In Part 1 of our Board Orientation series, GrowthZone focused on how associations should establish goals and define success when setting up an association new board of directors’ orientation.
The next step in the process is to decide how to structure the board member orientation. There are dozens of ways to format association board onboarding and many decisions to be made.
Get the Field Guide to Association Board Orientation for
a step-by-step plan.
What is the orientation plan?
- Will it be a retreat or a meeting?
- Does it need to be done remotely or at the association office?
- Are you using a facilitator?
- Will it last a few hours, an entire day, or longer?
- Will it occur over multiple sessions or in a single sitting?
- Who should attend? Only new association board members? Association staff? Your membership?
- If current association board members attend (as a refresher), will they lead part of the orientation?
- Will there be an opportunity to introduce the association management staff?
Tip: Decide in advance if you’re going to have room on the agenda to dig into substantive conversations.
Surviving and thriving during the association board of directors onboarding can be (almost) painless. Use the best practices outlined in The Field Guide to Association Board Onboarding.
It includes templates and details on:
- Defining goals and mapping the board member onboarding process
- How to structure the board of directors orientation
- Preparing attendees for maximum payoff
- Components of a robust association board book
- What to include in a post-orientation board member debriefing
How to develop an association board orientation
process that produces results.
The key to a successful association board member orientation process is to make sure board members are ready to contribute on day one.
Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on July 17, 2018. It has been updated.