Induction for new board members
Induction underpins the work of every management committee. It ensures that members have all the information they need to fulfil their role. It also creates a more level playing field for new members, ensuring they can effectively engage with members with greater experience.
Induction is one of the most practical ways of ensuring new Management Committee members understand their role, the workings of the organisation and their relationship with others in and outside the organisation. All organisations, regardless of their size and purpose, should provide an induction programme for new Committee members. The better your induction, the more effective new members will be! Create a standard induction process for new members and reduce your ongoing training requirements.
Just setting this up? Here are some ideas for how to ensure that existing members have the same information:
- involve the full committee in agreeing what the induction should cover and in discussing and approving any documentation provided at induction
- provide all members with an induction pack for reference and
- set aside part of a meeting to go through the planned induction with existing members and get their feedback on what was covered or items missing
An effective induction programme will:
- Provide core information to enable a new member to understand the organisation and their role
- Provide a copy of the constitution and any other governance documents e.g. role descriptions, terms of reference of committees
- Provide copies of the last audited/inspected accounts and current management accounts budget
- Provide new members with minutes and papers from at least the previous three meetings
- Introduce new committee members to key players
- Ensure that new members feel welcome, valued and part of the team
Download: How to Induct New Members Help Sheet