawa Branch Board members and volunteers, as deemed appropriate by the Committee Chair.

The Branch IT Committee’s main objective is to find ways in which we can apply IT solutions to save money and optimize the use of our scarce resources and to give the Branch a “professional face”. The IT Committee shall also identify the most suitable internet, software, and hardware solutions; and, in consultation with the managing director, assist Branch staff with the implementation of new procedures and practices, such as, but not limited to:

• Enhance the electronic capacity of the Branch to communicate with its members, including but not limited to, the creation and maintenance of the Branch website and bulk emailing;
• Explore the possibility, and cost savings, of using CDs instead of expensive printed hand-outs, when suitable, at pre-retirement and HR staff training seminars
• Implement, and monitor, on-line interactive entry form systems on the Branch website, to simplify, and increase, the number of new member applications
• Set up, and manage, the on-line collection of membership dues payments
• Provide server-based access to other FSNA branches, for recruitment brochures, marketing material, and other documentation related to the Membership and Recruitment Initiative of the Ottawa Branch
• Apply programs and software solutions which enhance the efficiency of Branch Directors and staff to manage documentation filing and retrieval, for improved decision-making;
• Engage, and manage, the services of outside IT contractors whenever required.

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