Evaluating diversity success
Boards need a way to make sure their diversity efforts are working. The original diversity strategy should include clearly defined criteria that can be used to measure how successful the scheme has been (see Creating a diversity strategy). It should also set a schedule for review and provide details as to how the assessment should be done.
When that time comes, the board needs to set aside meeting time or plan an away day to revisit diversity and establish whether goals have been met: Has the board successfully changed its composition? What effect has this had on board policy, programmes and the organisation overall? Boards who have worked with a diversity consultant may schedule a follow-up session to carry out the evaluation.
A good evaluation process should do more than just count the number of minority trustees around the table. It should capture the organisation’s experience so far, highlight what has been learned and point out problems. Some consultation with staff and stakeholders may provide valuable input. Boards should be prepared to learn from their mistakes—and to persist: it takes time to bring change. The evaluation’s findings should feed into a new action plan for the board, informing a new set of criteria for measuring effectiveness in the next stage of the diversification process.
Planning for transience
A healthy board is a dynamic board with enough changeover among trustees to keep the group fresh and the new ideas coming in. Good systems for trustee recruitment, selection, induction and training all help make bringing new members onto the board a matter of course. Term limits for all trustees mean that tenure is straightforward and that trustees don’t become entrenched or burnt out.
However, boards face special challenges when they recruit trustees from certain groups. Young trustees or those living in unstable circumstances, such as refugees, may need to move on before their time is up. Trustees suffering from medical conditions may need to take time out for treatment or retire from the board if their health suddenly worsens.
Rather than excluding trustees who may have to go sooner rather than later, boards need to accept their individual circumstances and try to meet their needs.
- Use the experience of other organisations to try to identify patterns among different groups.
- Adapt recruitment and training systems to respond to individual situations.
- Step up recruitment efforts to create a larger pool of candidates to take the place of those leaving the board.
- Make allowances for “time out” that permits trustees to return to board service after an agreed period of inactivity.
Good goodbyes
Boards can learn a great deal from trustees who are on their way out. This is especially true when the departing trustee is one the organisation recruited as part of a move toward diversity. These people will have valuable insights into the experience of serving as a minority trustee on your board. You need to capture this information and feed it back into your diversity strategy.
It is a good practice to meet with all exiting trustees for a final interview. The Chair is the obvious choice to carry out this task, but another responsible trustee can also perform it.
- The interview should be confidential and its aim should be hearing what the trustee has to say, not telling him or her what the organisation thinks.
- Find out why the trustee is leaving and ask his or her view of board service.
- Ask what could be done to better support trustees in the future.
- Finally, whatever has happened, don’t forget to thank the trustee for his or her contribution. Try to end on a positive note.