Improving Nonprofit Governance with Talkspirit: A Testimonial from the French Association of Diabetics

How can we bring transparency to an association's operations, roles and decision-making processes? That's the question the French Association of Diabetics asked itself when implementing a new model of nonprofit governance: Holacracy. 

The French Association of Diabetics is a group that represents more than 4 million people with or concerned about diabetes. Its mission is to inform, support, and defend diabetics as well as support research in this medical field. This nonprofit organization touts a network of 100 local associations throughout France as well as the national headquarters in Paris.

The group is made up of: 

• 24 employees at the main office
• a 24-member board of directors
• 1,500 volunteers

In 2018, the French Association of Diabetics implemented our agile governance solution to facilitate the implementation of Holacracy and better foster employee autonomy. In 2020, it deployed our internal communication platform as part of this transition to facilitate remote exchange.

So, how’s the association putting these solutions to use these days? And how have they made nonprofit governance more transparent? General Manager Bastien Roux enlightened us in a recent interview.

Why the Nonprofit Implemented Holacracy

Holacracy is a governance model that replaces the traditional pyramid structure with a system of self-organizing teams. These teams, called circles, can decide for themselves how to run their day-to-day work.

‍"We wanted to implement this model to support a change in nonprofit governance—as well as make a paradigm shift in our operating mode," Roux explains.

‍"Before 2018, we had a president with many hats. When he left the association, he asked himself how to distribute the different roles he had, all the while instilling credibility in the new people who took on all his former roles.”

‍“At that time, we also had a managing director who was very much in favor of new organizational models and who was keen to keep a flat structure—with no middle management. She was looking for a model that would bring clarity to roles, develop individual autonomy, and bring directors and employees closer together.”

‍“The holacratic model met the needs of both our chairman and our director, and that's why we decided to run with it.”

‍“We got support from HappyWork, which trained us in Holacracy and advised us to implement a dedicated tool to establish this new model: Talkspirit.”

Talkspirit: A Tool to Improve Organizational Transparency

"We found Talkspirit relatively easy to use and very suitable for what we wanted to do, which was to bring our holacratic operations to life on a daily basis.”

“We used the solution as part of our training in Holacracy HappyWork offered us, which in turn made incorporating it all-the-more easy. All new employees undergo this initial orientation, so they benefit from the same knowledge as the rest of their colleagues. What’s more, we now have Holacracy ‘co-captains’—essentially a duo of one employee and one administrator—to promote the use of Holacracy and Talkspirit throughout the association.”

“Employees were the first to familiarize themselves with Talkspirit and weave it into their daily routine. A short while afterward, we invited the administrators, who took a little longer to adapt the platform due to their more limited use of it," the general manager says.

"Today, employees and directors alike rely on Talkspirit:

• to clarify and understand the roles of everyone in the organization, using the organizational chart function,
• and to facilitate tactical and governance meetings and share minutes via the meetings module."

A circle-based structure that empowers employees

When we think of organizational charts and structures, the first that comes to mind is usually a pyramid. But there are many other possible representations. One of these is a holarchy: a structure made up of a set of interwoven circles of varying sizes along with autonomous roles. That's exactly what the French Association of Diabetics’ organizational chart looks like!

‍"On Talkspirit, we have two main circles: a ‘headquarters’ circle dedicated to employees in the central office, and a ‘board of directors’ circle dedicated to directors. Within these circles, we have several sub-circles. For example, within the ‘headquarters’ circle, we have the ‘diabetes living lab,’ ‘general services,’ ‘headquarters strategy’ and ‘communication territory’ sub-circles. We also have mixed circles made up of employees and directors, such as ‘finance,’ ‘prevention,’ ‘data centralization’ and ‘strategic planning.’

‍“On average, each person energizes 6 to 8 roles," Roux added. These employees, he explained, assume the responsibilities associated with their different roles, and they then make the decisions needed to ensure that their missions run smoothly. Of course, they don't have to do everything on their own: they can call on the help from other circle members that also report to them. 

‍In Holacracy, employees are far more empowered and autonomous than in a traditional model, where decisions flow from the top down.

Talkspirit: a Tool to Facilitate Remote Internal Communication

After implementing our governance solution, the French Association of Diabetics decided it needed to go a step further. This time, it didn’t need a platform to clarify nonprofit governance but rather to facilitate internal communication remotely.

‍"We started using Talkspirit’s communication solution during the March 2020 lockdown, which forced us to remain fully remote for several months. Employees very much appreciated its chat and videoconferencing features as they allowed us to all connect from a distance. Following that long lockdown, we adopted a hybrid working model—a mix of face-to-face and remote work. Maintaining Talkspirit thus became essential.”

‍“We regularly use chat rooms to share information and discuss projects. We have a ‘general lounge area’ for sharing information with all employees, as well as more project-specific and individual lounges. Occasionally, we also create groups to discuss more informal matters, like organizing a colleague's farewell party.”

More 'official' communications, on the other hand, are mainly via publications on the newsfeed," says Roux. 

Smoother information sharing

"Since we implemented Talkspirit, information sharing is more fluid, and discussions on organizational topics are more transparent. Employees are fully aware of their various roles and those of their colleagues, and can easily keep up with what's going on in the various circles. This helps to make them more autonomous in their work.”

“Chat and news feeds have by and large replaced the use of internal email, which has helped to relieve some of the pressure on mailboxes and reduce all the information overload associated with them."

Also read: X-Ray Vision: Talkspirit Finds Cure for IM du Biterrois’ Internal Emails Illness

A Final Word

If you're seeking to improve clarity, autonomy, and information sharing within your organization, Talkspirit’s the platform for you! Thanks to our solution, you'll be able to set up transparent nonprofit governance, streamline your internal communications, and stay in touch with all your employees—even those who work remotely. The French Association of Diabetics has clearly understood these benefits!

Want to find out more about our solutions and support services? Schedule a demo with our team today! 

Oh, and if you'd like to explore other organizational models such as Holacracy and discover best practices in nonprofit governance, we invite you to read our latest white paper below: 👇

In our white paper “The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models,” you’ll receive:

• a comprehensive overview of innovative organizational models (like Agile, Teal, Holacracy, Constitutional Management, and more)
• testimonials from pioneer organizations that have successfully adopted it
• best practices for choosing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of our model
• digital tools to facilitate your transition