Governing documents are key legal documents for any voluntary organisation or non-profit and Before we begin – housekeeping! For this blog I will be using the term ‘trustee’ as a ‘catch all’ for any members of non-exec management committees and boards but applies to all the above.
It will be of little surprise to you reading this, that many of Suffolk’s voluntary sector organisations are facing challenges with volunteer recruitment in its widest sense. More specifically, notoriously difficult to recruit, particularly for smaller organisations, are trustees/members of management committees. Research tells us there are many reasons behind this – all the usual barriers to volunteering which have grown in recent years given the ever-changing landscape we live in (time and cost most prominently), but also an increasing number of people citing imposter syndrome and concerns about the level of legal responsibilities and liabilities. In addition, brand visibility of smaller organisations plays a part – we know most volunteers of any role, do so because they know of the organisation they get involved with either through personal experience or through seeing them online or in local media.
And yes, I won’t sugar coat it, there are legal responsibilities and liabilities – rightly so, the board is ultimately not only part of good governance, but they are responsible for making sure it is in place! But it shouldn’t put people off doing something that in many cases literally changes lives and at the very least enhances own wellbeing, especially when good training and guidance is easily available. In my personal experience, it is also one of the most rewarding roles you can do.
And here’s the thing, much of the guidance is about acting in good faith for the best interests of the organisation… less focused on the output and more focused on ensuring options are explored, given the attention they deserve, documented, and agreed upon by the Board – not an individual. Of course, there are absolute legal do’s and don’ts written into governing documents and it is the individual’s responsibility to know what is contained in these, but it’s there in black and white so should be simple to follow (see the first blog in this series for further info).
As for imposter syndrome – your skills are incredibly valuable, whatever they may be (personal or professional) and any voluntary organisation that you are looking to be part of should have rigorous trustee recruitment processes that enable transparent conversations about whether your valuable skills are needed on their board (and if not right for them, they will more than likely know somewhere they will be), which of them you want to use, what you want to develop by being part of the board, and which of them you don’t… I’ve personally had trustees who really don’t want to be the designated X (insert profession – finance, PR, marketing etc) trustee precisely because that is their day job and actually, they want to bring/learn about something else. In that scenario you become the someone who knows someone so that it’s not you – in that moment, your recommendation or intro to someone else, becomes the most needed skill on the board… Certainly no imposters here!
However, let’s bring this back to situations of challenge, change or crisis and away from recruitment…
The Board is in place, quoracy achieved and a significant challenge or crisis raises its head –
How equipped is the Board to deal with it? Individuals have been recruited and following my advice above – they don’t want to use their professional skills, meaning the skills you need as a management team to support you and the organisation, aren’t there.
There’s 2 outcomes here:
- If the skills/experience aren’t to hand, how quickly can they be sought and have you planned for this – finance, strategy, public relations, human resources, legal, etc? If they are available in a timely manner – your board can still be effective.
- If not, when recruiting individual trustees, the bigger picture seems to have been missed – the overall board make-up isn’t effective or fit for purpose and now depending how imminent the challenge or crisis is, you have to scramble to find support elsewhere.
So, what can voluntary organisations do to prepare for these situations before they arise?
- Assess your current board – a skills audit is a wonderful thing and will often throw up all sorts of lived experience, skills, qualifications and interests you never knew you had sitting right in front of you. It will also identify the gaps and if you compare them with some standard scenarios, you will soon know what you may need to recruit specifically for.
- Review your trustee recruitment and induction processes – does it give you and your new trustees all the information needed to a) make an informed choice, and b) participate fully as a Board member without fear of contribution? Do you have clear role descriptions for all trustees? Are you using effective and open recruitment channels?
- Succession planning – do you have/adhere to terms of office as good governance suggests or some governing documents dictate, you should? When someone’s term is coming to an end, how will you recruit their successor? (Nb: perhaps controversial but I’m not entirely against someone suggesting their own successor, I’ve seen it done very well – but it must be done with high due diligence and involve both exec and non-exec people outside of the original relationship…)
There is so much to talk about when it comes to effective boards. Here I have chosen to focus on the series theme and shape thoughts around that. Ultimately, your board should be reflective of your organisation and your purpose – they should be able to make meaningful contributions, shape the strategy and direction of the organisation, constructively challenge the team and each other where needed, and ensure good governance. If you keep these things in mind, you won’t go far wrong.
This blog is the 2nd in a 6-part series on challenge and crisis – next time, we’ll focus on organisation values and the role they play in challenging situations, so watch this space and do get in touch if there are other topics you would like to see.
Hannah
