Developing Board Members
A Key To Organization Success
Most certification and association executives recognize that having committed, knowledgeable and dedicated members of the board of directors is essential to the success of the organization. How to get those members, and keep them interested and motivated is often another question!
With more than 20 years of experience in association and certification management, AMP has developed some tools that we have found useful in building effective organization boards. Among these, we have developed programs for orientation and mentoring of new board members, which may be helpful to others seeking to strengthen their organizations.
Because volunteer service on a busy professional board is a complicated process, AMP/MS, the management services division of AMP, recognized the need to provide newly appointed board members with a way to "hit the ground running." The orientation program was initiated for this purpose and typically requires a one-day training session that all new board members must attend. During the program, the organization's president, chief executive officer and executive director present information to the new board members ranging from the basics of expected behavior to the complex responsibilities of financial management.
Orientation should be held separate from regular meetings of the board, so distractions are kept to a minimum. The purpose is to focus the attention of the new members on their responsibilities and the expectations of the organization that they will fulfill them. Making these expectations clear is important, for all of us are likely familiar with board members who may only partially fulfill their duties and who take a "laid-back" view of their obligations as volunteers. Honest discussion of expectations and organizational standards is critical to the orientation process. Similarly, the fiduciary responsibilities of board members are clearly defined, along with the duties of "loyalty" and "care," which members of all voluntary boards owe to their organizations. Administrative matters, such as the organization's chain of command and financial reimbursement policies, are also covered during the orientation.
Quality only happens when you care enough to do your best. Once a new member has completed the formal orientation program, the mentoring program comes into play. Whereas the orientation program is intense and rapidly delivered, the mentoring program is designed to reinforce the information provided at orientation and provide a contact to answer ongoing questions the new member will face. The president or executive director typically appoints a mentor from among the senior members of the board to help guide the new member for the first two years of service. The mentor's responsibilities flow in two directions: to the new member and to the president. That is, part of the program requires the mentor to contact the new member at least once every six months to determine how things are going and to ask if there are any questions or needs on the part of the new member. At the same time, the mentor is expected to report to the president at least once every six months to relay how the new member appears to be functioning and to discuss if there is a need for any additional training or communication.
While it is impossible to convey all aspects of the AMP/MS orientation and mentoring programs in a short article, it is easy to state that these programs work. For example, new members of the National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc. (NBRC) have been surveyed regarding their opinions about these programs, and there is unanimous agreement that they have helped new individuals become productive members of the board in shorter times than would otherwise have been possible.
AMP is always pleased to share its experience in certification and association management with its measurement and management clients. Copies of the policy documents governing the orientation and mentoring programs of the NBRC are available by contacting AMP. In addition, at the September 13, 2002, meeting of CLEAR, AMP President Gary A. Smith and Past President Steven K. Bryant, PhD, presented a workshop on this topic and discussed in more detail the merits of having formal organization orientation and mentoring programs.