Strengthening your governing body

How to recruit effective governors by Nick Sladden

Recruiting new governors is a proven method of correcting any known weaknesses in the expertise of the board as a whole and has the additional benefit of enhancing what is already there. Hiring new governors can be the result of a “skills audit” that would have identified the skills and experience required to bring the governing body to its full potential.

On occasion, schools may need to consider factors in addition to the recruitment needs of the governing body alone. Many schools have subsidiary companies undertaking trading activities to ensure compliance with charity law and taxation rules. In these situations a good governance approach is to appoint at least one person to be a director of the trading subsidiary, who is not a governor of the school to help to ensure that each entity is provided with an individual who can be truly independent in their decision-making.

Having a clear understanding of the skills and experience needed is the first stage of recruitment and it is best practice to turn these requirements into a short job description. Some schools prefer the term “role description” rather than “job description” to more accurately reflect the level of remuneration involved.

Outline the roles
Role descriptions are helpful because they help to forewarn prospective governors of the school’s expectations and the ongoing commitment. Two essential words that have so far been missing from this article are “time” and “energy”. Despite predictions made in the 1980s, when it was thought that people would have more leisure time, the reverse seems to be the case. Therefore, schools cannot afford to recruit governors who do not appreciate the commitment involved or treat their position as purely honorary. However, it is worth the effort to accommodate and support the needs of busy people as they are often the ones who provide the best skills or experience.

Being flexible by arranging board meetings at convenient times and days of the week, meeting travel costs (if permitted) and providing allowances for childcare, all may help in persuading the right people that they will be able to contribute to the required degree. Energy and enthusiasm in potential candidates is not something that can be achieved with the help of the school. In many ways, it is the individual’s level of self-motivation and enthusiasm that may help to define successful candidates.

Different approaches
At the outset, it is important that the board appreciates that, although certain tasks in the recruitment process can be delegated to staff, the governors must retain overall control of the recruitment process. The type of process used will depend on the size and structure of the school. Generally, smaller prep schools are going to require a relatively straightforward recruitment process with individual governors taking on the responsibility. Larger senior schools may aim to be more formal and establish a nominations committee.

Currently, there are over a million people in the UK who are either governors of independent schools or trustees of charities. Consequently, finding good-calibre candidates with sufficient time available to volunteer is not going to be easy. Traditionally, appointments to governing bodies have been via word of mouth; research shows that this is still one of the most favoured approaches. However, the Charity Commission’s preferred method is through advertising as this provides a greater range of candidates with a wider array of skills and experience.

The concern is that too many charities are placing too much reliance on recruitment methods that are narrower and more passive than they could and should be. Most schools are unlikely to require the national press to advertise for new governors, which is fortunate given that cost can be prohibitive. Instead, school newsletters, alumni, local noticeboards, the school’s website, parents’ groups and the local press are likely to be good sources for advertising vacancies. Frequently, a skills audit will have identified a need for specialist skills and, in these situations, it may be appropriate to advertise for new governors in specialist press publications or trade journals as a way of improving the probability of finding the right candidate with the right skills. Given charity law restrictions, it is generally sensible to steer clear of using existing employees as a potential pool of governors.

Occasionally, the needs of a school cannot be met through advertising alone. In such cases, registers of potential trustees (governors) are maintained by organisations such as the Trustee Brokerage Network (operated by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations) and the Ethnic Minority Foundation. Online matching services are also available through www.do-it.org.uk

Making the numbers
These methods should provide enough candidates to arrive at a suitable shortlist for interviews. There are three golden rules for the interview process: keep the panel small (to be effective), ask similar questions to each candidate (to ensure fairness) and retain notes (for accountability). If the panel is able to appoint, then it should be remembered that unsuccessful candidates should be notified in good time and thanked for their interest. Do not forget that for some candidates this may be their only opportunity to gain an impression about the school and it is best to make the experience a positive one.

But what if the process fails? The answer could be that there are alternatives to recruiting a governor, including arranging formal training for existing governors to cover any identified weaknesses, buying-in any missing expertise or co-opting individuals with specific skills on to sub-committees. Otherwise the search will need to continue.

Nick Sladden is a partner in Baker Tilly and is head of the Charities and Education Group in the South.

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