Second Board Member

The second board member is so to say the mother/father of fforst. His/her main task is to make the fforst family stick together :)

Besides close cooperation with the other board members, his/her special focus lies on the internal, social aspects of fforst. Try to work on the vividness and solidarity of the fforst community.

fforst consists of around 35 people from various countries who live in different flats in two house entrances. This extraordinary situation requires active community work in order to bring these people together and to let them understand the idea of an open-minded, solidaric fforst with members who are interested in each other and share their everyday life. The Second Board Member, should actively contribute to this through the accomplishment his/her tasks.

All three board members share the responsibility of the finances. (German Association Law) The Third Board Member is not carrying this weight alone. Please be aware to contact our tax consultants (read more here: The Auditors section) at the start of February (each winter semester) after concluding the audit of the previous year.

Tasks:

1. Internal Communication

2. Management of the fforst Memberships and Rental Contracts

3. Key Management and Email-Management

4. Responsible for the Selection Process (of new candidates)

New Second Board Member:

Have you been recently elected as Second Board Member? Congrats!!! Here you will find some useful information about what you have to do once you got elected.

1. Getting access to the office and its accounts:

First of all, try to get the key of the office and then see how the office looks like. If it does not look tidy, ask the last board to clean it and tidy it up for you. You also need the keys for the mailbox.

You also need the login details of the: fforst-email address and the yahoo group (Distribution List).

With the email account you can read the emails, get access to the calendar.

With the yahoo group account you can manage the Distribution List (i.e., add new members (New fförster)/ take members off the list who left).

2. Getting updated with The Board matters:

Please ask the last board for a “report” of the situation, he has to explain you how the state of thing is, so you can understand the emails. Suggestion: Please read the last emails so you can also be informed by your own about how things are. When receiving an email, always read the previous emails regarding this matter and when you do not understand something or you need more infos/advice, please ask the person that was responsible for that matter.

3. Start answering emails:

fförster / fförsties emails:

new candidate emails:

4. Getting in contact with a potential candidate (first email, interview, and more):

5. Make your first leasing contract (or extension of an existing contract)

6. Welcoming your first New fförster:

As a Second Board Member you are responsible of the selection process of new members. Therefore, you will also be the person welcoming New fförsters in the house. For that, it is important the New fförsters receive all the important information they need for their new start in our project.

Here some important steps you might not be willing to forget:

i. Give the person his/her keys.

ii. Make a fforst-tour showing him/her the different rooms of our house (EE, Library, laundry room, etc.)

iii. Remind that person of the importance of our regular Weekly Assembly (Mondays, at 8 PM, at the EE).

iv. Introduce that person to the rest of the fförster / fförsties (officially in the upcoming Weekly Assembly, but also informally, if you meet someone in the staircases, for example)

v. Add that person to the Distribution List (yahoo group) and explain its functioning to him/her.

vi. Give that person the fforst-wiki information and suggest to him/her to read the article New fförster.

vii. Explain this person that he/she must be part of one of the Divisions (Ressorts).

Good Practices

1. Check e-mails regularly.

2. Check the mailboxes regularly (1 per week it's ok).

3. Check calendar overtime someone wants to do something. if we have many events that week and you think its too much, say that during the next assembly so we are not that stressed and everyone is aware of that.

4. Keep in touch with the other board members and their issues, so everyone know about everything and you can support each other. Weekly meetings or every two weeks meetings are a good practice.

5. Keep in touch with head of resorts so you are updated and you can also ask them for tasks you need to be done and also they can tell you what they need also to be done from their side. You can also organize meeting with them.

6. ASK ANY OLD BOARD MEMBER FOR ANY HELP WHEN YOU FEEL IT!

7. Remember that you are part of a big team which includes all the fforst members. So, if you need any help, ask for it and somebody will help you out!