BNI 842: Can the Chapter Award a Free Absence?

Summary

BNI 842: Can the Chapter Award a Free Absence? – Episode Summary

In episode 842 of "BNI & The Power of One," host Tim Roberts delves into a pertinent question submitted by a listener concerning the possibility of awarding free absences to BNI chapter members. This episode provides an in-depth analysis of BNI's attendance policies, the implications of modifying these policies, and offers strategic recommendations for maintaining accountability within chapters.

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Introduction to the Topic

The episode kicks off with Tim addressing a listener's query submitted anonymously through the BNI Power of One platform (00:00). The question revolves around a proposed chapter policy where members who attend meetings with typically low attendance—such as those falling on federal holidays—would be granted a free absence. This initiative aims to encourage participation during times when meetings might otherwise see reduced turnout.

Notable Quote:

"It says during a discussion with another BNI member, they stated that their chapter gives a quote free absence to members who show up to meetings that might not well be well attended." (00:00)

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Understanding BNI’s Attendance Policy

Tim begins by clarifying BNI's official stance on attendance. According to BNI's policies, members are allowed a maximum of three absences within a rolling six-month period. This policy is designed to ensure consistent participation and accountability among members.

Notable Quote:

"Does it weaken the attendance policy accountability in a chapter? Thanks for taking my question and yes it does. And it does not fit the attendance policy at all." (00:00)

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Analyzing the Proposal for Free Absences

Tim critically examines the proposal to award free absences, highlighting several potential issues:

1. Policy Inconsistency: Introducing free absences contradicts the existing BNI policy, which strictly limits absences to three within six months.

2. Slippery Slope: Implementing such a policy could lead to unintended consequences, making it challenging to track absences accurately, especially with changes in chapter leadership.

3. Accountability Erosion: Offering free absences may encourage members to skip meetings casually, undermining the commitment expected within the chapter.

Notable Quote:

"I get the concept, I get it. It's kind of, it's a slippery slope. It's going to be probably not as easy to track, especially with transition of leadership teams and all you're doing is punting a future problem anyways." (00:00)

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Recommendations Against Free Absences

Tim firmly advises against adopting the free absence policy, emphasizing the importance of adhering to established attendance guidelines. He argues that maintaining strict attendance policies fosters a sense of responsibility and ensures that all members contribute equally to the chapter's success.

Notable Quote:

"If the chapter is decided to meet, it's a meeting. If you can't go for whatever reason, vacation, holiday, you just use one of your absences." (00:00)

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Alternative Strategies for Managing Low-Attendance Meetings

Instead of offering free absences, Tim suggests alternative approaches to handle meetings that coincide with holidays or periods of typically low attendance:

1. Maintain Regular Meetings: Hold the meeting as scheduled, allowing attendance to reflect each member's commitment.

2. Use Existing Absences: Encourage members to use their allotted absences if they cannot attend, without introducing additional allowances.

3. Leverage Substitutes: Members have the option to bring substitutes, which does not count against their absence quota.

Notable Quote:

"The ones around the holidays are the ones in the most interest for you, because those are the ones where you know all your fellow members, where they're going to be and who they're meeting and what kind of setting they're meeting them." (00:00)

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The Importance of the Rolling Six-Month Policy

Tim provides historical context on the evolution of BNI's attendance policy. Previously, the policy was segmented into fixed terms, which led to members "banking" their absences. Recognizing this loophole, BNI transitioned to a rolling six-month policy to promote continuous accountability.

Notable Quote:

"Because it's rolling now. And because it's rolling, I wouldn't be adding anything to it. Anything else, they roll off too." (00:00)

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Potential Consequences of Altering Attendance Policies

Altering the attendance policy to include free absences could disrupt the automated tracking system within BNI Connect, leading to confusion and administrative challenges. Tim warns that such changes are likely to create more problems than they solve, detracting from the chapter's overall effectiveness.

Notable Quote:

"BNI Connect sends automated messages when people trigger certain attendance things in their POMS report. That's never going to match up to this play and it's only going to cause mass confusion." (00:00)

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Tim concludes the episode by reiterating his strong opposition to the proposal of awarding free absences. He emphasizes the importance of upholding BNI's attendance policies to maintain the integrity and productivity of the chapter. By adhering to established guidelines, chapters can ensure that all members remain engaged and committed, ultimately contributing to collective success.

Notable Quote:

"But it's a great question. It's really interesting that somebody's thought of this and that they're trying it, but my advice and my recommendation is no. Hell no. Almost definitely don't do it." (00:00)

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Key Takeaways

• Adherence to Policies: It's crucial for BNI chapters to adhere strictly to established attendance policies to maintain accountability and effectiveness.

• Avoiding Policy Loopholes: Introducing measures like free absences can create loopholes that undermine the chapter's structure and commitment.

• Alternative Solutions: Utilizing existing absence allowances and encouraging substitute participation are more effective strategies for managing low-attendance periods.

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For more insights and discussions on enhancing your BNI membership, tune into future episodes of "BNI & The Power of One." Engage with the community by submitting your questions and topics at benipowerone.com.

Transcript

[A]

Sam Foreign welcome back to BNI and the Power of One. Thank you for joining me again today. Back with your show, submissions, questions, topics, etc. As always, go to benipowerone.com leave yours there. You can tell me where you're from. You can ask to be kept anonymous, which seems to be the case more and more, which is perfectly fine because again, if you have the question, other people have the question. If you're running into it, it's probably happening somewhere else too. And I get that people don't want to be kind of called out, so I happy to do that. We've also been getting quite a few questions kind of in similar topics around substitutes and attendance and that kind of stuff and maybe just because it's summertime. So I'm gonna hit one today, but we'll be talking about a few of them. I did pre record already a couple episodes for bni, the official BNI podcast. I'm not sure when they're coming out. I think maybe later in August or September. One is directly on substitutes, so you might end up getting a little bit of repeat between those if we capture some of those. But we'll, we'll make sure to get to your specific questions as well. I'll let you know. I am at the time of this enjoying a family vacation literally on the other side of the planet from us. We will be doing a cruise around Japan, which I'm super excited about, to see Shanghai, China and cruise around Japan. So it might be a little interruption in some of the podcast frequency while I'm gone, but appreciate you all the same. So let's get today's question. It says please keep anonymous, which we will do. It says during a discussion with another BNI member, they stated that their chapter gives a quote free absence to members who show up to meetings that might not well be well attended. The example is that you would have a meeting that fell on a federal holiday or close to it, and to encourage attendance, the members who attended would get an absence later that they could use without accounting against them. How does this fit with the B and I attendance policy of only allowing three absences in a rolling six month time period? And does it weaken the attendance policy accountability in a chapter? Thanks for taking my question and yes it does. And it does not fit the attendance policy at all. Is don't do it would be my recommendation. I get the concept, I get it. It's kind of, it's. We're trying to think of like how do we ensure people show up during times when we know Most won't, but that's a slippery slope. It's going to be probably not as easy to track, especially with transition of leadership teams and all you're doing is punting a future problem anyways. I would much rather you just stick to week to week, especially with the rolling anyways, because things roll off. So the bigger question is what do we do around holidays and stuff? I think, personally, I think you hold the meeting and it's open to those who attend and those who don't decide that that might be one of the absences they use. Now, again, keep in mind you're allowed three in a rolling six month period. That's not counting any substitutes you bring. And you're allowed three of those by guidelines. So that's a lot of meetings you can be out without anything happening to your seat. So if you're like, hey, the chapter is going to meet on July 1st and the 4th is later that week, I don't want to go, I'm on vacation. Okay, either send a substitute or that's one of your absences. You know, I always say this and it's true. Everybody has an amazing reason for their fourth absence. It's the I just didn't want to go that day absences that are the ones that get you in trouble. And all you're doing is saying that you can take what you can just punt, that you can say, hey, you get, you get another day somewhere down the line you don't want to go. And that actually has a bigger impact. It's really more like if you're going to have a holiday meeting and you know 50% of the chapter members are not going to go. What some chapters do is they cancel the meeting because of that. I wouldn't cancel the meeting. I would just say, okay, the 50% of people who come get that meeting, the 50% who don't, you're choosing to use one of your absences. But that also means if that's really the case and there's 50%, then okay, it's not, it's less valuable for everybody. But so is you being absent three weeks from now, four weeks from now, it's just a greater number. So I'd still rather have, all right, you all be gone this meeting than you be gone the next one. You be gone this one, you be gone that one, you be gone this one, and so forth and so on. So how does it fit in the B and I policy? It doesn't. It just doesn't. If the chapter is decided to meet, it's a meeting. If you can't go for whatever reason, vacation, holiday, you just woke up that morning and didn't want to, whatever that is one of your absences. We don't need to encourage you to come. Nobody should have to encourage you to be going to meetings that are in your best interest to attend. And by the way, the ones around the holidays are the ones in the most interest for you, because those are the ones. And we'll do this, I'm sure, later in the year. Those are the ones where you know all your fellow members, where they're going to be and who they're meeting and what kind of setting they're meeting them. And you can be really effective in training people in your weekly presentation that week because it's around a holiday. It also happens to be the ones most people skip. We've done plenty of podcasts on that. So this is against B and I policy. I would not do it. I would not recommend anybody do it. I would not recommend it as a chapter policy. I would not recommend it as a good practice in any way. Because again, it just becomes a slippery slope. It could be littered with unintended consequences and you're not going to get the benefit, really. All you're doing is giving an extra absence to the people who would attend anyways. If somebody's dead set about not attending a BNI meeting because it's like July 1st on the 4th is three days from now, they're not going, they're not going to show up to this one because you gave them an extra one somewhere else. You're just giving an extra absence to. So you're giving four absences to the people who would be there anyways. I just think it's not a good approach. I would not do this if I found out one of my chapters would do it. We would try to put an end to it because I, I don't think it's the best interest of the chapter. Again, for those who have not been around long enough, the attendance policy used to be a stagnated time. So it wasn't a rolling six months. It was April 1st through the end of September, October 1st through the end of March. And why it went to a rolling six months, which again is a decision by the International Board of Advisors made up of members who review the policies and such was because what they saw was people would quote, unquote, bank their absences or realize, hey, I've got. I've only used one absence this term and the last couple of meetings in September not really well attended the last couple of meetings in March. Not really well attended because people were banking them. And that's really unfair to those members who are, you know, doing feature presentations and such and such during those weeks. It's not. That's why it's rolling now. And so because it's rolling, I wouldn't be adding anything to it. Anything else, they roll off too. So, you know, it's just a matter of. And the system helps you track that way also. Just one of the unintended consequences of that. BNI Connect sends automated messages when people trigger certain attendance things in their POMS report. So on your first absence, you're going to get an email, second, third, so forth. But you also get them when you go from three to two, two to one. The other direction. That's never going to match up to this play and it's only going to cause mass confusion. You're going to have members screaming up and down. You're just my third absence. But that was my free absence because I showed up on September, you know, the Friday before Labor Day or whatever holiday. Then you forgot and da, da, da, da. But you didn't forget. But it's an automated system and B and I connect. That's not designed by chapter level. It's designed at regional, national levels. What a nightmare. Just. Just a straight nightmare. So it's a great question. It's really interesting that somebody's thought of this and that they're trying it, but my advice and my recommendation is no. Hell no. Almost definitely don't do it. So thank you for that, as always. Leave us a review. Let us know your thoughts. You can do Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, however you're finding it. Leave us your show. Submissions and topics, including weekly presentations at BNI Power of One. Have a good day.