Marieke Koekkoek

Member Association: Volt Netherlands

Gender: Female

What strategy would you implement to recruit and retain highly specialised volunteers for the functional teams, for example in communications, policy, or data, over a full Board term? 

The success of Volt stands or falls with the expertise and drive of volunteers. To recruit and retain highly specialised volunteers for the function teams, I would focus mainly on two aspects: 1) Allow volunteers to differentiate between “active” and “on-call” status, so that the threshold to join becomes lower and so that they can step back during busy periods without leaving, 2) Use feedback loops more active, ask volunteers periodically what concretely we as Volt could do different to improve their experience and set deadlines to implement these improvements. It is important to treat volunteers as partners, not just supporters, of  Volt. In my view we achieve this by focusing more on retaining strong volunteers and making them a more integrated part of the team. Being part of Volt and contributing to our joint commitments should provide volunteers a sense of belonging. 

Non-executive Board members must both support and challenge the executives. Describe a situation where you would publicly back the Co-Presidents, and one where you would publicly dissent. What guides your choice?

As a Volter my actions are always driven by a sense of justice, a strong commitment to bridge-building and support of evidence-based approaches. A situation in which I would publicly support the Co-President is when they would propose a difficult, perhaps controversial, but well-researched change in organizational strategy that would strengthen the organization as a whole. My approach to building support would be to be transparent about the difficulties but clear and outspoken about the (long term) goal. Often in situations that require change, there is a risk of attacking people on personal flaws instead of discussing the issue and values at stake. I would support the Co-President by building trust behind the scenes, actively engaging with members that oppose the plan and by speaking out at strategic meetings, focusing not only on the general assembly but trying to increase commitment at smaller meetings in smaller dialogues. A situation in which I would publicly not support the Co-President is essentially any decision where the Co-President would proclaim that ‘the ends justify the means’. My approach would be to understand the motivations of the Co-President by requesting a one-on-one conversation and by voicing my concerns in a small setting, such as a board meeting. I would take this approach because it is important for the success of the organization to only escalate situations to bigger and more public platforms unless it is absolutely necessary.

What would you do if you believed the Board was making a decision that conflicted with Volt Europa's core values?

My first step would be to clarify my own understanding of the situation, by reviewing the core values of Volt and discussing my own views in a small setting. If necessary and possible, I would request an impact assessment or legal assessment of the proposed idea. If my concerns seem valid and the impact would indeed be negative, going against Volt's core values I would take my concern to relevant Volt Members. I alone do not rule on what goes against Volt values, so I would feel the need to test my views. I would first and foremost not damage the public reputation of Volt, so any discussions would be in confidence with the relevant people and request/take the initiative to review the process, focusing on creating a path forward. As a final resort, I would propose a more public way to address the concerns, for example by organizing a town hall meeting to discuss views in a more transparant and democratic manner with the membership.