A Range of Board Health Checks & Stocktakes

The health of the organisation and the Board should be our prime concern. Whilst health checks primarily focus on ‘is it healthy & is it working?’, stocktakes focus on the available capacity. The Board needs to be concerned with both, but in being commissioned to undertake a review, we may be asked to focus on one, the other, or both.

 

Understanding exactly where we are, is the first step to further improvement and resolution of issues. Shortfalls in the health of the Board itself, may reflect issues such as it not being clear or unified on its own vision and purpose, it not identifying risk and opportunity effectively, nor acting on these, an apparent inability to make things happen, lack of access to necessary information, or the ability to process it effectively, or it seeing itself as having a more limited remit than its statutory and business responsibilities presents.

 

Capacity is another key issue. Does the Board have the range and depth of skills required for its tasks? Do the Board members have the clarity of purpose, dedication, and resources to do the job? Does the Chair need help in assessing the current Board and member capacity, and in developing it to meet needs?

Accordingly, we provide a range of Board health checks and stocktakes to meet varying needs. In all of these, we look at the status quo for the Board, in the context of the current situation and emergent trends, and compare it to the model of the Board’s role and what is needed for success. The resulting gap analysis then enables us to identify and recommend positive changes to established roles and practices.

 

Our range of Board health checks and stocktakes includes:

• Independent ‘third party’ reviews of Board role and practice

• Stakeholder commissioned (‘2nd party’) reviews, frequently for investors or funders, focusing on specific issues and dimensions

• Annual Board Reviews

• Chairman commissioned reviews, in the context of specific issues of effectiveness or conduct

 

The right type of health check and/or stocktake, at the right time, can be hugely beneficial for a Board, and should never be presented nor seen as a threat. Rather, forward-looking Boards should choose to schedule regular reviews on an ongoing basis, typically annually, but focused on current needs. Identifying the right type of review may necessitate serious consideration and discussion, which we can assist with.