The Importance of a Good Organizational Structure

An unclear chain of command and organizational structure can frustrate and hinder a masjid from functioning effectively. A good organizational structure doesn’t simply mean knowing the hierarchy and chain of command, but also clearly delineating roles, responsibilities and expectations of each and every member of the board and staff.

If a board member is unable to attend to his or her duties as a board member then there should be a mechanism within the constitution and by-laws to politely resign without ill-feelings between the masjid board and board member. Masjid board members should understand that they were chosen and elected by the community to best represent the community, perform at high ethical and professional level, and make decision for the betterment of the community and masjid.

Organizational structure for staff includes knowing who their superiors are, what their roles and responsibilities are, and what their expectations are (ideally have KPIs – key performance indicators – reviewed on a quarterly basis). Having a good and easy-to-understand organizational structure at a board level and a staff level can avoid a lot of headache, potential gridlock, confusion, and frustration in the future.

For both board members and staff an on-boarding training or orientation workshop should be conducted to get both board and staff on the same page to ensure that they understand the organizational structure, chain of command, roles and responsibilities, expectations, programs and services that the masjid provides, and the mission and vision of the masjid. Ideally every board position and staff position should have a position manual updated on a yearly basis to ensure that processes, procedure and employee rights, roles and responsibilities are up-to-date.

The Importance of A Good, Well-Written Constitution & By-Laws

A good, well-written and easy-to-understand constitution and by-laws can assist a masjid board in ensuring that their operations run smoothly for years to come. Unfortunately, the common problem most masjids face is their constitutions are by-laws are not clear, or are not adhereed to by the masjid board or simply don’t meet the needs of the community and the masjid’s operations.The constitution and by-laws of a masjid should be revisited every 5 years to ensure that the documents makes sense and take into account the growth and changes your community undergoes.

If a constitution and by-laws are unclear to the masjid board and the community then it may be time to revisit your constitution and by-laws to ensure the documents are meeting the needs of your community. Revisiting and revising the two documents can help in ensuring that there are no loop-holes that could be abused potentially by board members and also improve transparency of the masjid board operations overall.

A masjid’ constitution and its by-laws should be easily accessible to community members who request the documents. Deliberately hiding the constitution and by-laws increases the community’s mistrust and decreases confidence in masjid boards. Thus, ensure your constitution and by-laws are easily accessible and readily available for review or revision.