Recruiting Trustees' Recruit in haste and repent at leisure' Why an opportunity can so easily turn o

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Recruiting Trustees. Recruit in haste and repent
at leisure.Why an opportunity can so easily turn
out to be a disaster and how to avoid it.-
Hamish Davidson, Chairman- David Fielding MBE,
Partner
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Workshop Outline
This session is designed to point out the major
pitfalls of trustee recruitment, how to avoid
them and how to assemble a functional team. In
other words, build a board whom you can look
forward to working with - rather than get
stressed over.
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So, in preparing, why and how does it go wrong so
often?
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Preparation (1)

• Racing into recruitment
• Not re-visiting the specs just dusting off the
  last ones used
• Specs over-engineered too many requirements
• Linear thinking about the Board rather than Team
  Diversity thinking

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Preparation (2)

• Not everyone has to meet every criteria it is
  the totality of criteria, across the board that
  matters most
• Specs typically make it impossible for younger
  candidates to apply
• Demanding too much time commitment
• Not seeing recruitment at this level as a PR /
  Reputation building opportunity for the
  organisation impact of poor materials

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Preparation (3)

• Seeing the ad, if used, as a place to detail role
  to death rather than sell concept of the role and
  values of the organisation
• This is all too costly and we cant afford it
• Lack of honesty re issues in organisation or
  obligations of role

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So, what are the things you can do to improve
this ?
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Preparation (1)

• Long term planning
• Staggering of new appointments and
  re-appointments
• Annual board assessment
• Away days/group bonding
• Open specifications have the potential to

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Preparation (2)

• Clarity about the role, responsibilities and time
  commitment
• Honesty about the challenges and direction of
  travel
• Using this process as a way of promoting your
  organisation
• Selling the concept and impact of your Charity
  rather than the detail of the role
• On-line presence

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So, why and how does the process go wrong so
often?
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Process (1)

• Too little or no objective assessment or
  appraisal
• Poor applications/great candidates great
  applications/awful candidates
• Assumption that senior people will not go through
  interviews
• Not enough involvement/engagement from Chair and
  other stakeholders

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Process (2)

• Poor candidate care and alienating key
  influencers
• Wittingly or unwittingly discriminating and
  excluding certain kinds of candidates
• Handling of candidate enquiries
• Demanding too much in the way of candidates
  application materials

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Process (3)

• Poor e-application mechanisms
• Hard copy application forms that mean candidates
  have to resort to handwriting
• You are not obliged to advertise trouble is so
  often, when there is no advertising, there is an
  assumption that it is the same kinds of people
  who have been tapped on the shoulder

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So, what are the things you can do to improve
this ?
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Process (1)

• Treat all candidates like valued stakeholders
• Validation through some form of objective
  assessment
• Formal and informal stages, this is a 2 way
  process
• Chair needs to be engaged with other key trustees

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Process (2)

• Handling of queries, contact points and numbers
• Transparency about the stages and timetable
• Being sensible about the materials a candidate
  has to produce
• CV and covering letter

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So, why and how does the interview and decision
making process go wrong so often?
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Interviews decision making (1)

• Failing to remember its a two way process
• Undue rigidity of interview process and timetable
• Forgetting that one is appointing a team
• The importance of informal meets between Chair
  and candidates

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Interviews decision making (2)

• Obsessing on whether one likes candidates, as
  opposed to the more important criteria of can you
  trust and respect them
• Failure to focus on generating sufficient range
  of strong candidates such that you feel you have
  a real choice, but not so many strong candidates
  that they feel it is now a lottery

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Interviews decision making (3)

• Undue influence of referencing
• Danger of the portfolio career candidate who has
  not yet got that last, one big job out of their
  system and may not understand the difference
  between being executive and non-executive
• Obsessing on people only with direct personal
  experience

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So, what are the things you can do to improve
this ?
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Interviews decision making (1)

• Its a 2 way process, time for questions both
  ways
• Probe into areas rather than sticking to a ridged
  list of questions
• Common themes yes, but questions can and should
  vary per candidate
• Think in terms of overall team fit not just if
  you like them

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Interviews decision making (2)

• Formal and informal stages are important
• Verbal references are OK but take a measured view
  about them
• Look for links and empathy with the cause but
  dont reject because they are not insiders
• Test that they understand this is a Non Exec role
  not an Exec role
• Weaknesses can be addressed

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So, why and how does it still go wrong, once you
have made a decision ?
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Post-decision making (1)

• Not insisting that the person appointed gets
  feedback
• Not harnessing and using that feedback
• Not setting up an induction programme/mentors/budd
  ies etc

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Post-decision making (2)

• Not setting up a performance appraisal mechanism
• Not absorbing feedback on the organisation gained
  from the overall recruitment process

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So, what are the things you can do to improve
this ?
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Post-decision making

• Honest face to face feedback for all candidates
• Planned induction involving Trustees and staff
• On-going feedback
• Wherever possible, bring new trustees on at the
  same time
• Reflecting on what has been learned

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Does all the above mean you need to use a firm of
recruiters/headhunters?

• No not at all
• Our main point is it neednt be this way

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If you do one thing only

• build in some independent challenge and
  critique from someone/anyone whom you respect to
  comment on what you are about to look for and how
  you are about to look for it.

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Observations/Comments
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Good hunting

• Hamish Davidson
• hamish.davidson_at_rockpools.co.uk
• David Fielding
• david.fielding_at_rockpools.co.uk