What Should Go in a Board Manual?

The fundamentals of service, from basic documents to sophisticated background.

By Teri Saylor, CAE

           

At some point, every brand-new board member wonders, “How did I get here, and what is my role now?”

            The answers can be found in a good orientation supplemented by a resource every governing board should provide: a manual of helpful information.

            To be helpful, a board manual doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but it does need to serve specific purposes and cover the essentials. Here is a tried-but-true cliché: Getting everyone to sing out of the same hymnbook is key to a harmonious board. Directors’ jobs are part time, temporary, and voluntary. If all directors have the same information in the same format, they will be more effective and better organized. Putting all their association information in one place will enhance their performance.

            Now you know why a board manual is important.

            So what goes in it?

            Contents can range from basic to comprehensive, plain to fancy. Here are three levels of information you can include.

The bare-bones manual - If you are just getting started, think small. Shooting for the moon may be overwhelming, and that kind of stress may keep you from getting it done. A simple manual is better than none. Basic materials can include your mission statement, bylaws, staff names, titles and contact information for each one.

The fleshed-out manual - If you have the skeleton of a board manual, next create a meatier version that can include your organization’s strategic plan, staff job descriptions, office policies, roster of committees and committee volunteers.

The fat and happy manual - Information that is not essential but can be an enhancement can include an association historic timeline, frequently asked questions about your association, laws affecting your association’s profession and risk management policies.

Leading them to water - Even the best manual is ineffective if no one uses it. Here are tips to make yours a must-read resource.

Make sure all directors know what’s in the manual. At your orientation, various board meetings, and other sessions, find time to review it.

Update the manual annually and distribute it to all directors, not just new ones. They can take it to meetings and their offices as a symbol of service to their association.

 

This is an excerpt from an article that has been reprinted three times in the leadership issue of Association Management, published by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).  For more information about how to set up and run a quality board orientation program contact terisaylor@openwatercommunications.com

 

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