Next steps – how to get your board on the path to excellence

An honest and thorough appraisal of how the board is doing is a great starting point. The questions posed in chapter three and the test at chapter four should give you a good idea of how well the board is performing now and where the weaknesses lie. But what do you do next?

In our experience the issues you will want to tackle fall into a few categories. These are set out below with examples of how other organisations have dealt with these. No problem is hopeless – someone, somewhere, will already have solved it. Facing up to the issue is more than half the battle.

Problem – lack of knowledge: we don’t know enough about the things that matter on the board

  • Undertake an audit of the training required individually and collectively (is it about policy, the law, finance, housing management, customer care, asset management, human resources and team work?)
  • Commission a training programme (ask other organisations about who does this well)
  • Make sure everyone attends
  • Assess the effectiveness of the training (has it led to better decision making?).

Problem – lack of skills: we don’t have the right people on the board

  • Identify the skills you lack (eg, finance, regeneration and asset management)
  • Recruit into these gaps (talk to other organisations about how they did this – you might need to open up the debate on paying board members).

Problem – behaviour: board and executives need to conduct themselves better individually and collectively

  • Once the problem is acknowledged an independent expert can be asked to observe meetings, interview individuals and make recommendations for rectification.

Problem – weak structure: it could be too cumbersome or it may be out of step with today’s challenges

  • Review the structure – talk to other organisations who have done this – find out what worked for them
  • Fix ground rules at the start – often organisations set out to save money and time, but end up doing the opposite.

Problem – problems with finance and/or role: is the money running out? Are services relevant?

  • If the current business plan is inadequate (as is frequently the case for stand-alone LSVTs) or out of date (as for some care organisations with Supporting People and ALMOs after Decent Homes), it is time for an option review. Your issues will not be completely unique – talk to others that have commissioned these studies. Don’t leave it too late.

Problem – the chair and/or chief executive need to go – the hardest challenge of all

  • This is the acid test of governance. It’s straightforward when they call time on themselves. Of course it is difficult when they don’t see the problem and won’t budge. This is one occasion when outside advice is needed. A well-run programme of annual appraisals can prevent this conflict arising in the first place.

It has become common for boards to commission independent governance reviews which tackle the issues specific to their organisation. Where these are genuinely challenging and from an informed standpoint they can work well. Much depends on the willingness and capacity of boards and executives to change. Ideally, the board should take a leading role in specifying the remit of the governance review, selecting the advisors and agreeing the recommendations. The issues you identify through using the toolkit will make it easier for you to assess what is working well and what needs to be changed at your organisation.