Management and Structure: How things work at CHSR

Collective Management and Accountability

On the surface, CHSR may appear to be hierarchically structured; we have a Station Manager, a Program Director, other paid staff, an Executive Committee, a Programming Committee and the membership. Some people draw a straight line through this set-up and believe the Station Manager is the all-powerful ruler with a descending order of control rolling down from there. As well, the Board of Directors isn’t often seen, and may feel a little removed from the structure.

The truth is much different. The real setup is designed to allow for maximum ownership by the members, while keeping maximum fall-back accountability as an independent broadcasting corporation.

The secret is that there are two systems functioning in parallel to each other. One is a grassroots, volunteer-based, student and community member association (the “club”) who built, own, and run the station.

The other system is a group of paid staff who are responsible for keeping the station operational and broadcasting, according to standing policies and government regulations.

The Board of Directors are volunteers. Most people do not associate the Board with the club because they don’t see them often. Others may feel the Board is antagonistic, but this view is merely a hold-over from the “old days” when the Board was made up of political appointees who saw the station as something they needed to control and contain. Today’s Board members are seated because they have expressed an interest in volunteering at the Board level to maintain the health of the station, and they represent the diverse group of people who are the audience and members of the station.

Policy and Governance

The Board ensures the company (CHSR is a company) runs smoothly, legally, and financially secure. Board members are concerned with the big picture view of what policies are in place, that broadcasting is done, that enough money comes in, and that enough — but not too much — of the money is spent to keep things going. They rely on staff to carry out their decisions, in conjunction with the Executive Committee. They are committed to following policy, but most of the policy is directly created by the membership, either through standing or ad hoc committees.
If the membership wants something changed, they can follow the established process (starting with bringing it up and voting on it at a membership meeting) and either create or change a policy.

The Board is always concerned with policy change and is responsible as a corporate directorship to ensure policies are legal and non-destructive, so it reviews all policies; but it does not want to micro-manage. It most often sends a representative to committees, rather than construct them at the Board level.

The Paid Staff and Power

The paid staff are there to ensure continuity in programming, policy and finances. They are advisors and assistants to the volunteer members. They pay bills, raise funds, fix equipment, train broadcasters, and make sure the broadcast is current, pertinent and legal. If all the volunteers slipped into simultaneous comas, the staff could keep the station running as a skeleton crew until everyone wakes up.

Any individual member whose brilliant scheme involves costing the station money, or violating policy, will find themselves called in to speak with the staff. The staff person they are answering to has the authority to stop them from doing whatever might cause harm to the station, but that authority originally came from the membership, and can be changed by the membership, following process. The membership does not want to be called in to endless decision-making meetings. They trust the staff with the daily running of the station, the Executive Committee with the weekly management, and the Board with the quarterly management. The membership must meet once a year, but tends to meet more often, depending on their wishes.

Parallel Universes Under Current Policy and Structure

The parallel system is easy to find. The following is an example.
If you read the policies that govern programming at the station, and then your read the job description for the Program Director (the PD), you will come across what appears to be conflicting statements. The Program Schedule Policy says that the Programming Committee has the authority to add and remove programs from the schedule. The PD’s job description says s/he is responsible for maintaining the schedule.
Because it is a policy, the Program Schedule Policy takes precedence over the job description, and so the Programming Committee has the real power to put people on the air and take them off. But we hold the PD responsible for the schedule, so it is his/her responsibility to provide leadership and guidance to ensure the Programming Committee is alive and active and doing its job.

Between meetings, the PD can take immediate action (i.e. if a programmer says something hateful, s/he can pull them from the air), then take the matter to the committee for a hearing and any official action (permanently removing the show, or probation, retraining, expulsion,). If the committee can’t or doesn’t meet, the PD can make all decisions to manage the schedule.   New programs are considered temporary until the committee approves them.

The Station Manager oversees the finances of the station, primarily by following the budget as set out at the yearly meeting attended by the Executive Committee, paid staff, and the Treasurer of the Board. If anyone wants to change the budget (reallocate funds to afford something we had not planned on, or to accommodate a loss), they do so by meeting with the same committee.

The Station Manager is a partner of the Executive Committee, and represents the Board when they are not sitting.

Most of the time, the collective decision-making of the membership — through the Executive and with the staff — works well. If it doesn’t and someone has to take a stand, it is the staff that does so. They, in turn, answer to the members, either through the Programming Committee, the Executive Committee, or the Board. This parallel system has worked well for years and should continue to work so long as both members and staff feel empowered.