Board Member Orientation & Retention
Once you've recruited talented and passionate people to serve on your CHC's Board of Directors, you'll want to give them every tool they need to be successful and efficient in guiding the organization. The following tips and resources will help you prepare new members for their duties as Directors, and to make their experiences on your board as rewarding as possible.
Please click or scroll down for:
Orienting Board Members
Retaining Board Members
ORIENTING HEALTH CENTER BOARD MEMBERS
Orientation is vital!
All new board members should be oriented with a positive attitude and
clear expectations. An effective orientation will ensure new members are as
prepared as possible for their roles, and will incorporate a face-to-face
component as well as a notebook of important documents. This process should be
pre-planned and documented so everyone performing board member orientation
covers the same material.
The face-to-face portion of orientation might include:
- How
a non-profit board works, including the special characteristics of:
- A Community Health Center (see the About CHCs and CHC Terms & Acronyms pages for useful information)
- A Community Health Center's Board of Directors (see the Board Composition and Recruitment page for useful information)
- Non-profit governance (scroll down to the online orientation resources for a link to a searchable governance glossary)
- History of the organization
- Board responsibilities, including participation and attendance requirements (see the Board Roles and Responsibilities page for useful information)
- Organizational goals and update of current Strategic Plan
- Site visit, including a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Executive Director (ED) and Board President
- Introduction of new member at his or her first board meeting
- Time for a question-and-answer period
After the first orientation meeting, consider having someone make a follow-up phone call with an offer to answer any other questions.
The Board Member Notebook should include information about the organization, such as:
- Mission statement, vision statement, & values
- History/background
- Program information (services, activities, etc.)
- Articles of incorporation & bylaws
- Strategic plan
- Staff & board member directory
- Agendas & minutes (past 3-12 months)
- Budget & financial reports (current and past 2-3 months)
- Board meeting schedule/calendar
- List of current and planned board committees, with written descriptions
- Meeting rules (see the Effective Board Meetings page for useful information)
Click HERE for a sample Table of Contents for a Board of Directors Notebook.
Additional Online Board Orientation Resources:
Managementhelp.org
Free toolkit of articles
addressing board member orientation and training
Orienting and Training Board Members
Tips for orienting new
members to the board of directors
Orienting New Members to Boards of Directors
Nonprofit Good Practice Guide
Glossary of terms with a
brief description and cross-references
Glossary
RETAINING HEALTH CENTER BOARD MEMBERS
Retention Tips:
- Make sure board members know one another, know the management team, and know what is expected of them
- Get them involved quickly (signed up for a committee), but don't overextend the members
- Provide
targeted training & technical assistance regularly
- Might need to be individualized, based on member needs (e.g. communication skills, technical issues, the nature of health care and health centers, etc.)
- Group training could be some sort of continuing education at each board meeting (10-15 minutes), such as role playing, an expert/guest speaker, watching a video or webcast
- Consider hiring an experienced board trainer to provide guidance to the entire board on a regular basis
- Visit the Continuing Board Education page for useful training resources
- Involve them in special events; offer volunteer opportunities
- Incorporate term limits - so members know when they will complete their service to the organization
- Avoid micro-management
- Experienced board trainers can help prepare the board for possibly difficult transition periods. For example, the board of new start CHCs often has organizational management duties before the staff is hired; however, once the organization has hired personnel to take care of management, the board must transition to governance
Additional Online Board Retention Resources:
Agility Executive Search Blog
Article, 01/13/11:
The
Do’s and Don’ts of Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining an Excellent Board of
Directors
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Article, 07/17/03:
Advice
for Keeping Board Members Motivated Over the Long Haul
Article, 03/15/10:
Building
Better Relationships with Board Members
Governance Matters
Roundtable, 02/18/10;
Overview with notes and links to additional board-related resources
Recruiting,
Retaining the Right Board Members
GuideStar.org
Article, 09/07:
Top
Five Ways to Show Your Board That You Value Them
Article, 05/10:
10
Tips for Keeping Your Board Fired Up and in Action for the Cause
Article, 11/10:
Keeping
Your Board Engaged for Your Cause
Lifework Strategies
2010
CHAMPS/NWRPCA Annual Conference session presentation slides
Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Four Stages of Team or Group Development
Nonprofit Conversation
Article, 05/03/09:
Recruiting
and Retaining Board Members
