Board evaluation forms a part of an underpinning governance process for which we use the acronym BREAD! That is:
Board;
Recruitment;
Evaluation;
And
Development.
The board, its composition and evaluation of performance is central to excellent governance. The evaluation component of this process is there to ensure that four key objectives are met:
- Board members views are sought on where they feel they have knowledge gaps and how these can be filled;
- How the Board works collectively. A Board of individual great people does not necessarily make a great Board;
- Determining if there are any barriers to performing well and how these might be removed;
- Establishing the basis of any future recruitment to ensure that the Board has the right balance of skills to fulfill its obligations.
There is an increased focus on Board performance, particularly on those organisations operating in regulated sectors, with many regulators now insisting that a regular evaluation is carried out.
We assist clients with Board evaluation in a number of ways:
- Design questionnaires using a pool of questions we have developed and provide access to participants through our online portal;
- Support Chairs in facilitating 1-2-1 interviews with evaluation participants;
- Undertake training needs assessments;
- Operate an end to end evaluation and development process;
- Develop and operate a Board induction process.