Our friends at Reach Volunteering have created this great resource for how to recruit trustees online.

In it, they urge boards not to stop recruitment during the pandemic:

“Some boards have postponed recruiting new  trustees because they worry that it will be difficult to interview and induct remotely. However, charities that have given it a go have found that their process has worked well, with a few tweaks. We share their tips here, along with reasons for getting going, now.”

I’d add to that, that putting in the resources to diversify your board is as important now, as ever. By having different perspectives and experiences in the room, boards are able to make better decisions that ultimately benefit the company.

Covid-19 has meant lots of uncertainty for Charities - but having a diverse board better equips the board to navigate it.

Read the blog to to find out more about:

• Why shorter interviews are better on Zoom (you might just need more of them)
• How to plan then interview
• How to adapt to the fact you can’t communicate with non-verbal clues
• How to build in informal channels to communicate
• And much more!

When we start to be able to have face to face interviews again, there is plenty we can take from online recruitment processes. For example, by conducting interviews online there isn’t such a barrier to travel or travel expenses (although we’d advocate for a clear expenses policy that can cover ticket cost up front).

Online recruitment can be more accessible, but it’s worth remembering that it also has its own barriers and needs to be done in a thoughtful and inclusive way. For example, some candidates may not have a stable internet connection or they may not be confident using digital platforms. You’ll need to work with your candidates and openly encourage them to discuss their needs with you - so that you can take responsibility for adapting the process to make it as open as possible.

There are also some aspects of the recruitment process that young trustees have told us were really helpful, that we’d really encourage you to try and mimic online.

In this week’s Member Spotlight Story Carys talked about how useful having had a meeting with the Chair was before her first board meeting, and how that helped her feel more confident. This might be something you can replicate through zoom meetings.

Carys was joined by Janet Throrne - CEO of Reach Volunteering and author of this blog; and Simon Elliott - Chair of the Board of Trustees at both Northern Stage and Connected Voice. You’ll be able to watch a recording of the event on our YouTube channel later today.