Trustees’ Week is a time to celebrate the achievements of over 1 million trustees across the UK. It is also a great opportunity for Trustees’ learning and development, in particular to keep abreast of the ever changing context in which charities operate and the ever changing responsibilities of Trustees.

For many years charities have faced growing challenges recruiting and retaining high quality trustees. The NCVO recently reported that four out of five charities have at least one vacant position on their boards and have declared this to be a “trustee crisis”. Small charities are particularly hard hit by this trustee recruitment and retention crisis, with many reporting they have had vacancies for more than one year. The biggest barrier to recruitment and retention appears to be the time commitment required, which of course is often greater in small charities.

At the same time, there is an increased emphasis on trustee diversity from funders, regulators and the public, with many funders requiring charities supporting minorities or marginalised groups to have a majority of people with lived experience on their board. Half of those surveyed for the NCVO report say that lack of ethnic diversity is a major concern for them. 60% say they lack young trustees on their board. A recent Directory of Social Change report reinforces this, highlighting diversity as the weakest area of charity governance. The recent closure of Getting On Board, a charity devoted to supporting people from underrepresented backgrounds to become trustees, is a genuine cause of anguish for the sector.

There are, however, some reasons for cautious optimism. Research recently published by the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics, finds that 80% of trustees say they are likely or very likely to recommend trusteeship to others. Moreover, research carried out by the insurance company Ecclesiastical in partnership with the Young Trustees Movement, found that 40% of 18-24 year olds would consider becoming a trustee, up from 24% five years ago. Better still, three quarters said they understand the trustee role compared to only 10% in 2019. The key driver for young people is that they want to feel they are making a difference. Joining the board of a small charity may, therefore, be more likely to be attractive to them because they can see more clearly the impact of their work as a trustee.

When recruiting new trustees, therefore, charities should take care to target all sections of society, including young and/or marginalised people. Getting support from specialist agencies like Reach Volunteering can really help with this.

It is equally essential to ensure that your board is functioning well so that new people feel welcomed, able to contribute and can see that their involvement is making a difference. Consultants for Good, a UK-wide network of consultants and trainers who provide services for the voluntary sector (of which we are a member), suggests the following 8 ways to help ensure your governance is effective

1. Recruit the "right" people to your trustee board from diverse backgrounds with relevant skills and experiences.

2. Induct trustees properly and expect them to keep developing themselves. No trustee can possibly know it all, however useful the stuff they do know is.

3. Get all your ducks in a row in terms of policies, e.g. delegation of authority, trustees' code of conduct, conflicts of interest, safeguarding, data protection, risk management, financial controls etc.

4. Build (respectful) debate into trustee meetings.

5. Get a decent chair, not someone who hogs the floor with some trustees barely speaking and decisions being made outside the room.

6. Refresh your trustees regularly. Use trustee terms of office pro-actively (if your governing document doesn't have them, write them in).

7. If you have a CEO, get the balance between support and challenge right. Don't meddle in the operations. Respect their expertise. Understand your respective responsibilities.

8. Check from time to time that your board doing a good job. Assess yourselves in whichever way you think is most useful (any way is better than not asking it at all).

More details about Trustees’ are available on their website.

To find out more about the governance support and training we offer, including help with Trustee and Board development, please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk to arrange free initial telephone discussion.