RISK HELP from NRMC
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
By Erin Gloeckner
The NRMC team enjoyed a lot of help in planning and executing our recent annual conference, the Risk Summit. Check out photos from the event to find yourself in the crowd or–if you couldn’t join us–to see what you missed. Our generous Corporate Partners helped us make the Risk Summit a reality, and our incredible workshop speakers shared their time and expertise with our attendees. Of course our creative keynote speaker, digital painter Jeremy Sutton, helped inspire us all to add a little imagination to our risk management work.
Grateful for the help we received during the Risk Summit, we want to give a little help back to our RISK eNews readers. NRMC offers RISK HELP (personalized risk management guidance) to our valued Affiliate Members. In today’s RISK eNews, we wanted to share answers we’ve written in response to recent RISK HELP inquiries.
If your nonprofit team needs RISK HELP, then join our Affiliate Member program! NRMC Affiliates get exclusive access to unlimited RISK HELP by phone and email. Contact my colleague Kay Nakamura, the caring chief of our Affiliate family, at 703.777.3504 or Kay@nonprofitrisk.org for more info.
RISK HELP Question #1: How do we use results of background checks appropriately?
To fairly and effectively interpret the results of criminal history background checks, your organization should develop disqualifying criteria specific to employee and volunteer roles. Disqualifying criteria are any criteria (including criminal offenses) that would make an applicant ineligible for the role in question. Setting disqualifying criteria will enable you to thoughtfully and fairly assess background check results based on the risks related to each employee or volunteer role. For example, an employee role involving supervision of children warrants disqualifying criteria such as: crimes involving children, crimes of a sexual nature, and crimes of a violent nature. For a different role, such as an employee role with responsibility for financial assets, disqualifying criteria might be very different and include crimes like theft and embezzlement, or crimes of dishonesty.
Remember that background checks are just one component of an effective screening process. Learn more about NRMC’s suggested 10-step screening process by reading our Staff Screening Notebook. Or read these NRMC articles to learn more about background checks and general screening practices:
- Checking Criminal Histories: Considerations Before You Begin
- There’s No Mystery to Your History: Using Background Checks in the Screening Process
- How to Hire the Staff Your Mission Deserves
RISK HELP Question #2: How can we respectfully refuse volunteer service from an individual who shows up smelling like alcohol?
My best advice for declining this volunteer’s service is to simply be honest and treat the individual with respect. Did you know that employees, volunteers and clients who are treated with respect are less likely to bring claims against your organization? When in doubt, treat the people who serve and receive service in the manner you would want to be treated if your roles were reversed.
You might also want to update your volunteer policies or adopt a volunteer code of conduct to explain that volunteers cannot be under the influence of drugs or alcohol while serving your organization in any capacity. Our web app, My Risk Management Policies, includes sample codes of conduct and other organizational policies that you can easily customize to suit the circumstances and needs of your nonprofit. Remember to include a compelling “why” statement in every policy adopted by your organization. For example: “To provide a safe a supportive environment for our clients, no volunteer will be allowed to serve while impaired by alcohol or drugs.” Use clear statements to explain the conduct and behavior your mission requires, and also let volunteers know that violating safety policies could lead to termination or suspension of volunteer service.
For more tips, read our article Termination Trepidation: Disciplining & Terminating Volunteers.
Erin Gloeckner is the former director of consulting services at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. We invite you to join NRMC’s Affiliate Member program and pose your own RISK HELP questions to the NRMC team. For more information about Affiliate Membership, contact Kay Nakamura, NRMC’s director of client solutions, at Kay@nonprofitrisk.org or 703.777.3504.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
— Scott Brown, Mohonk Preserve
“BBYO’s engagement of the Center to conduct a risk assessment was one of the most valuable processes undertaken over the past five years. Numerous programmatic and procedural changes were recommended and have since been implemented. Additionally, dozens (literally) of insurance coverage gaps were identified that would never have been without the work of the Center. This assessment led to a broker bidding process that resulted in BBYO’s selection of a new broker that we have been extremely satisfied with. I unconditionally recommend the Center for their consultative services.
— Sidney Abrams, BBYO
“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
— Pamela Mattel, Basics Promesa Systems Inc
“The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has been an outstanding partner for us. They are attentive to our needs, and work hard to successfully meet our requests for information. Being an Affiliate member gave us access to so many time- and money-saving resources that it easily paid for itself! Nonprofit Risk Management Center is truly a valued partner of The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and we are continuously able to optimize staff time with the support given by their team.”
— Jodi Spataro, Community Foundation of Elkhart County
“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
— Marti Worshtil, Prince George’s Child Resource Center
Great American Insurance Group’s Specialty Human Services is committed to protecting those who improve your communities. The Center team has committed to delivering dynamic risk management solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations. These organizations have many and varied risk issues, hence the need for specialized coverage and expert knowledge for their protection. We’ve had Melanie speak on several occasions to employees and our agents. She is always on point and delivers such great value. Thank you for the terrific partnership and allowing our nonprofits to focus on their mission!