Conduct a board review to get an overview of your board's health

It’s often easier for someone to see the ‘obvious’ when looking from an external point of view. That’s why the common practice for a board review is to conduct a two or three yearly independent externally facilitated board assessment. This works in hand by subsequent annual internal reviews that focus on the extent of improvements achieved in relation to the key findings by the independently facilitated external review.

The external review will normally involve the following steps conducted by a Board Advisory Partner or similarly qualified professional:

• Directors, and executives that regularly attend board meetings, complete a validated, benchmarked Board Effectiveness Survey
• The Board Advisory Partner synthesises the results of the surveys into the three to five main areas for improvement and writes a detailed report setting out their findings and recommendations
• The Chair is debriefed separately on the results of the benchmarked survey and the findings and recommendations included in the report, prior to a similar debrief of the whole board
• Depending upon the findings and recommendations, subsequent workshops or action planning sessions might be organised to assist the board understand the hot spots and agree upon the improvement initiatives that will be put in place.

Whether it be paper, Excel or a templated survey service our experience shows that most boards conduct some form of internal review between their two to three yearly external review. However, using these methods – candid and objective responses are hard to find.

Thankfully there is no need to conduct another cumbersome and less meaningful internal review. Board Surveys has created a survey that is self-managed, affordable, validated and world-class. It not only delivers deeper insights, but benchmarks your board against boards of similar organisations in a streamlined process that you are in control of.