Recruiting Board and Management Committee Members

This page is aimed at helping you recruit Board and Management Committee members. Note, that, unless you have very specific needs, the most important requirements of Board and Management Committee Members are commitment and enthusiasm. Commitment to the organisation and service users or cause is more important than experience or qualifications. People can be given training if required - contact MVA if you want help in identifying training required and where to find it.

If you would like to speak to somebody about Recruiting Board or Management Committee members, contact MVA, tel: 0131 663 9471.

STEP 1 - Who Do You Want?
STEP 2 - Finding New Members
STEP 3 - You Have A New Member(S) – How Do You Keep Them Past The First Meeting?
STEP 4 - Further Information

  

STEP 1 – WHO DO YOU WANT?

If you are very lucky, lots of people will volunteer to be on your Board or Management Committee, however, it is quite likely that you will have to go out looking for Board/Committee members.

How should you go about this?

  1. check your constitution/memorandum and articles to see if there are any restrictions on who can be a Committee/Board member;
  2. have a look at your existing Committee/Board to see if there are any particular gaps in knowledge /skills
  3. draw up a “job description” for Committee/Board members.   Information is available on this website.  Additional models are available from the Volunteer Centre.   Make sure you that “job description” meets the particular needs of YOUR organisation.  

4.  draw up an “advert” which sets out who you want, e.g. general Board/Committee members; a Treasurer etc; and what your organisation does. 
5.  you might find it useful to put together a small pack with information on your organisation, e.g. Annual Report.  It might be useful also to include your most recent accounts to reassure potential Committee/Board members that the organisation is financially sound
6.  prepare an Induction Pack for new Board/Committee members – MVA can give you guidance on what should be in this.   Contact the Information Officer, tel:  0131 663 9471.
7.  you should now be ready to start recruiting!

  

STEP 2 – FINDING NEW MEMBERS

You now know who you want, how do you go about finding them?

There is no sure fire way, but here are some ideas:

  1. ask your membership
  2. ask your volunteers
  3. ask people who have shown in the past they support your organisation
  4. put up posters in local shops, community centres, libraries etc
  5. register your vacancies with Volunteer Centre  Midlothian.  The Volunteer Centre can add your vacancies to the online Volunteer Centre Network Scotland volunteering database which includes vacancies for Board/Committee members, and to their Directory of opportunities in Midlothian.   Note, Volunteer Centre Midlothian will have a new address from 1 June 2009 – up-to-date contact details can be found on their website  www.volunteermidlothian.org.uk
  6. advertise through Midlothian Voluntary Action’s newsletters, e-briefings, and targeted e-mail lists – tel:  0131 663 9471, www.mvacvs.org.uk/publications/ebriefings/index.html
  7. put an advert/brief article into one of the local newspapers/newsheets, for example, the Evening News; Advertiser;  Penicuik Town Crier; Gorebridge Echo
  8. advertise your vacancies through Black Diamond FM - www.blackdiamondfm.com/
  9. GOOD LUCK!

 

STEP 3 –YOU HAVE A NEW MEMBER(S) – HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM PAST THE FIRST MEETING?

  1. Congratulations, you have now got your new member(s) – you now want to keep them!
  2. Make sure that your new Board/Committee member is made welcome – it would be a good idea for somebody to meet with them to give them information on the organisation and introduce them to staff and/or volunteers before the first Board/Committee meeting
  3. Give the new member an Induction Pack containing information on the organisation, for example, Annual Report/Accounts; Constitution/Memorandum and Articles; information leaflets; Policies; Employee and/or Board Handbook; Financial Procedures; Job Specification for a Board Member (if not already issued) etc; and   any forms they might require, for example, expenses forms.    MVA can give you guidance on what should be in the Induction Pack.   Contact the Information Officer, tel:  0131 663 9471.

 

 STEP 4: FURTHER INFORMATION

    • Midlothian Voluntary Action website – this website contains a wide range of information aimed at Boards and Management Committees, for example:  Roles and Responsibilities of Voluntary Management Committee Members.  Please note also that MVA is currently working on developing a range of new model documents which will be made available to organisations shortly.
    • Volunteer Centre Midlothian - www.volunteermidlothian.org.uk  Note, Volunteer Centre Midlothian will have a new address from 1 June 2009 – up-to-date contact details can be found on their website .
    • the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) have a section “Be a Trustee” on their website www.scvo.org.uk/governance/BeATrustee/AboutTrusteeship.aspx which is aimed at mainly at charities (including charitable companies) but could be of use to other voluntary organisations.  It is not really aimed at small unstaffed non-charitable voluntary associations e.g. small community groups.   Their website includes  an interactive course on their website “Governance 1: Is joining a board or management committee for me?” which might help some people decide whether or not to join your Board/Committee.  However, this would not be suitable for everybody and is no substitute for a talk with an existing Board/Committee member or member of staff.   http://www.scvo.org.uk/governance/Home/Home.aspx

     

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