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As board work has evolved in the digital age , board governance has become more complex . Today ’ s governance professionals now fill an essential strategic role within organizations , providing the skills and dedication needed to support boards and other company leadership in pursuit of governance excellence . In fact , without the support of these key players , boards would struggle to keep pace .
While non-profit boards have always depended on an individual board member – traditionally with the title of ‘ board secretary ’ or ‘ board administrator ’ – to plan , keep track of meetings , capture key points of discussion and assist other board members , this governance professional now has additional considerations to contend with .
Board governance today requires those charged with this duty to not only keep pace with an escalating amount of news , risks and opportunities that constantly stream in , but then to effectively share this intel across the entire board and organization . Wearing a wide range of hats , modern-day governance professionals help boards to :
• Source key insights and analytics to inform board decisions
• Enable team-building efforts among board directors
• Facilitate strong communications and strategic partnerships between senior managers and board directors
Next , since an educated board is a higher-performing board , governance professionals need to develop an ongoing , organized system for board-member development . This helps to ensure that directors participate in continuous learning that keeps them current on key industry issues .
Finally , board chairs and CEOs also rely on the designated governance professional to keep an ‘ ear to the ground ’ on issues and events in the organization so that board members are not caught unaware . This means governance professionals must also have a way to stay on top of and distribute organizational insider insights .
Rita Auritt , Senior Governance Advisor at BoardEffect
Read on to diagnose how well your organization stacks up against the new standard of excellence required in relation to governance professionals ’ core responsibilities of board education , board meetings and practices , and communications and relationships – and learn how technology tools can help bridge the gap if you identify shortfalls .
Board education
Governance professionals need to get new directors off to the right start while also ensuring the ongoing development and education about industry and company issues .
Essential technology tools have become critical to the work of governance professionals .
Essential technology tools have become critical to the work of governance professionals , enabling their success in each of the three key roles pertaining to board education . The technology best practice in this arena should involve providing key documents and materials for education and onboarding .
The first point generally involves board member orientation via development of a structured orientation process that incorporates training and knowledgebuilding about industry trends and issues , good governance practices and information about the larger organization .
Ideally , an organization should be able to complete orientation and training via a platform that allows the governance professional to send one message to direct new board members into the platformeliminating the need to communicate back and forth throughout the process . The platform should also allow
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