Departments at Free Geek

Intro

We are proposing to the staff collective that we establish five distinct departments at Free Geek. The department names listed are not so important (but should be settled on when we adopt this). Briefly:

1. Receiving and Recycling (R&R) would contain the warehouse, recycling, and printers programs, etc.
2. Re-use is largely left as is, though we use the term "re-use" in lieu of "production".
3. Sales is largely left as is.
4. Volunteers, Education and Tech Support (VETS) would contain the current education program, as well as volunteer coordination and recruitment in general, etc.
5. Administrative Services would be responsible for most activities that Free Geek needs to exist, not counting programs (included above) which embrace our core activities and describe why we exist. Administrative Services would house HR, Facilities, Operations, Financial, etc.

Important Roles:

• With each department a department point person (or coordinator or manager) role would be assigned. That role's duty would be oversight of the whole department (but practically speaking much oversight would be delegated to other roles within the department). The department point person would be responsible for reporting to the organization as a whole. They would act as a "catch-all" person to take inquires and suggestions that fall somewhere in their department if it is not clear exactly where. A department point person would be expected to be able to refer any request or inquiry to the proper department point person.
• Each program or activity would have an area coordinator, responsible for coordinating an area, planning its future, anticipating its needs. An area coordinator would be expected to be able to refer any request or inquiry to the proper program within their department.
• A staff coordinator role would be needed when a person has managerial oversight over other Free Geek paid staff people filling roles that fall in their program or department.
• A volunteer coordinator roles would be needed when a person has oversight over volunteers that volunteer in their program or department.

Whoever assumes the department point person role would also need to assume a staff coordinator role. This makes all the department point people managers, as well as some of the program coordinators. But fulfilling the volunteer coordinator role or area coordinator role does not necessarily require a staff managerial role.

Job descriptions would be groups of roles. Both those mentioned above and the several roles shown below grouped by department and program. All roles need to be assigned an department and a job description. As people leave the organization we have the flexibility to move roles from job to job as needed.

Since people can work in more than one department, they may have a managerial role over someone in their department or area, but also be managed by that same person elsewhere. How this plays out in many ways would have to be addressed in HR and other policies.

Certainly some job tasks have been left off this list, but is should be obvious which program they fall into, or at least which department. So new and missing tasks can be easily assigned by talking to the program coordinator or department point person. In the even that there is confusion the department point people could cooperate to resolve the ambiguity. When a new role is needed the same would be true.

Besides being assigned to a job description and department, each role also requires some kinds of resources to function. All these facets of a role should be described in a consistent and clear way.

To create a job description, we would knit together the desired roles (including the above shared roles), and aggregate them into one clear job description. This should be sufficient to meet hiring needs, accountability needs, and other requirements such as ADA compliance.

We would aim for job descriptions where people are less "stretched" between departments. We are freer to do this with current collective members as they are management and not directly affected by NLRA laws in this respect. If we have changes that affect the bargaining unit members, those need to be cleared with the union before any action is taken.

We would ask current staff collective members to sort themselves into departments. Each person should have one (and only one) "major" department that accounts for the bulk of their actual working roles. People might also have a "minor" department that account for a lesser slice of their work load. We would discourage people from declaring more than one major and one minor department. Then we'd ask each department to meet and flesh out their own job roles in terms of actual work duty tasks (or accountabilities). HR would assist each department point person and program coordinator with this task. HR would then assign KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to these roles. While that is a fair amount of work and could take some time, it is very valuable in terms of job clarity and compliance issues.

Collaborative work between areas in encouraged. For example HR deals with staff recruitment, motivation, and retention. Volunteer Education deals with volunteer recruitment, motivation, and retention. The two areas might want to share suggestions and coordinate between each other to ensure consistency wherever this seems applicable.

An example job

• Please note: An updated version of the example job description for the NPA position can be found on the following page: NPA Example Job Description. This description was written by the NPA's and better reflects our contributions to Free Geek.

The NPA program provides nonprofit apprenticeship jobs at Free Geek for people who are motivated and capable of working in the nonprofit sector, but need to gain more relevant job experience to be competitive candidates in the not-for-profit job market.

At Free Geek there jobs consist of working in receiving (an area that they co-coordinate), the front desk, and prebuild (system evaluation and hardware ID).

This means their current jobs would described in roles like this:

• Front Desk Role (Administrative Services)
• Receiving Coordinator Role (Receiving and Recycling)
• System Evaluation Role (Receiving and Recycling)
• Hardware ID Role (Volunteer Education)

In doing those things, they coordinate volunteers. They also spend a small amount of time riding along in the truck to assist with equipment pickups. They also assist in hiring their replacement, so we would add minor or temporary roles like:

• Pickups (Receiving and Recycling)
• Hiring (Administrative Services)
• Volunteer Coordinator (Shared)

Looking at that whole list, it's pretty clear that their main department is Receiving and Recycling. We would list all those roles together in one coherent job description and be able to assign a reasonable weight to each line item. For example, Receiving Coordination and Volunteer Coordination are major parts of their job, while riding along on pickups is less of an important aspect. Knowing that helps us assess how well an individual is doing in their job, figure out how many people we need to fill out certain floor shifts, etc.

Receiving and Recycling (Program)

Printers

• coordinate/triage/recycle printers (not much testing)
• organize printerland (coordinate with reuse and recycling programs)
• overseeing printerland
• learn printer testing, repair, and disassembly
• evaluate and repair inkjet and laser printers for reuse/resale
• train volunteers, test printers, recycle printers, answer questions, quality control of work
• communicate with production staff in order to adapt to FG's changing needs and improve processes in the printer area
• salvage and evaluate inkjet cartridges and laser printer toner cartridges for reuse/resale. work with re-manufacturers to arrange sale of salvaged ...
• recruit and coordinate volunteers to run the printer repair program
• troubleshooting printer problems for staff and volunteers
• develop and coordinate a training program for volunteers to learn printer evaluation and repair
• teach volunteers how to safely disassemble printers for recycling

Recycling

• staff recycling, assist volunteers, make sure gaylords and boxes are emptied/switched, communicate with other ...
• prioritize recycling tasks
• assist recycling coordinator 1 as needed
• train volunteer workers to perform required recycling tasks
• train volunteer workers in all areas of Free Geek especially recycling
• negotiate with recycling vendors x2
• research and evaluate markets for recycled materials
• research, evaluate, and implement best practices for material recycling
• give tours of recycling to visitors
• record quantity and weight data from vendors for use in monthly/yearly reports
• document processes and procedures of recycling program
• coordinate vendor pickups
• scheduling recycled material pickups with recycling/transportation vendors

Storage and Warehouse Logistics

• coordinate with other departments regarding short and long-term storage of material
• organize recycled materials storage in the warehouse (coordinate with reuse program)
• coordinate with receiving regarding donation flow
• forklift operation
• coordinate with recycling coordinators regarding tool needs, repair, maintenance, supplies
• manage full and empty gaylord storage
• schedule recycled material pickups with recycling/transportation vendors
• pallet jack operation
• truck drop offs
• recycling signage and forms

Receiving (NPA)

• Manage the flow of gizmos through the hardware donations receiving area
• Coordinate and regularly train diverse volunteers in basic intake procedure
• Welcome donors and help them unload their hardware donations
• Knowledge of Ewaste procedures to accurately evaluate donated items
• Facilitate and coordinate NPA committee meetings to constantly improve item flow and the categorization of donations
• Supervise and coordinate speaker, mouse and keyboard basic testing areas
• Ensure safe working environment
• Undergo intensive initial training and train NPA replacement at the end of apprenticeship
• Receiving shifts x3

Pickups

• coordinate pickups
• phone/email tag potential donors
• NPA wrangling for pickups
• scheduling pickups
• invoicing/providing receipts to donors
• pickup shifts
• loading and (sometimes) unloading truck
• heavy lifting

System Evaluation

• floor shift in prebuild
• check hard drive trays
• Prebuild Coordination
• Develop and maintain process and documentation for Hardware Identification, and System Evaluation
• Teach volunteers working in those areas
• Coordinate prebuild needs with build, advanced testing, alt build, receiving, front desk, and recycling
• Train and wrangle volunteer interns in that area.

Re-use (Program)

Advanced Testing

• ensure a steady supply of tested gizmos to the store, online sales, grants, build, and infrastructure
• develop advanced testing infrastructure and processes
• track tested devices going to the store and online sales
• triage and test incoming hardware
• prioritize testing according to needs of other production areas
• interview, orient, train, and coordinate volunteers and volunteer interns during floor shifts in advanced testing
• provide avenues/opportunities for advanced testing volunteers beyond testing gizmos
• coordinate with volunteers to develop and enact new testing procedures
• advanced testing instructor responsibilities
• floor shifts in advanced testing x2

Desktop Build

• refine build and quality control procedures
• ensure a steady supply of completed systems for Free Geek programs
• teach and recruit volunteer instructors for build workshops
• recruit quality volunteers for advanced testing, laptop build, mac build, and enterprise (server) build
• coordinate with tech support and sales for build
• planning and facilitating build instructor training
• culling systems in the warehouse when overflowing
• teach build workshops when volunteer instructors are absent
• keep build related documentation up to date as the build processes change
• keep an eye on supplies and determine what to build in any given shift
• keep the build area orderly and stocked withs needed computer components

Spanish Build Pilot Program

• develop a Spanish language equivalent to the build program
• coordinate volunteers to become volunteer instructors in build and prebuild
• work with a committee to develop a Spanish language version of our build program
• determine whether or not transition from a pilot program to a permanent program
• prepare a comprehensive evaluation report for the production committee
• communicate regularly to the production committee each step of the way
• co-coordinate the Spanish build program
• outreach to the Spanish speaking community

Hardware Grants and Free Computers

• work with production committee to support hardware grants
• recruit, train, and coordinate hardware grants volunteers and volunteer interns
• research new avenues for hardware grants
• create and maintain hardware grants documentation, including support for grant recipients
• maintain feedback loop with grant recipients
• occasionally working with PR committee to gather testimonials or other information
• maintain website documentation related to hardware grants
• oversee wait lists and allocation of gizmos. inform volunteers when gizmos for their grants are ready.
• evaluate incoming grant requests and disburse grants.
• give away free computers (to adopters who aren't taking the getting started class, etc.)

Laptops

• coordinate with other laptop build staff to refine process and documentation
• maintain organization of the laptop area to maintain and increase workspace efficiency
• work floor shifts coordinating volunteers in laptop build, including providing laptop refurbishment education to volunteers
• laptop inventory

Mac Build

• coordinate mac build x2
• develop mac build processes and documentation
• floor shifts in mac build

Server Build

• coordinate server build
• evaluate server and network equipment
• hardware grants for servers, oddball computers, legacy computers, weird computers

Sales (Program)

Sales Oversight

• develop clear documentation, policies & procedures for the thrift store and sales
• maximize income for Free Geek while not compromising Free Geek's culture or values
• help develop sales growth plan
• research market trends to maximize sales of gizmos

Thrift Store

• deal with customer complaints
• locate and prepare items for the thrift store
• maintain shelf organization and stocking
• price, shelve, and organize merchandise
• process, price, and shelve incoming products
• help keep thrift store in line with Free Geek philosophy
• cleaning and maintenance of the store
• evaluate existing thrift store layout and suggest & implement improvements
• development of thrift store policies and procedures
• ensure consistent pricing
• effectively communicate store policies to customers
• research current value of equipment for resale (work with sales coordinator)
• handle cash and credit sales, close out till at the end of the day
• training of store staff and volunteers
• provide a safe and welcoming retail environment to customers of all abilities/experience ...
• pro-actively communicate with Free Geek staff and volunteers, especially those involved in testing, production, and tech support about needs of the thrift store
• run the till, make sales, answer customers' questions, channel customer complaints to proper avenues
• maintain current knowledge of market prices for store items, and work to ensure pricing consistency amongst all staff & volunteers

Store Administration

• keep track of current thrift store intern schedules, advertise for new interns when needed, interview, orient and train new interns
• store improvements
• collective liaison for thrift store/sales
• attend and actively participate in sales and production meetings
• edit and maintain the website, especially the store section
• maintain clear communication flow between thrift store and multiple areas: build, advanced testing, and tech support especially

Bulk and Miscellaneous Sales

• some work with printer wholesale buyers (explaining process, paperwork)
• contact for bulk buyers
• equipment rentals for art production
• run the "safari"

Online Sales

• research new avenues of online sales, including potential vendors
• locate items within Free Geek, test, and prepare them for online sales
• prepare and sell items online in accordance with online sales process
• support other online sales staff to communicate area status and needs to production committee

Volunteer, Education, and Technical Support -- VETS (Program)

Education

• education projects x2
• create classes and curricula for classes
• recruit class teachers
• maintain documentation regarding educational aspects of FG, including classes
• work with other collective members to improve educational aspect of the various volunteer programs, including working towards making said programs more accessible
• teach the adoption class in Spanish as needed
• oversee and implement changes to the physical space of the classroom
• observe work of teaching staff to evaluate performance, and to recommend changes that could strengthen teaching skills
• be a part of the Education committee

Front Desk

• look for ways to improve functionality at the front desk
• recruit/supervise/coordinate volunteer front desk interns
• schedule volunteer shifts accurately
• answer a multi-line phone, check & relay messages to appropriate places
• maintain a steady stream of coffee for volunteers
• process till at the end of the day
• perform data entry
• accept & process monetary donations
• look at income trends at the donor desk
• participate in the front desk committee
• front desk shifts x3
• make reminder calls to volunteers for upcoming classes
• print volunteer handouts
• take on additional daily tasks at the front desk as needed
• greet visitors, prioritizing lobby visitors appropriately
• prioritize lobby visitors appropriately

Tech Support

• tech support shifts
• internal tech support (see IT in admin section)
• mac tech support
• improve and maintain tech support policies in line with FG philosophy and capabilities
• perform tech support services alongside or in absence of volunteer interns (eg answer the phones, assist walk-ins, maintain correspondence ...)
• help with tech problems in classroom
• maintain documentation for tech support
• oversee tech support in order to integrate it with the rest of the organization
• coordinate tech support volunteer interns, provide training, feedback, and volunteer appreciation to improve retention
• communicate regularly with production staff to help identify and solve problems with our computers
• work with the education coordinator to improve educational opportunities to ease the burden on tech support
• advocate for tech support's needs to staff collective
• provide excellent customer service
• imporve issue management and tracking systems and procedures

Hardware ID

• teach basic hardware vocabulary and Free Geek's system evaluation process to build volunteers as needed
• Develop and maintain process and documentation for Hardware Identification, and System Evaluation

Library and Museum

• point person for the library
• audits/checks up on the borrow book
• check on computer lab usage/login sheets for computer lab
• museum maintenance

Volunteer Coordination in General

• coordinate group volunteering
• perform duties necessary to inreach committee
• coordinate some volunteer policy and procedure work
• work on volunteer orientation process and documentation (organization wide and build specific)
• organization-wide volunteer appreciation projects (geek love notes, star volunteers, volunteer rewards, etc)
• tracking adoption and build survey data (although this is not happening so much right now)

Community Service Volunteers

• backup court community service volunteer contact
• serve as court-mandated community service liaison with Washington, Multnomah, and other counties
• school community service contact

Volunteer Appreciation Events

• plan events (BBQs, holiday parties, volunteer appreciation)
• event planning and floor work
• co-organizing the BBQ
• helping with 10th anniversary party

Diversity Access

• volunteer accessibility work
• participate in accessibility work group

Volunteer Internships

• coordinate volunteer internship program
• internship recruitment
• SMS, work study, etc., oversight
• explore relationships with colleges and technical schools to recruit new tech support volunteer interns
• LEP high school intern contact
• help train front desk interns
• training sales interns
• coordinate and facilitate build instructor trainings
• work with volunteer intern coordinator and reuse coordinators to recruit an ample amount of volunteer interns from inside and outside of the ...
• work for better volunteer teacher retention
• find volunteers to teach classes
• maintain an intern schedule

Volunteer Issues

• serve as ombudsman
• volunteer issues

Volunteer Orientation Tours

• provide training for orientation tour guides (when needed)
• occasional tours
• serve as volunteer orientation tour guide once per week
• organizing group tours and group volunteering
• give tours to potential volunteers
• guide the weekly tour/volunteer orientation in Spanish

Administrative Services

"Make it Work"

Administrative, Outward

Phones

• Make sure outgoing phone message is clear and easy to understand

Fielding Inquiries

• answering lots of questions not necessarily related to recycling
• answer general questions via telephone and in person re: what FG is/ what FG does/ what FG can and cannot accept as donations
• check rootmail and weed out spam vs. important emails
• answering info@ volunteer@ emails
• answering phones
• communicate effectively over phone and email
• answering phone queries about the thrift store (while elsewhere)
• learn about FG's programs to accurately field questions
• coordinate message regarding changes in normal operations, e.g. voice mail outgoing message. appropriate signage, email

Office Coordination

• keep up with our accounting filing (A/P, A/R, insurance, taxes, etc.)
• route mail to appropriate people
• receive and distribute mail
• check signer
• check signer/debit card holder/online ordering
• organize, maintain, and document a centralized filing system and efficient system for document flow
• extract info from current staff and put into rational transparent system that everyone can understand
• create, document, and maintain timeline for paperwork deadlines
• work with appropriate staff to complete necessary administrative correspondence, including insurance, taxes, payroll, etc.

Scheduling

• finding subs and schedule wrangling when people are sick or late
• scheduling vacations
• integrating requested changes into the schedule
• Staff scheduling
• Schedule staff for work shifts
• recruit substitutes to fill in.
• Work with staff and co-schedulers Dave and Laurel on making schedule fit needs of Free Geek better.

Information Technology -- IT

Data Security Implementation

• implement data security policy
• maintain and improve systems that protect the customer's private information

Software Development

• distro package maintenance
• database development project management and specifications clarification
• work with the technocrats committee to prioritize FGdb related tasks

Internal Technical Support

• reporting bugs and problems to system administrators

System Administration

• select standard software for internal use
• monitor email all lists for spam, etc.
• go through the tickets already present in our system, helping to fix bugs and implement features where possible, given the amount of time
• set up user accounts and emails, etc.
• upgrade and maintain servers
• coordinate volunteer system administrators
• work with the technocrats to prioritize other system administration tasks
• research of new technologies
• Moderate email lists
  • This entails being on all the lists to handle incoming spam.
  • I am now sharing some of the moderation duties with other staff members, especially in regards to approving new list members.

Technical Infrastructure

• phone setup, etc
• select phone system
• network & phone cabling
• off hours system admin and cabling parties
• network infrastructure
• other technical systems (phone, credit card machines, etc.)
• General system administration
• Help users gets accounts set up
• Extract information from database
• Work with technocrats and coders on database application development priorities.

Operations

Opening and Closing

• closing
• unlock front doors most mornings

Supplies

• supply check and supply run
• procurement/ordering supplies
• organizing supplies
• tools = maintain tools & kits for all of FG, not just recycling

Facilities

Cleaning

• hire cleaning company
• deep cleaning (e.g. cleaning "party")
• clean staff and volunteer refrigerators (when possible) x2
• clean/straighten meeting room (when possible)
• keep meeting room clean
• clean compost bucket
• regular cleaning: taking out the compost, the garbage, and recycling
• dishes (when possible) x2
• empty the free box and take contents to goodwill
• occasional organizing projects

Facilities Maintenance and Improvements

• space cadets
• facilities -- keep on top of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, walls, doors/locks, baths, etc.
• painting party (ask Hands-On Portland, who would coordinate/work weekend?)
• worked on getting street bike parking to almost installation (neighbor objected, so it didn't work out)

Fleet Maintenance

• fueling the truck
• daily maintenance of the forklift as needed

Pest Control

• cleaning mouse poo x2
• mouse funerals
• hiring mouse assassins

Physical Security

• crime fighting
• dealing with the police regarding crimes
• evidence/witness accounts
• keep aware of thefts in the store, report any cases to crimes queue
• security camera infrastructure
• respond to security alarms (real and false)
• alarm wrangling
• some of the key wrangling

"Keep it Legal"

Structural Administration

• liaison with board
• attend some board meetings x2
• overseeing inter-committee issues and identifying what slips through the cracks
• reading minutes for all committees
• strategic planning
• brainstorming and strategic planning for new positions at FG
• finding and contacting outside facilitator and organizational development groups for help with revamping our structure
• organize staff retreat and all-staff meeting
• co-organizing the retreat
• plan a retreat
• assist with some aspects of retreat planning
• Big Picture, Organizational Development
• Think ahead of the organization and develop proposals for staff, board, and council.
• Build consensus around proposals for the direction Free Geek should take.
• Make sure people know how to implement their ideas.

Financial

Bookkeeping and Budgeting Oversight

• Oversee paying of bills, recording of income, reconciling of accounts.
• Beancounting.
• Develop and maintain process and documentation for till management.
• Coordinate with front desk and store regarding tills.
• Write checks for reimbursement.
• Backup office coordinator as person who gathers hours from staff and ensure paychecks are created and disbursed.
• Work with treasurer, board, staff, and council to develop budget.

Accounting

• redesigning the books/account system
• reconciling accounts and settlement reports from our recycling vendors
• bank runs
• work with other staff in developing and reviewing data entry procedures

Bookkeeping

• data entry (into books) x2
• oversee maintenance of FG's books

Financial Oversight

• oversight of other bookkeeping staff
• oversight of budgeting
• enter payroll, reconcile payroll reports, ensure employee hours are bing logged regularly
• work with other staff in setting up accounts in the books as needed

Till Reconciliation

• beancounting x3
• help with till at donor desk
• correct the books
• reconcile the safe

HR

Benefits

• write OFLA documents for workers requesting and taking leave
• retirement plan details/compliance
• retirement account work
• administer our health insurance (sign people up, track costs, coordinate with our broker when questions arise, coordinate renewal...
• link new hires up with our financial advisor through VALIC. this has recently expanded to include educational materials on plans)

Employee Motivation and Retention

• organize some employee appreciation events (going away parties, retirement party)
• coordinate some employment appreciation: birthday cards, goodbye presents, reunions, etc.
• organizing employment appreciation: birthday cards, goodbye presents, reunions, etc.

HR Document Retention

• unemployment claims paperwork
• workers comp claims paperwork
• review and respond to claims from the employment department
• maintain personnel files

Health and Safety

• health and safety inspection
• health and safety recording
• serve as point person for volunteer injury reporting
• ensure that safety standards and procedures are being followed at all times
• stock and maintain safety station

Hiring

• serve on hiring committees x2
• hiring x2
• facilitating hiring process
• participate in hiring committees, conduct interviews, write interview questions, be aware of legal issues surrounding hiring

Labor Relations

• union contract negotiation meetings
• union negotiator for the collective

Mediation and Conflict Resolution

• act as a mediator (formally and informally)
• serve as an in-house mediator
• finding and contacting outside facilitator for mediation

Performance Reviews and Staff Discipline

• facilitating reviews
• participate in resolution committees

Staff Training, Orientation, and Acculturation

• CPR/First Aid Training
• train volunteers in safety procedures
• safety training
• create orientation and exit check lists for new/outgoing employees
• assist with new hires ("dance card" items)
• complete tax information with new hires

Wages and Salary

• plan compensation philosophy
• calculate costs, build into budget

Legal and Compliance

Compliance

• compliance with relevant HR laws
• develop data entry policies
• signing (and reading contracts) x2
• investment committee (for retirement benefit)
• OSHA compliance
• project manager for filing of form 5500 and form 990
• prepare data for tax and incorporate feedback
• oversee data security policies
• report hours and payroll data to bureau of labor
• be point person for insurance audits
• PCI compliance
• BAN and Oregon eCycles audits
• audits from potential donors
• audits
• reports
• monthly Oregon eCycles, yearly DEQ reports

Administrative, Inward

• historical research of policies, practices, decisions, trends, past awards, past media coverage, etc.

"Change the World"

Advocacy

• serving on the advisory committee for Oregon eCycles
• serving as liaison for Oregon eCycles

Intergalactic

• talk to people wanting to start Free Geeks
• liaison with other Free Geeks
• propagation/intergalactic
• giving tours to out of town visitors

Development and Resource Procurement

• liaison for the City of Portland (submitting reports every six weeks)
• writing thank-you notes for monetary donations
• liaison for Multnomah County
• negotiation with potential ongoing organizational donors
• fundraising and grant writing
• soliciting donations

PR and Outreach

Outreach

• maintaining relationships with reuse, recycling, FOSS, and education communities
• coordinate ordering and organizing of schwag
• participate/keep up with/make blogs for Reuse PDX
• creating community partners
• attend tabling events
• coordinate tabling events
• informational tours

Public Relations

• press release coordinator
• coordinate yearly Chinook Book coupon
• media and advertising

Website and Social Media

• social media coordinator
• website editing
• update the website