Board Meetings & Recruitment

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Practical guide Board Meetings & Recruitment How does a board review itself?

How does a board review itself?

It’s helpful for a board to review itself at regular intervals (depending on the size and type of the organisation), either through questionnaires or individual interviews. It should be a constructive process that looks at each board member, the chair and the board as a whole.
Interviews can be done by the chair (who themselves should be interviewed by another board member) or by pairings of board members, asking each other a set of questions. Senior staff should may also be involved in the process. The views of service users, beneficiaries and other key stakeholders may be important too.
It may be as simple as a handful of carefully chosen open ended questions from the chair to each board members such as: a) What do you like about this organisation and being a board member? b) What don’t you like or frustrates you about it? c) Are we asking you to help and contribute in the right way? d) Are there issues you’ve wanted to raise or questions you’ve wanted to ask but a board meeting wasn’t the right place? e) What do you think I could be doing better or differently as chair?
Or you can choose a much wider review of all aspects of the board’s performance with a scope that also highlights particular areas of strategic importance as appropriate.
Board communication, dynamics and effectiveness are central points of evaluation but don’t forget equally important areas such as diversity and succession planning.
Look outwards as well as inwards. The Charity Governance Code suggests that a board regularly finds opportunities to refresh and update its understanding of the wider context within which charities operate. It should be focussed on issues that are of most importance to the organisation.
Do you collectively have the right mix of skills, knowledge and experience for your organisation’s operating environment?
You can also opt for an independent third party external reviewer. If you do, carefully consider the reviewer’s, independence, methodology, track record, reputation, references and the extent to which their experience aligns with what your organisation is set up to do.
Some not-for-profit organisations may be required to report or disclose information about internal or external board performance reviews (for example, by funders or regulators), or they may choose to do so in the interest of governance transparency.
Record, summarise feedback and act on the findings of your review. A robust review process and a willingness to continually improve is likely to build credibility amongst your staff, volunteers, beneficiaries or other stakeholders.

Related resources

Charity governance, finance and resilience: 15 questions trustees should ask

The Charity Commission has designed these 15 questions to help charity trustees carry out a review of the charity's plans and decide what they need to focus on. Published: March 2017.

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The AIM hallmarks of prospering museums

A framework bringing together the key characteristics helping heritage organisations prosper and thrive. Published: March 2018.

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Culture Change Toolkit: How to find and grow diverse talent

Growing the cultural sector is, in part, dependent upon changing the perception of the sector and making entry to it more transparent to individuals while removing practices that are not inclusive. It’s not about doing everything but doing what is achievable for your organisation. Published: 2017.

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