Why a 30/60/90 Framework Matters for New Governors
Navigating a new role can be daunting. For this reason, providing new governors with the necessary information to fulfil their duties can ease the process while enhancing the quality of leadership.
Every institution in the UK is different. The most common name for a university board is the Board of Governors, but they are also known as the Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, the Council or the Court. Despite the different titles, the responsibilities remain the same.
Benefits of a Structured Onboarding Approach
Onboarding is the period where new directors join the board and become familiar with your university’s policies, values, culture and their role within the team.
How effective onboarding benefits your university
Increased participation: If governors are integrated well and have a good understanding of the university and their own role, they are more likely to feel confident in contributing.
Role retention: Governors who are well informed about their duties and the institution are less likely to leave. Reducing turnover maintains the board’s stability which positively affects the productivity and allows for individual growth as relationships and trust can be built.
Improved governance: New governors should be made aware of their fiduciary and legal duties in order to take ownership of their actions.
Filled knowledge gaps: The onboarding process is the time to identify which skills a governor needs to work on or what knowledge gaps need to be filled. This allows you to tailor any formal training sessions.
What New Governors Need to Know Before They Start
Whether you’re inducting staff, students or externals they all need to be aware of their legal responsibilities, key policies and the university’s governance structure.
Understanding the Role and Legal Responsibilities
As governors are obligated to oversee the finances, strategic direction, protect the assets, and ensure regulatory compliance, they must go through the following checks:
Identity check: A passport or driving licence is checked to confirm a person’s identity.
Right to work check: To verify if an individual has the right to work in the UK.
Enhanced DBS check: Governors must undergo DBS checks to ensure that safeguarding measures are maintained.
Section 128 check: This checks to see if someone is banned from governing or managing schools in England. This is usually issued when a person has demonstrated serious misconduct in a governance or management role.
When these are completed, governors can move on to the next stage.
The First 30 Days: Learning and Orientation
In the first month, new governors will meet with the senior staff to get a good understanding of the university’s mission, strategic direction and policies.
Key Policies and Documents to Review
The onboarding process differs in each university, however, here are some documents that may be useful to introduce.
Induction pack: The induction pack contains the university’s mission and objectives, recent meeting minutes, a list of the governors, their roles, contact information, and a glossary for governance specific terminology.
The Higher Education Code of Governance (CUC Code): This outlines the principal values and practices for governance in the UK and was published by the Committee of University Chairs.
Instrument and Articles of Government: Defines how a governing body should operate for effective governance.
Statutes and Ordinances: The purpose of this is to establish the powers and principles of the university board and its framework.
Meeting Stakeholders and Understanding the Governance Structure
To govern well, individuals should begin to understand their stakeholders and that begins with identifying them.
In universities, the main stakeholders are the students. The rest of the internal stakeholders are the staff and the leadership team. Some of the external stakeholders consist of the alumni, donors, parents and governmental authorities.
Key Figures to Meet
Chair and vice-chair: The chair of the board and vice-chair should personally welcome new members to clarify their position, outline the mission and possibly the financial documents.
Secretary or clerk: The secretary or clerk are core members of the board. They both prepare and distribute the agendas and minutes, legally advise the board and work closely with senior leadership for efficient decision-making. They can provide well-rounded knowledge of the board’s strategic plans.
Mentor: An assigned mentor is an experienced governor who can provide new members with context and can answer any questions about the board and university. A mentor is a pivotal figure in making sure that new directors feel supported.
After the key information has been shared, it’s a good idea to take a tour of the university. It’s a time to explore different departments and to meet some students. This allows directors to get firsthand knowledge of how the university operates and its culture.
Days 31–60: Building Confidence and Participation
After directors have completed their first month in their role, they should begin to focus on deepening their knowledge of the institution. Necessary reports, meeting minutes and data can be shared to support this.
Joining Committees and Understanding Their Focus Areas
During this period, a director might join a committee. Some common committees focus on audit and risk, governance and nominations, strategy, and infrastructure. This allows for effective board management as members can begin to examine these issues thoroughly.
But how does this benefit new governors? Having a dedicated space where new directors can learn from experienced members allows them to develop their own knowledge. This gives them a good foundation to advance into future roles.
Beginning to Contribute to Discussions and Decisions
During this time, directors should begin to prepare for board meetings. This consists of reading the necessary documents to understand the key topics.
The institutions goals should also be thoroughly understood so that the discussions can be easily followed. Reviewing the meeting minutes is a good way to get a clear picture of the board’s current state of affair.
New governors can observe the meeting procedures and ask questions for clarity. Most importantly, individuals shouldn’t underestimate what they can add to the discussions. New governors can provide different outlooks and curiosity that re-energises the board.
Days 61–90: Taking Ownership and Adding Value
Contribute to Meetings
Building on the previous points, days 61 to 90 should involve more active participation. Meeting packs should be thoroughly read, and directors should be encouraged to give feedback and share their questions with other members.
Taking Responsibility for Link Governor Roles
As well as contributing to meetings, governors will start to become responsible for link roles. You can assist by connecting them to essential staff, suggesting efficient methods to compose reports and making sure they have the applicable information and guidelines.
Continuous Feedback
How can you evaluate how helpful the induction process was for board members? You can use surveys and questionnaires to get honest feedback. These anonymous surveys can give a comprehensive view of the information that your board requires. Highlighted topics can notify you of what needs to be maintained or what needs to be altered to reach your governance goals.
Ensuring Momentum Beyond the First 90 Days
Successful universities are led by effective, forward-thinking boards. After laying the foundation in the initial 90 days, your board should aim to continuously improve their governance practices by building strong relationships and maintaining clear consistent communication.
A board portal can act as the hub for open communication by providing you with a secure, centralised platform to build agendas, share documents, notes and minutes for informed decision-making.
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