Succession planning for your board
Te whakamahere pikinga tūranga mō tō poariopen_in_new
Succession planning is essential for any board.
Individual board members will come and go, but as a legal entity, a board continues to exist even when its members change.
That's why your board must have a succession plan to pass on the governance of the school to its new members at any given time.
What is succession planning?
Succession planning means having a plan or process in place to pass on the work of the board to new members.
Also known as "replacement planning", it ensures that your board continues to run smoothly after its members leave.
We like to break down board succession planning into three key stages:
- Readiness
- Recruitment
- Retention
What is the readiness stage?
The readiness stage is about ensuring your board documentation and induction programme are in order to support new members.
This ensures that new board members (whether they are elected, selected, co-opted, or appointed) feel supported and quickly get up to speed.
Your board may already have an induction program, or you can get some ideas from our board member induction article and Getting Ready – Planning Your Board Induction resources in the Learning Library.
What is the recruitment stage?
The recruitment stage is ongoing, and boards must be able to attract and recruit new members at any given time.
Promoting the role of your board and the work you do throughout your three-year term can help to achieve this.
If people see and understand your board's contribution to the school, they are more likely to stand in board elections or agree to be co-opted to your board.
Regular communication builds and maintains trust in your board and is essential to community engagement.
So is proactively releasing information and ensuring your board details are current and readily available on your website.
You can also encourage people to attend your meetings to see governance in action!
Our collection of articles on community engagement has tips and insights on how to connect with your community.
Feel free to use our Kōrari for Aspiring Board Members resources in the Learning Library to help engage and inspire people in your community to become board members.
There are also promotional materials available on our School Board Electionsopen_in_new website.
What is the retention stage?
The retention stage is about keeping your members on the board once they're there.
Again, a board member who feels supported and valued in their role is more likely to stay.
Encouraging positive board relationships is essential to any board member feeling valued in their role, and there are several ways your board can do this:
- Appoint the right person to be the presiding member (board chair) because they play a key role in supporting the success of your board and fostering strong relationships.
- Create a healthy board culture, with all business conducted in an open and honest environment.
- Promote ongoing reflection and evaluation to ensure your board meetings are effective.
- Recognise the work of individual board members and celebrate successes.
- Encourage all board members to seek advice and undertake professional learning and development opportunities from Te Whakarōpūtanga.
You can find out more in the Culture & Relationships section of the Resource Centre.
Questions your board could ask
- Do we have a succession plan in place?
- What does our induction programme look like?
- How do we promote the role of the board to our school community?
- What is our board culture like?
- Do we feel valued and supported in our roles as board members?
Templates, resources, and references
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