Needles in haystacks
August 2009
Rodney Buse reflects on the difficulty of finding new trustees and what charities can do to help with their search
Research has identified that finding new trustees is becoming increasingly difficult and that there are many vacancies. I find this research quite challenging and it suggests to me that the merits of being a trustee are overlooked by society and by charities looking for new trustees. Knowing where to look is also very difficult and there is value in shedding light on both these issues.
The shortfall
It is important to put these issues in context. It may be reasonably assumed that on average 2,000 to 2,500 trustees are appointed to charities every week of the year. As Andrew Hind recently stated there are now a little under 1m trusteeships recorded on the Charity Commission register. If trustees hold their positions for seven or eight years then this is the resultant number of replacements needed. To this may be added the trustees appointed to the 5,000 newly registered charities last year. These are surprising numbers and I argue that society at large, simply does not understand the vital role trustees play and if this were remedied people from all walks of life might come forward to fill the vacancies.
Two-way benefits
How often do we hear the phrase ‘I have come to that time of my life when I feel I should give something back’? I am challenged by this statement on two counts. The retort of David Gold of the recruitment company Prospectus is interesting when he replies ‘why, what have you stolen’? He recognises the unintended arrogance in the statement that implies that the individual is about to make a magnanimous gesture; a donation without anything in return. Most trustees understand that it is about bringing their competencies to the table without arrogance. But, for me being a trustee is not about giving back as recognising what is so often, a most rewarding experience and there are rewards both to the charity and to the trustee.
A survey was undertaken by Charity Trustee Networks (CTN) in April this year with the aim of identifying trustees’ views of the rewards of being a trustee. Results appear in figure 1 below.
Comments that included the following were most revealing:
‘It has taught me tolerance, understanding and the skill of listening.’
‘It has also given me transferable skills which I can use in other aspects of my life.’
‘I have not worked in the “outside work place” for 25 years and my confidence had totally evaporated. Becoming a trustee, and eventually assuming the position of chair, has greatly increased my confidence, knowledge and feelings of self-worth.’
‘I have been inspired by the people I spend time with – the staff, other trustees and service users.’
When looking for a trustee how many of us, I wonder, list what the charity is looking for without acknowledging the rewards the trustee might receive by a simple quote from a current trustee? Investing in trustees reward systems does put an onus on charities providing high quality induction. There are opportunities for CTN and others to provide generic workshops that facilitate the support needed on appointment. Such workshops have the potential of creating network groups that might continually support trustees in their role. These investments in the competencies of trustees are so important if they are to have a sense of reward for their largely voluntary contribution.
As the recent New Philanthropy Capital report Board Matters (see news review in Caritas, issue19 June 2009), observes the ‘system’ or market place that enables new trustees to be found is fragmented and very difficult to navigate. We are all rightly encouraged to move outside our immediate circle to find new trustees from all walks of life but we know that this is more difficult than it should be.
Sources of recruits
There are however, some very important changes occurring in the ‘system’ that have the potential to significantly improve the situation. The value of good trustees in key positions is beginning to be recognised. We know that a good board can be profoundly beneficial on the charities’ ability to be both well governed and to make the most of resources that deliver quality outcomes to beneficiaries and are able to monitor and evaluate performance. Some charities therefore set aside an appropriate sum of money that is encouraging recruitment companies to assist with the search and selection of people that will strengthen and develop a board.
Significantly, a number of not-for-profit organisations have entered the market and I find their potential impressive.
I found a site recently that enables charities and not for profit organisations to access the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) members and other finance professionals. The ICAEW also recently launched an online charity community [1] site that encourages information sharing, networking and the posing of questions. Together with the recently launched careers community it provides a platform for potential trustees and boards to meet up. As you might expect ICAEW are a broad church with an abundance of financial skills and many wish to get involved in charity governance.
When I met with the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG) recently [2], I was interested to learn that their work had been extended to include placing people as trustees on charity boards. As an independent, not for profit organisation, I knew that WIG provided a bridge between private sector and government for mutual learning and benefit. There are high calibre people that are aiming to enhance their careers by gaining greater understanding of environments outside their immediate circle. This wider experience now matters when senior civil servants are considered for promotion – just what I would like to see encouraged to a much greater extent. I am heartened that WIG has placed seven trustees in recent months and their ambitions are to build on these beginnings.
I have known that Getting on Board [3] has been working with employers, to encourage their employees to volunteer as board members for some four years now. It has worked hard to raise awareness about the benefits in its presentation to companies. It helps individuals find appropriate board-level volunteering opportunities and the recent innovation of a brokering service has significantly enhanced their proposition. The process focuses on the individual, people first learn about trusteeship at seminars usually run in company and then complete a registration form; they are interviewed on the phone and suitable opportunities found for them.
Organisations such as Getting on Board, the Whitehall and Industry Group and the ICAEW have a strong relationship with people looking to become trustees. They are able to provide impartial insight and support and may ‘guide’ a person to a position. In these circumstances charities need to be very clear what they are looking for and, just as important, what they are able to offer.
All three organisations are impressive in the quality of people on their data banks. This fledgling work has such great potential and might be the answer to finding that elusive treasurer, chair, trustee or independent member of a governance committee.
Where these vanguard organisations go, others will follow. They complement the work of organisations that have offered services for a little longer and NCVO, Reach and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development spring to mind. CTN has a critical role to play to ensure that the ‘market’ works well and that each is known about and easily accessible.
Posting vacancies
The CTN trusteefinder service [4] fulfils a slightly different role and is an excellent illustration of collaborative working. The site which offers 5,000 vacancies is a collaboration between Volunteer Centres, the do-it.org website at Youthnet and CTN. This web based system is complemented by the services identified above. When looking at the site I found well over one hundred opportunities within five miles of my south London home. Further collaboration of this sort will help potential trustees and charities navigate the market and will provide a more coherent service. Just as technology has opened up markets to greater consumer choice and better access, so too will these developments and overcome the disfunctionality that presently exists.
Creating a coherent market place
If we suffer from an incoherent ‘system’, as I argue, it is our fault for not setting out our ‘stall’ effectively. We need to make it easier for trustees to find us and be inspired by us so they want to give us their time. There is an obligation on us all, not to do more of the same, but to address the underlying issues. Readers will know of other such developments and it is intended that this article will provide the opportunity to capture them. You are encouraged to persuade organisations to provide a summary that can be catalogued and made freely available. This would be the first step in providing a coherent market place that in time will make it possible to find that elusive trustee.
Changing society’s attitudes to trusteeship may take a little longer.
[1] www.icaew.com/careerscommunity
[2] www.wig.co.uk
[3] www.gettingonboard.org
[4] www.trusteenet.org.uk/jobs-search
[2] www.wig.co.uk
[3] www.gettingonboard.org
[4] www.trusteenet.org.uk/jobs-search
Author: Rodney Buse
Rodney Buse chairs Charity Trustee Networks and has served as a member of the code steering group throughout the development of the second edition.
He undertakes a limited number of governance assignments with a focus on the structures and behaviours that drive organisational effectiveness.
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