With pressure from shareholders and regulatory bodies, the agendas of board members are consistently jam-packed with to-dos. And so with the little time boards have, it’s crucial to be more efficient when it comes to delegating, completing and discussing. Therefore, high board engagement is especially important in order to run efficient and effective board meetings.
It is the board’s responsibility to elect competent and dedicated board members for the benefit of the organisation and the company team.
And so with that, this ebook will aim to explain some of the important characteristics of an ideal board member. BoardPro also understands that the initial excitement and engagement can fade after a board member settles in and gets comfortable with their role. So, this ebook will also suggest how a board can increase and maintain engagement from its board members.
How to elect your ideal board of directors
An efficient and effective board should include a mix of company executives, directors and sometimes external experts. The ideal board of directors should be interested in the top-level strategic duty, more so than the day-to-day operational activities within the business. Therefore, strong motivation to tackle strategic challenges is a must in a board director.
An ideal board of directors should also have a good understanding of the decision-making process. They should be productive facilitators who stimulate fruitful discussions. For example, effective board members encourage each other to explore various topics and ask probing questions in order to make comprehensive judgments and evaluations.
The goal is to have a board where members contribute their sound intellectual dexterity and cutting-edge leadership in good measure to the overall elevation of the organisation. And, with access to valuable resources, board members should bring these fruitful connections to contribute to the team, and ultimately the wellbeing of the organisation. This means that the role of strategic governance of board members is not for everyone.
How to engage your board members
Readiness
Participation
Accountability
Volunteering
Endorsement
Fundraising
Personal Contributions
As board members are often busy with other responsibilities outside of the board, it is important to engage everyone efficiently during the limited meeting times. We have pooled together our experiences to put together a list of seven key factors that result in heightened board member engagement.
1. Readiness
Today’s boards recognise the impact of a well-prepared board. Not only do they allow for more engaged board members, but they also lead to much more efficient board meetings.
Because it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the board’s responsibilities, each director should have sufficient time to prepare and understand the substance of the board report prior to meetings. Board members should be equipped with knowledge and insight prior to entering the meeting. That way, they can contribute insightful comments and recommendations during meetings. Without a sense of direction, meetings can centre around relatively less important financial and operational reports rather than the overarching strategy. Substantial amounts of money, time and effort are put into creating board packs that fall short. The first step to engaging board members is to fix these errors so your board members are ready for important meetings.
To ensure readiness for meetings, make sure that your board packs and reports are not making the following mistakes:
- Prioritising information over insight
- Reporting for the sake of it
- Too backward-looking
- Too long to read
- No clear sense of materiality
- No clear ask
- Not enough strategic discussion
Substantial amounts of money, time and effort are put into creating board packs that fall short. The first step to engaging board members is to fix these errors so your board members are ready for important meetings.
2. Participation
Attendance at board meetings is another important step towards achieving successful board engagement. Sounds obvious, but engagement is more than just physical (or virtual) presence.
Being mentally present at the meeting helps ensure all board members are engaged and aware of important discussions. It also demonstrates that the board members are actually invested in their responsibilities and value the company they work with.
With that said, some board members often don’t attend meetings or remain mentally present because of low motivation or extremely busy schedules. To combat these issues, boards can offer incentives to increase participation and engagement in board members.
BoardPro can help with this by aiding your board’s priority planning and agenda management and driving alignment across the board and leadership teams. With organised data, minutes and notes, board members can spend less time and effort on maintaining organisation and rely on a board portal’s simplicity instead.
3. Accountability
In corroborating board engagement, accountability can greatly improve participation and presence. When board members are assigned specific tasks, they are directly held accountable for their responsibilities.
One way to achieve accountability is to establish board committees. These committees can be for almost anything the board needs to address. Having committees can maximise a board’s efficiency, as they allow board members to spend the proper time required to research and dissect aspects of an issue, and it allows for broader participation of all board members.
Because all committees are assigned different tasks, board members will expect each other to complete their responsibilities in a timely manner so the following meetings can play out more efficiently. This in turn provides accountability and follow-through with responsibilities.
4. Volunteering
Board members who actively volunteer and participate in organisation events and activities outside of board meetings show that they are actively involved in and engaged with the organisation. They value the organisation’s mission, and they are going out of their way to support the organisation.
Apart from traditional methods of volunteering, such as serving food at events or ushering guests to their appropriate seats, volunteering can also include providing pro-bono services and leveraging their networks.
Offering to teach and improve the skills of others based on one’s strengths is a great way to help improve board engagement and bolster a sense of connection within the board.
Leveraging one another’s networks and offering to help the organisation with this network can also show that a board member genuinely cares about the organisation and wants to improve the organisation.
Of course, volunteering is not mandatory for board members, but it is definitely a great and selfless way to drive growth in the organisation.
5. Endorsement
Another way for board members to be engaged with the board and the greater organisation is to act as advocates and endorsers of the organisation. Endorsement portrays a certain level of excitement and care for and engagement within the organisation.
Make sure your board members truly resonate with the organisation’s values and mission. Without intrinsic motivation to do so, board members will have trouble speaking for a company they do not relate to and connect with.
To help with monitoring advocacy and endorsement, a board and director endorsement review scheme each year can help develop this aspect. This way, boards can more easily infer how much and how often their board members are endorsing their organisation.
6. Fundraising
Ultimately, another goal for boards is to raise funds and attract funders for the organisation.
Coming up with strategic ways to raise funds together can be a way to encourage engagement. It can be new and exciting for board members, as it can be a change of scenery from regular board meetings.
In addition, with virtual meetings becoming more and more popular in the midst of the pandemic, it is now much easier to communicate with investors across the country and globe. Board members can also leverage their network and bridge the organisation with their connections – a way of volunteering as mentioned in point four.
7. Personal Contributions
While personal financial investments and contributions aren’t always required, this is another way board members can demonstrate their engagement and involvement with the board and the organisation.
If board members are in a position to invest and make personal contributions, then it would show that they are engaged and interested in growing the organisation and that they value the mission and vision of the organisation.
One way to incentivise board members to make personal financial contributions is to keep a record of members’ investments. This can show how much difference they are making to the board and the organisation and instil a sense of pride in the members.
Of course, not all board members may have the means to contribute financially to the organisation. In that case, it would be unreasonable to expect investments from these board members. In this case, personal contributions outside of basic responsibilities like time, effort and skills are also a great way to contribute to the organisation.
Conclusion
When selecting board members, it is important to choose candidates that are passionate about the values of the organisation and are willing to dedicate time, effort, energy and even money to the benefit and growth of the organisation.
Not only that, but these board members should understand the decision-making process extremely well and approach board meetings with a curious and open perspective.
After selecting an ideal and diverse board, encouraging and measuring board engagement can be highly beneficial to the effectiveness and efficiency of the board’s operations. Engaged board members will put in extra time and effort to help the organisation grow – their actions should show that they resonate with the mission and values of the organisation.
It takes time and careful planning and organisation to ensure an engaged and effective board. Of course, BoardPro can help streamline the process of helping board members prepare for board meetings and manage their data and communications. With this article in hand, go on and improve your board engagement to help your organisation develop!
One way to incentivise board members to make personal financial contributions is to keep a record of members’ investments. This can show how much difference they are making to the board and the organisation and instil a sense of pride in the members.
Of course, not all board members may have the means to contribute financially to the organisation. In that case, it would be unreasonable to expect investments from these board members. In this case, personal contributions outside of basic responsibilities like time, effort and skills are also a great way to contribute to the organisation.
If you're looking for a tool to streamline your Board processes, check out BoardPro - an all-in-one software solution designed specifically for Boards and busy CEOs!
Schedule a demo with our team today and begin to experience a whole new way of meeting.
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