Optimize the Role of the Nonprofit Board of Directors in Employee Development

A major function of the board of directors is to ensure that an organization has systems to sustain long and short term growth. In nonprofit organizations, the need to be responsive and adaptable to a changing environment is magnified by the current economic and political environment. Consider the following:

• Regulatory entities providing oversight to some nonprofit organizations have greater pressure to find evidence that tax money is not being used as earmarked for those organizations. When gaps are identified, it doesn't really mean that quality services weren't provided. It more likely means that documentation didn't reflect it properly. Despite whether outcomes are positive, nonprofits have to spend increased amounts of time using limited human resources to address issues that only peripherally affect the quality of outcomes provided to their clients.


• The number of nonprofit organizations to fill projected needs is increasing.


• There will continue to be increased competition among various nonprofits for limited funding from both donors and a lower tax base.


• There are increased incentives for strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions of nonprofits to address needs and minimize duplicate services and administration staff.


• Despite unemployment rates following the aftermath of the 2007-2009 recession, a leadership deficit is projected for nonprofit organizations. According to an extensive study by the Bridgespan Group, there is projected to be a need of about 80,000 new senior managers a year by 2016 in nonprofit organizations.

The board of directors can be a great alliance for building an offensive line that allows the organization to transition with ease during times of change. Yet, the involvement of the board of directors is often limited to CEO succession planning. This strategy undermines the model of organizational learning that is needed to effectively respond to the environment. With between 200 and 400 years of collective experience among the members of a typical board of directors, they are a valuable resource to tap into! Consider some of the following ways to optimize the board's involvement in employee development:

1. Re-evaluate the organizations mission and values. Consider including a statement about how the organization's employee development initiatives will ensure that the mission is fulfilled.

2. As the board does strategic planning, they should be encouraged to consider current and forecasted internal and external threats and opportunities at various intervals of time such as one, three and five years ahead.

• Assess the skills needed to address those challenges and identify where there are gaps. It is often the case that competencies needed today are different than those needed in the future.


• Identify what steps can be taken to fill those gaps. For example, consider instituting a mentoring program for managers or senior staff, or altering the current leadership training curriculum so that it reflects needed competencies.

3. A board can form a Leadership Development Committee.

• Training board members on their roles will prevent them from inappropriately micro-managing the operations. Board members should ask good questions, and facilitate dialogues that are productive and non-punitive in nature.


• Board members can ask questions about how employee development is reinforced at every level in the organization and how the leaders are held accountable for such initiatives.


• Board members can assist in the development of metrics that will help measure the effectiveness of the program.

4. Board members can leverage relationships outside of the organization so there is greater access to other people who may be able to provide training and support.

• The board may be able to build collaborative relationships with other nonprofits which would allow for the sharing of limited training human resources.

5. A board of directors can identify numerous opportunities to interact with leaders at various levels of the organization, so that they have a feel for the pool of talent to draw from.

6. In the spirit of continuous quality improvement, outcomes of employee development programs should be reported to the board at regular intervals of time. This would allow for the board to make recommendations to alter the initiatives in response to the changing environment or presented metrics data.

A nonprofit organization has much to gain from optimizing board involvement in the employee development process, as opposed to leaving initiatives solely in the hands of a few in the organization. The success or failure of such initiatives affects all three primary governance roles of a nonprofit board: fundraising, program oversight and strategic planning. By using all human resources, from the board to the front line employees, nonprofit organizations will be in a better position to meet the inevitable challenges in the near and far future!

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