diversity

As you may remember, back in September 2014 we gave you a few reasons why you should think about diversifying your board’s gender. Today, however, we would like to take the discussion further and include another factors when considering the diversity of your board members, including gender, ethnic background, skills and experience.

The reason why we are so interested in board diversity is that, according to more and more specialists, including the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a board will function properly only when it is comprised by the right people. And experience shows that the right people are not always those who have the most impressive CV and all the industry-relevant qualifications. Sometimes, the person you need to fill a gap in your board’s composition is the one who has the best hands-on approach, or great experience, or creative and non-conformist thinking. The one you don’t need, as you probably already know, is the one who thinks exactly like you.

In order for your board to be effective, you need a proper mix of skills, experience and knowledge. Thus you can ensure that your board will avoid ‘group thinking’ and similar problems faced by other boards where all the individual members are copy-pasted in terms of their contribution to the organisation. Having a diverse board will open room for discussion, brainstorming, constructive arguments and creative and innovative ideas – all of which your organisation needs in order to stand up in the competitive field of not-for-profit work.

Here are some of the skill areas you need to consider when reviewing the composition of your board:

  • Strategic exercise – you need a member who will be able to keep your organisation’s strategy up-to-date and improve it when and where necessary.
  •  Accounting and Finance – it is important to have a finance person on the board, as they will be able to keep an eye on the financial aspect of your NFP and will break down the complex financial reports for the others.
  • Legal – depending on the size and field of your NFP, you may need a legal person, preferably one who will have expertise in data protection, copyright and also online legal matters, which might come handy if you decide to expand your online activity.
  • Risk management – such a member is a must for every organisation, and their work is vital for your NFP’s existence. Keep tuned in, as we will soon post more on the topic of Risk Management.
  • People management – someone with experience in HR will be a good addition to your board, especially if your company relies on a high number of employees and volunteers.
  •  Fundraising expert – of course, every NFP organisation needs at least one such individual on their board. It would be even better if other board members also have experience in fundraising so that you can tie all the activities together.

As you can see, all these area of expertise are different and suggest various backgrounds, skills, qualifications, training, experience and interests. It may sound uncomfortable, but a white male Australian would not always fit in every category above, and even if he does, that doesn’t mean that another person would not be a better choice.

A lot has been done to deal with discrimination and stereotypes in our society, and, as always, the NFP organisations are the first to adopt new practices and policies and to experiment. Therefore, the next time you walk in a board meeting, look around. Now that you know that you need diversity on your board, answer honestly – how is your diversity going? And what can you do about it?