Ok, so the latest I heard is that there are now already several DJ's and bar-people who refuse to work for The Organization because of what they believe to be unfair and unworkable conditions. I sympathize and I agree with them completely. Of course you should not become a volunteer for the money or the beer, but what is happening now is the reverse: the failings of upper management are being paid for by the volunteers.
The new rules are mostly and quite squarely aimed at the cafe-activities, not so much at the band- or party-nights. What's much worse is that some people in The Organization believe this cafe cost reduction to be the magic bullet. Now I don't see how people can miss this but they do; even if/when the cafe-activities would run like clockwork and be extremely efficient and cost effective it still would not be enough to solve the insolvency of The Organization by far. In the 'good old days'(I'm talking 5 years ago here) the cafe only contributed a little bit to the total revenue of The Organization. What it did do was give people a chance to learn how to organize activities, which every now and then were moved to the main hall and turned into a big partynight. The cafe as the incubation room of The Organization. Every time such a new party was born it made a hell of a lot of money. Through the years this was how The Organization managed to put up decent parties without spending a truck load of money on outsiders. Nowadays the general and incorrect concensus is that the cafe has to be cost effective in itself.
I had several talks about this yesterday. Of course it is now easy for me to give advice, after all; I am now only a bar-man / DJ. Hearing several people, what struck me as odd is that the reality of the situation(change upper management's way of doing business before anything can be improved) is still not clear to everyone.
For example : who said that the price of a drink cannot go up? Ever? The price of a drink has not gone up in over 4 years while cost has been soaring. Increase the price by 5 percent(which basically comes down to a dime per beer) and you immediately make an estimated 8.000 to 10.000 euros a year more. It's a start. Then use that money to build a smoking room in The Organization which will then make much more money than it does now. I estimate that the total cost of the smoking room would be earned back within three to four months.
The new rules are mostly and quite squarely aimed at the cafe-activities, not so much at the band- or party-nights. What's much worse is that some people in The Organization believe this cafe cost reduction to be the magic bullet. Now I don't see how people can miss this but they do; even if/when the cafe-activities would run like clockwork and be extremely efficient and cost effective it still would not be enough to solve the insolvency of The Organization by far. In the 'good old days'(I'm talking 5 years ago here) the cafe only contributed a little bit to the total revenue of The Organization. What it did do was give people a chance to learn how to organize activities, which every now and then were moved to the main hall and turned into a big partynight. The cafe as the incubation room of The Organization. Every time such a new party was born it made a hell of a lot of money. Through the years this was how The Organization managed to put up decent parties without spending a truck load of money on outsiders. Nowadays the general and incorrect concensus is that the cafe has to be cost effective in itself.
I had several talks about this yesterday. Of course it is now easy for me to give advice, after all; I am now only a bar-man / DJ. Hearing several people, what struck me as odd is that the reality of the situation(change upper management's way of doing business before anything can be improved) is still not clear to everyone.
For example : who said that the price of a drink cannot go up? Ever? The price of a drink has not gone up in over 4 years while cost has been soaring. Increase the price by 5 percent(which basically comes down to a dime per beer) and you immediately make an estimated 8.000 to 10.000 euros a year more. It's a start. Then use that money to build a smoking room in The Organization which will then make much more money than it does now. I estimate that the total cost of the smoking room would be earned back within three to four months.
Of course this would mean an active role for the board... Oh well, one can dream...
4 comments:
The truth behind your lament imho is, sadly, a problem much deeper than a dysfunctional board or management. Volunteer-driven organizations are obsolete - period. It's a concept that simply can't and won't fly anymore in this time and age. Look at sport clubs - every pamphlet or weekly e-mail is drenched in screaming laments about staff shortages on bar turns, event support, facility management and so on and so forth. You think a rock venue that's already beyond decay is going to have anything any differently?
Throwing in some wee hours for whatever greater good is, in the mechanics of post-modern society, a luxury only the disengaged could afford - but won't, since they are, by definition, not engaged with anything. The rest of the world is just too preoccupied, or just too plain busy, to stay afloat in their own lives within the confines of their own families.
Oh, I wouldn't so much call it a lamentation Alfred, more of a structured rant. :)
Imho, nowadays most(young) people who volunteer already have experience with all sorts of activities and they are usually much more professional(and just as fanatical) as the volunteers of those so-called 'Glorious Olden Days'. The people who organize a party have all kinds of knowledge about promotion, marketing, online canvassing, etcetera. They make their own promotional flyers, no more PR-design team necessary! They know exactly what they want to do. The problem I see is that they are then introduced to an organization that can't handle their requests because of lack of structure, organization and efficient communication. And mind you; I'm not even talking about professionalism because that would logically be the result of a better structure, communication etcetera.
Judging from my experiences over the last year and a half I still stick to my conviction that without a proper functioning board(you can call it leadership if you wish) any volunteer organization is doomed. With a proper functioning board(which does not have to be omnipresent of course!) there are possibilities. No garantuees, just possibilities, chances for survival. But - and I give you that - without proper professional guidance it won't work anymore. The times that volunteers could be relied upon to do everything, from sitting on the board to mopping the floors, are gone.
BTW : As you know, this Organization used to be purely voluntarily. Nowadays there are board members who I bet won't do whatever it is they do for nothing, and on the payroll you will find there are already a general manager, a custodian/caretaker and an accountant. To name a few. All ultimately paid for by the State.
So there are supposed to be both professional knowledge and experience available. The fact that nobody of those people is hired to - or wants to - do anything about the internal organization is therefore in itself a sign of a trouble.
I'm not advocating holding the volunteers' hands forever and ever. I am talking about putting together a "Policy Plan 2010 - 2015" that would function as a guide for the whole organization. At the moment no one can steer the organization in any preferred direction except that board. THAT is what they did when they changed the structure of the organization and(dare I say it?); I saw it coming from the beginning). This is what you get when the government gets to influence an organization they have no experience with whatsoever.
Filling in the blank spots that any board would leave could be perfectly done by a group of dedicated volunteers. But that means motivating your volunteers and that would require a real effort supported by people who are trained for this kind of work. And in my opinion the managing director would have an absolutely essential role in this.
What they should not do(for instance) is when things go bad(because of other external factors) to squeeze the last drop of blood and motivation from your volunteers, in order to fill a budget gap caused by lack of vision at the top. You do not squeeze your volunteer pool dry by reducing the number of drinks they can consume during a NINE hour shift so much that the volunteers are paying for their drinks as they work their collective asses off for you.
Because that way you will lose your volunteers, especially now, in these fast times. And yes, as you said: people have other shit to do now nowadays so you need to keep them involved in your plans.
Thanks for input Sir!
Rob.
I admire your passion, but your view on the matter is full of romanticism. NL is the only country I know of where venues are run by volunteers. Compare this to clubs in the U.S., or Germany, or even South in soft-G-land for all I care - all run by pros, all offering a service level our venues can't even dream of ever achieving, all weekly packed wall to wall. Sound: perfect. Light: totally in synch with the music. Bar facilities: affordable and smooth as silk. Organization: solid. Compare this to the nightmares we waste our time with. Sound: crappy. Light: random. Bar: expensive foam or luke warm pop. Organization: on the verge of bankruptcy. And I'm not just talking you-know-who here.
I know that IF a venue be run by volunteers, your way is the only way. But I'm beyond conversion: it just can't be done anymore.
Oh yes, I am most definitely a romantic, possibly a closet-romantic... :)
To follow up on your comments : I would never expect to see an organization perfectly run by volunteers. I agree with you that much. But the way it has been run over the last couple of years defies all logic.
My 5 year old step grand daughter could do better. ;)
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