In my work with nonprofit leaders, we almost always discuss issues they experience with the board at some point. 

This is true not just when I’m doing a board recruitment, board development, or annual retreat project. Board issues almost always comes up as in coaching nonprofit executive directors, strategic planning engagements, and executive transitions. 

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to read a recent Stanford Business School survey of 924 nonprofit leaders that found some troubling facts about boards:

• • 27% of board members don’t understand their organization’s mission or strategy
  • 65% of directors believe their board members aren’t very experienced in this role
  • Over half the boards surveyed have a clique within their boards that have a disproportionate influence over board decisions
  • 69% of respondents faced at least one serious governance-related issue in the past 10 years

While all problems related with the begin with recruitment, nearly every problem you experience with a board can be prevented through an appropriate onboarding and orientation process (we’ll cover recruitment in another blog post). 

In this blog post, I will:

• • Offer the true purpose of board onboarding (it’s more than what you think)
  • Outline our revolutionary onboarding process 
  • Explain why your board should have a multi-step onboarding process before candidates are appointed to your board

Inform, Inspire, Initiate

Barely half of all boards have a formal onboarding process for new members, and half of those who participated in onboarding felt it prepared them for board service! (see Heidrick & Struggles report) In other words, only 25% of new board members felt that they were given the experiences, training, and connections necessary to be a good board member!

In designing your organization’s onboarding process, you want to ensure it will inform, inspire, and initiate new Board members. 

Inform

We need to give new board members the information they need to govern the organization. At a minimum, this includes providing detailed information on the following:

• • The by-laws
  • Board policies and procedures
  • Expectations of board service
  • Committee descriptions, roles, and responsibilities
  • Meeting schedule
  • Organizational history
  • Finances
  • Fundraising strategy
  • Staff and board structures / organization charts

The vast majority of onboarding processes focus solely on informing new board members, and often don’t cover each of the items above. And this orientation process often completed in a single session that lasts 3 to 5 hours, during which new board members are subjected to a series of presentations and manuals. This “fire hose” approach to onboarding is one-direction communication that leaves little opportunity for interaction and hands-on learning (most of us are not classroom learners anymore). 

As a result, most of our board members walk away from the fire hose orientation feeling numb and having less enthusiasm for the organization and its mission. That’s why we’ll discuss the importance of structuring an onboarding that  inspires and initiates new board members as well. 

Inspire

Everything we do in orientation needs to inspire new board members (while also educating them and preparing them for leadership service).  This includes offering real-world scenarios to discuss; break-out discussion groups; opportunities to shadow programs and meet clients; and the chance to practice what they’ve learned before their first board meeting. 

As we design onboarding, it’s important that we ask ourselves how each slide in a presentation, each planned activity, and each structured discussion inspires new board members and strengthens a commitment to the organization. 

Initiate

When I tell nonprofit leaders that their onboarding process should “initiate” new board members, they often think about the bizarre and often cruel hazing associated with many fraternities. Unfortunately, a bunch of stupid frat boys have given initiation a bad name. 

When we initiate someone through onboarding, we have three intentions:

1. To have an incoming members do everything we expect of a great member. 

This probably includes, selecting a committee and attending a committee meeting; reviewing and understanding the financial statements of the organization; completing a conflict-of-interest disclosure document; making their first gift to the nonprofit; soliciting their first gift from someone else; etc. 

2. To demonstrate and communicate the board’s values and culture to incoming board members. 

This may include being respectful in our disagreements; starting meetings on time; following through on our commitments; etc. By demonstrating our values and culture early, we help new board members support and build a positive culture. And if your board doesn’t yet fully live these values and culture, an orientation that embodies these ideals will help change your board.

3. To build relationships among the new cohort of board members, staff leaders, and board leaders. 

This ensures that your new board members attend their first meeting with strong connections to others around the table – not as a stranger among people who seem to know each other well. 

Structuring Your Onboarding Process

At this point, you might be thinking, “Sounds great but how do I create an onboarding process that meets your lofty goals to inform, initiate, and inspire.” In this next section of the post, I will outline a structure for your onboarding process. 

Before I share the structure that will revolutionize your onboarding process, let’s be clear that this structure requires you recruit a group of prospective board members who will participate in onboarding as a cohort or class. This onboarding process doesn’t work for boards who recruit and appoint board members one- or two-at-a-time. (though I’ll cover the importance of recruiting a cohort of new board members annually in a future blog post). 

Your onboarding process should include four to six sessions of just 90 minutes each (with perhaps one hands-on half-day). Each session is fast paced, maximizes interaction and small group discussions, and is grounded in the mission. 

Additionally, each session will have homework or follow-up work that incoming board members are asked to complete before the next session. 

The ideal outline for your onboarding sessions is below:

Session 1: Programs (90-minutes). 

• • • Introductions (initiate)
    • Overview of programs (inform)
    • Program exercise (inspire – day in the life of a client case study, former client Q&A panel, etc.)
    • Homework: Shadow a program (inform, inspire, and initiate)

Session 2: Governance

• • • 3 legal duties of board service; by-laws overview; board policies/procedures; board service expectations; committee roles and responsibilities; (inform)
    • Game show (initiate – friendly competition reinforcing material just covered)
    • Governance exercise (initiate – case study based on an actual governance issue the board has faced in the past) 
    • Homework: (initiate and inspire – select a committee and add meetings to your schedule; schedule 1:1 meeting with executive director; complete and return conflict of interest disclosure document)

Session 3: Finance

• • • Review financial statements / teach how to read financial statements (inform)
    • Finance exercise (initiate and inspire – small group conversations on financial statements and linking financial statements to mission)
    • Review IRS form 990 (inform and initiate)
    • Homework: Review the most recent 990 and ask at least one question to the Treasurer (initiate and inform)

Session 4: Fundraising

• • • Outline organization’s fundraising strategy, explaining ways board members support the strategies (inform)
    • Design your own love story with the organization (inspire and initiate – small group interaction)
    • Teach how to identify, cultivate, and solicit prospects (inform)
    • Exercise: (inform and initiate – small group review of donor personas and rate likelihood of giving to the organization)
    • Homework: Solicit at least one prospective donor for a gift of any size; complete an individual board philanthropy plan (initiate, inspire)

Session 5: Getting to know each other

• • • Fast friends activity (initiate, inspire)

Session 6: Half-Day Volunteer Activity

• • • Your cohort plans a half-day volunteer activity. This could be chaperoning a field trip, painting a room, volunteering at a program or event, etc. (initiate, inspire)

At a minimum, your onboarding process should include the 90-minute sessions on programs, finance, fundraising, and governance. To fully inspire and initiate your board members, the “getting to know each other” session and half-day volunteer activity can be added to help build relationships among board members and connect them more strongly to your organization. 

Onboard first; Appoint to the board second

About four years ago, we started asking clients to recruit a cohort of prospective board members who complete a multi-stage onboarding before they are appointed to the board.  Some of our clients were reluctant to take this bold step, but it’s been a game-changer for them. 

Onboarding your prospective board members in a process that mimics board service helps the organization and the prospect determine if this is a good fit. As part of this process, we provide significant support to prospective board members so that they can complete the process (such as offering make-up sessions, answering questions about homework between sessions, etc.). And we also track every interaction with prospective board members so that we know who attends the sessions, complete the homework, and interacts with colleagues and staff in a respectful manner. 

Typically, only about 35% – 50% of those who start onboarding will fully complete the process, and those who finish are the people you want on the board. They are fully committed to your organization, and they fulfill on their commitments to your organization.  These are the people who are on fire for your organization!

And here’s the good news: many of those who don’t complete onboarding will actively remove themselves from the process after realizing they lack the bandwidth or interest to be a good board member. They depart from the process on good terms, and we even had one prospect make an $1,800 commitment to the organization after she left the process! Any process that gives people the agency to self-select out before joining the board is ideal because they won’t become underperforming board members feeling guilt for not fully participating. 

Why I’m writing about this

Four years ago, we created a board recruitment process that informs, inspires, and initiates new board members, and this process ensures a cohort of high-performers join your board. At Successful Nonprofits®, we always seek to be open source with our materials because many organizations can implement this on their own. But if you and your board need support in recruiting or onboarding new board members, we’re here to help. You can learn more about our board recruitment and board development services on this page. 

What questions does this blog post answer:

1. 1. What is the purpose of board onboarding or orientation?
   2. How should my board orientation or onboarding process be structured?
   3. Why is it important for a board to have a multi-step onboarding process?
   4. What essential elements should I include in the onboarding process?
   5. How can an onboarding process effectively inform, inspire, and initiate new board members?
   6. What are some common onboarding mistakes and how can I avoided them?