4 Way to Increase Board Productivity

Boards are typically governed by the bylaws of the association. This allows for clear guidelines when it comes to decision making and levels of authority. Many bylaws, however, are often outdated or not followed closely. If this is the case, it is time to make some updates. Consider the following suggestions to improve your bylaws making the roles and governance of your board clear.

1.     Accurate job descriptions.

If you don’t have job descriptions for the officer roles, start there. Include anything that is a regular part of the job. If you do have descriptions, have each officer read over them and think of anything that is not currently listed. Duties might have shifted over the years and that is fine as long as it is reflected in the bylaws.

2.     On-boarding process.

New officers should review their position before committing to it. They should be completely aware of what they are getting themselves into.

3.     Continuous review.

If the task of reviewing the bylaws is daunting because there are so many changes that need to be made, it might be smart to include that review annually as one of the officer roles. This will ensure that any changes to the role are remembered and included from the previous year.

4.     Include clear guidelines for decision making.

The bylaws should clearly state who reports to whom, who has the authority to make financial decisions, and who can hire or fire contracted employees. This keeps things from getting sticky down the line and allows everyone to know their place.

Once all of your changes have been made and descriptions clarified, you simply need to follow the guidelines that you laid out for yourselves. Sticking to the bylaws ensures that everything is run as it should be eliminating confusion and mistakes

What to Look for in Your Next Board Member

A board can make or break the direction and success of the organization. This makes it crucial to find the right people for the job. Your current board members should spend some time creating a list of traits that the person should possess before making any rash decisions. We have listed a few traits that we think make for great board members below!

1.     Passion. If someone is volunteering to do something in their free time, they need to have a passion for it. If they don’t, it will show and they will be less likely to remain involved. They need to see their volunteer position as something they cannot let people down on.

2.     Communication.  As a board member, you will be communicating with members and other board members. The new member needs to be someone who can express themselves clearly and knows when to speak up during board meetings to voice their opinions. This person might also find themselves in the position of recruiting new members and needs to have their communication skills down pat.

3.     Responsible. The new board member needs to be someone that the whole group can depend on. You do not want to assign something to someone at a board meeting and find out a month later that no work has been done on this project.

4.     Fundraising Skills. Whether or not your nonprofit takes donations, it is not bad to have someone in the group with a fundraising background. This type of person can really sell your organization to potential members or increase your event attendance helping to grow the association.

5.     Respectful. Although your group wants someone who speaks their mind, it is important to look for someone who does so respectfully. If a board member is always interrupting others, shooting down every idea, or has a negative mindset about the organization as a whole, they are not the right person for the job. This kind of negativity can distract the whole board and lead to less productive meetings.

6.     Financial Background. Having a financial background is not a necessary skill for a board member but it sure does help to have! There should always be 1-2 people on the board that could manage financials if necessary. This keeps things running smoothly and ensures everything concerning money is done accurately.

7.     Ready to Learn. Look for someone who asks a lot of questions about the potential position. This is a good sign that they are willing to learn and catch up on the past work of the organization.

Sitting down to really plan out what your board needs before bringing someone new in to the mix can help to ensure a long lasting board member. Making sure you find the right fit is more important than just filling the spot as quickly as possible.

A Dig Through your Association’s History

Almost every association has some sort of archive system for their old files and records. This archive is probably filled with minutes leading back to the start or the organization and other files that someone in history thought would be important one day. Everything in that archive is something that someone saw value in. This is important to keep in mind when both choosing what to put in the archive and utilizing it.

If your association is at a crossroads on membership growth, comb through some of the old minutes and see what has been tried before. Did any of those attempts work? If so, apply them to today and give them a try. If not, you know not to waste your time on that option.

Historical records can also be a resource for your members. There could be useful tools or processes documented in the archive that your members might find value in. With that being said, the records need to be accessible for members. Create a tab under the members-only section on your website to store these documents. Once you have made them accessible, you also need to make sure that members know what all they have access to. They will never dig through there if they don’t know what they are looking for. Give them some information on what is in there and where to find it.

Digging through your organization’s history can teach you a lot about how everything came to be what it is today. Take the time to do so and you might be able to add some value you to the group.

Board Member On-Boarding

When your term comes to an end, you might be ready to fly out the door and never look back. This, however, can be a significant setback for your remaining and new board members.

Instead of leaving the person taking over your position to fend for themselves and spending their time digging for information, lay it out for them! As a board, you should work to develop a set process for the transition. We have provided some examples below but be sure to personalize it to your board.

One-on-One Meeting. Around 2-3 months before your transition takes place, invite the future board member to get coffee or lunch. Spend this time to touch on everything you do in your role, old business that is left undone, and future initiatives that the board has mentioned tackling at some point. Be candid and share what the dynamic of the board is like in order to help them better understand what they are walking into. Leave time for questions and let them know you will be available for any other questions over the next couple of months.

Blending of Old and New. Plan a time for the whole group to get together. We suggest hosting a “Board 101” session that explains the basics of the organization including bylaws, specifics of each role, and anything else specific to your board. After this, have the current and future board members attend either a board meeting and/or a social outing. Let them have time to get to know one another and who they will be working with. This will make them more comfortable throwing in suggestions and voicing their opinion when they are officially on the board.

Check-In. Once the new board member has taken on their position, check back in with them. See if they have any further questions or concerns. If there is anything that you forgot to mention to them before their transition, suggest that they add it to the notes for the next transition.

Having a system in place for board transitions will make everyone feel more comfortable about the roles they are taking on and giving up. It will keep the organization from hitting a bump every time the board transitions.

In Business Keynote and Expo Review

On October 16th, In Business held their 9th Annual Expo and Conference with a keynote provided by Dennis Snow, a customer service expert and veteran of Disney.

Dennis spoke at length about customer loyalty and what businesses can do to inspire this in their customers. Walking through examples that he had seen throughout his career, Dennis made the case that there are three things all businesses should be doing that will enable them to capture this elusive, but vital gift from their customers.

During a poignant portion of the keynote, Dennis asked the audience what those who had been to Disney remembered about their experience. Many attendees shouted out things like customer service or cleanliness of the parks, but no one said the rides, which is arguably why anyone would go to Disney in the first place! Dennis explained that the reason no one mentions the rides at Disney is because Disney has succeeded at providing an experience for their customers, where their visits to any Disney theme park is about so much more than the rides.

So how can businesses and associations encourage loyalty in their customers? Dennis believes that all businesses should:

Look at everything through the lens of the customer – when a business or association is evaluating their processes, instead of focusing on what the business is doing at any step in the process, they should really be asking themselves what does the customer see during this step in the process, and how can we move that experience from mediocre to exceptional.

Pay attention to the details, because everything speaks – businesses or associations should be looking at all the interactions with their customers and removing the distractors that would take away from the customer’s experience. Dennis gave an example of the trash at Disney and how a part of the Disney culture is that all cast members are responsible for keeping the parks clean, regardless of if they are a maintenance worker or VP for the company.

Create moments of wow – businesses or associations should be constantly thinking of little things that will make a customer say “wow.” It’s important to look at both big and small things, because it could be the combination of multiple small “wows” that inspire customer loyalty.