The evaluation of board member requirements should happen every year and should b the basis for board member recruitment. In this way, the board can be responsive to changes in circumstance on the board, especially changes to board composition and the strategic plan.
Choose from among those skills that the board has determined are important. The specific technical skills needed by the board may change over time, depending on the board’s needs so the assessment should be conducted each year. Typical technical skills that the board may want are:
• Financial/Accounting Expertise – designation?
• Communication Skills
• Marketing Skills/Experience
• Regulatory / Legal Knowledge
• Risk Management Knowledge
• Experience in Strategy Formation & Implementation
• Experience in Human Resource Management
• Experience in Small or Medium-sized Business
• Negotiation / Meditation Experience
• Senior Management Experience
Boards will also want to investigate the “softer” skills desired and possessed by board members. Such skills include:
• Alignment to the Vision — as already mentioned this is probably the most important aspect for a new director to possess. It ensures that s/he will be pulling in the same direction as you steer the credit union to future successes.
• Integrity — they have personal integrity and insist that the firm behaves ethically.
• Courage — they have the courage to ask tough questions and to voice their support of or opposition to management proposals and actions. Their loyalty to the members’ interests may demand that they express dissent and persist in demanding answers to their questions.
• Good judgment — they focus on the important issues and base their decisions and actions on sound business and common sense.
• Perspective — they have broad knowledge and experience that they apply to discussions and decisions.
• Commitment to learning — they are prepared to take the time to get to know the credit union, know their job and stay up to date. They take responsibility for their own education in areas of their contribution to the Board and participate in educational sessions offered by the CU.
• Independently Minded — suspends decision making until all arguments are made and is not swayed by “group think.”
• Strategic Thinker — can see the long-term impact of proposals as well as how they can aid or impair the credit union’s operations.
• Consensus Builder— takes others’ inputs and builds to a better conclusion.
Be sure that any candidate for director is aligned with the vision and values of the credit union. Make sure that s/he wants it to succeed. Also important is the potential director’s character. It is a familiar adage that boards should: “Recruit for character and train for competence.” While skills are important, they can be attained after election to the board.
A director can be highly skilled in a particular competence yet poor in alignment and behaviour. Directors can be trained in the skills necessary for a board position but is often impossible to train for character once a director has been elected.