Meeting with the auditor

A few days before I left NH, we had a visit from a Red Cross auditor from Washington DC. I suspect that RC national staff may have recognized that we had a problem in the chapter where I worked. While at breakfast, one of my friends pointed her out in the dining area where she was eating alone. She had not yet arrived in the HQ to begin work. After I finished my meal I walked over to her and asked if she would like a guide to the chapter office which was about twenty miles away. She thanked me and accepted my offer.

On the ride in she asked me several questions about the operation. I discovered that she was there to exam the work flow, how decisions were being made, and what obstacles exist to our effectiveness. Instead of looking at finanical records, she was more interested in observing and asking questions. I was impressed with her friendly professionalism.

After meeting with HQ administrators, she asked to sit with me as I entered information into CAS. I believed I had discovered some problems with the software that made data entry more difficult than what it should be. Sadly, as we visited about CAS she received a phone call that was a family emergency. I responded immediately with support. I didn't believe she was in any condition to drive herself to the hospital about 60 miles away. So I had one of my caseworkers drive her car and one that followed to drive his partner back to HQ.

All of us live in fear of such a call while traveling. I wish I could have driven her myself, but my supervisor wanted me to remain. I'm going to see if I can track her down through the national office. At a time when things were so hectic, I was saddened for her situation and for our loss of someone who would have articulated the difficulty that we faced.

I hope my posts here provide a view from "the other side" of what we do in Red Cross. I have the impression that the national office is working very hard to improve service across the country. Local chapters have a lot of control and independence. Imagine how difficult it must be to be a paid professional in the national office trying to improve the effectivenss of an organization that is essentially run by volunteers. Yes, there are a few paid staff in every chapter. But the real power, I believe, resides in volunteers who commit a good portion of their lives to Red Cross work.

I wish my organization, the Cooperative Extension Service, had auditors like the one I meet in NH. The person who visited us was a compassionate problem solver. Every organization could use one.