Evaluation tools to keep board performance at its best

If I asked you right now, could you tell me whether your board is living up to its full potential – or what that potential even entails? Would your assessment line up with the opinions of board members around the table? Would you be able to provide any hard data to back up your conclusions? Would you even know if a competitor’s board was handily outperforming your own?

If not, you’re not alone – chances are even your board itself wouldn’t know. As the financial industry continues to grow more competitive, more credit unions are realizing that their boards are in the dark with regards to their own standing in the movement. What they don’t all realize is that their directors would benefit most from the resources to assess their own effectiveness so that they could identify the strategies for improvement that work best for them.

Board evaluation tools make it possible for credit union boards to see where they stand and start maximizing their performance as a team and as individuals.  Credit unions are going to continue to expect their boards to overcome the challenges of today’s complex credit union environment, so it only makes sense that they provide their directors with the means to identify effective governance processes and worthwhile skillsets.

But we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves. The first step to effective board evaluation is determining the angle of approach that will allow you to thoughtfully apply pressure to your board’s preexisting angle of repose; each of the following four aspects of assessable board performance contributes to a credit union’s overall success and should be considered before diving into an evaluation:

• Competencies: Boards that evaluate their own competencies can identify their current skill levels and areas that need strengthening to determine which competencies require the most immediate attention. All without the help of a middle man.
• Effectiveness: Board effectiveness begins with solid metrics evaluating director performance, finding strengths that need to be amplified as well as practices to improve upon.
• Personal: Each individual director contributes to the overall performance of their board. Responsible directors evaluate their individual contributions to develop professional development plans and ensure that their influence is a positive one.
• Peer: It’s also important that directors take a look around the table and determine weaknesses their peers should address. Anonymous peer evaluations ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, there are no hard feelings, and the credit union benefits in the end.

Administered through internet surveys, board evaluation assessments collect readily applicable data in these four areas and compile it into action reports, laying out improvement strategies and practices for the board to embrace.

Credit union boards no longer need wander in the dark regarding their own effectiveness. With dedicated board evaluation tools, directors can shed some light on their performance and see clearly when it comes to strategic decision-making, asking productive questions, continued assessment and concrete action plans.