To wonder what kind of workplace I've got in to?

[takeittotjewire]

I've been self employed for the last few years delivering training.

Recently got employed by a small charity which I was really relieved about in these uncertain times.

It's a very small charity, four staff. My role is responsible for fundraising.

Anyway, first team meeting today and it's clear there are longstanding issues with the way the organisation has been run to date.

Staff kept asking how x,y,z issue will be resolved now. Eventually CEO just said "Look, x person (my predecessor now ex member of staff who has gone off to whizzy job elsewhere) fucked us over. Everything that has gone wrong is all their fault"

I'm pretty much those words (they def used the term fucked us over).

Is this a blame culture and should I run for the hills? Ie surely CEO job is to manage staff and if they haven't been performing that's on them? Or is small charity sector like this?

I'm in two minds right now.

I work for a small charity and being in a small team can be a great experience, when you behave more like family, pull together, work through niggles and frustrations and take time to know one another. It can be a horrible environment when it's run like a much bigger machine, becomes competitive and loses it's personal feel. The best small charities are homely for staff and service users and have a wonderful sense of community. It's what makes them special. It's very sad when something like that falls apart.

I run a small business, me, my husband and between 2-4 staff, it can be brutal in the sense that all flaws and weaknesses of the team and business are on full show. There as absolutely nowhere to hide, what makes the difference are the type of people working for you, they really do need to be a true team player, flexible, adaptable, supportive and want to be there. With out this the team dynamic can falter.
I have dealt with issues that in a large organisation would probably fade into the background and not get noticed.

It is harder in that respect being in a small team, can't hide from any issue!!!!

Thank you some good points.

The HR thing is a worry. They haven't completed any recruitment checks on me and one of the training roles I do is with children so they should really DBS me.

I have asked them more than once about that but it seems without an HR function there's no one to take responsibility.

Thanks for posting this thread OP. I’ve been working for a small charity and this has shone a light on a few things that have been happening.

The DBS issue is a serious concern.

Can you begin looking for something else?

Do you want to stay? Do you love the charity and what it does? Could you see it working in the long run?

If you are a fundraiser you could be in an awkward situaton here, particularly if you write grant applications and have to vouch for your safeguarding etc. However this can be a good way into a conversation.

If you decide to stay you could identify the really critical things that are relevent to your job andneed to be resolved, and communicate this to your line manager (assume this is the CEO). You could refuse to have contact with the children until the checks have been completed - as per the safeguarding policy (please tell me there is a safeguarding policy).

How long is your probation period? That might be a good milestone by which these issues need to be resolved.

However in situations like this you could find yourself being asked to sort these things out yourself to 'rescue' the CEO, or scapegoated, which would be no fun at all.

If you decide to go then please make sure you get an exit interview with the trustees and tell them why - they should know. They probably know already.

@Darker

Do you want to stay? Do you love the charity and what it does? Could you see it working in the long run?

If you are a fundraiser you could be in an awkward situaton here, particularly if you write grant applications and have to vouch for your safeguarding etc. However this can be a good way into a conversation.

If you decide to stay you could identify the really critical things that are relevent to your job andneed to be resolved, and communicate this to your line manager (assume this is the CEO). You could refuse to have contact with the children until the checks have been completed - as per the safeguarding policy (please tell me there is a safeguarding policy).

How long is your probation period? That might be a good milestone by which these issues need to be resolved.

However in situations like this you could find yourself being asked to sort these things out yourself to 'rescue' the CEO, or scapegoated, which would be no fun at all.

If you decide to go then please make sure you get an exit interview with the trustees and tell them why - they should know. They probably know already.

Probation is 3 months.

There's a safeguarding policy but it needs reviewing so it's out of date - this is one of the things ceo is blaming on predecessor.

CEO seems to be quite good at centring themselves as a victim in all of the things that aren't being done well which is the thing that makes me most suspicious.

There seems to be a clear absence of leadership and trustees seem to pander to this persons woes in their personal life. Kind of like babying them?

It's weird and I can see that it leaves room for the next most senior person (predecessor and now me) to be the scapegoat as ceo seems untouchable.

Did CEO set up the charity? I worked at a charity with a founder ceo and then a new one. Both experiences were stressful but for different reasons.

The third sector is a strange place to work. It has all the benefits of knowing you’re actually making a difference versus a lot of odd habits that develop into problems that the work culture really fights against solving. It sounds like yours is in a place of needing growth but not able to take on enough staff to facilitate it yet. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible to go from strength to strength but I suspect it will be a slow and, at times, painful process.

Honestly, in your shoes I would leave. The DBS thing means they don't take safeguarding seriously and are ignoring something they are legally required to do, if they are ignoring this then what else are they ignoring, particularly as a fundraiser you do not want to be associated with financial irregularities. I think I would listen to your gut and go, the CEO has been in place five years, they are not going to change and the poisonous culture you are describing is well established.

Rereading your op, I’d bow out - CEO should have been offering solutions or at least being constructive about how x has happened, y is what we need and opening a dialogue about how to get there. That is terrible leadership and although I clashed with both CEOs at times, they always had the best interest of the charity at heart and never dismissed concerns, even if we ultimately had to tuck our tails in and do things their way.

Regardless of being charity , very small organisarions almost always ask people to work outside of their areas of expertise as otherwise nothing would get done. In the past I have enjoyed the challenge and at its best it fosters a flexible, all in it learning together vibe that is difficult to match in bigger organisations, where roles are more rigid. The key thing is that there cannot be a culture of blame for mistakes if you are asking someone's to do things well outside of their 'role description. In small companies whether it is a good place to work or not rests entirely on the people you work with and the team ethos. It doesn't sound too good in your role so far I am afraid op