Diversity and inclusion have long formed part of companies’ ESG considerations. Businesses understand that many investors and customers are keen to see greater representation across gender, race, ability and other sections of society in organisations. And the business case is strong.
Onboarding directors with different backgrounds and perspectives will, of course, introduce fresh ideas and problem-solving skills to the boardroom. In addition, McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for female representation on boards were 39% more likely to outperform those in the fourth quartile. There was a similar result for those in the top quartile for director ethnic diversity, too.
Of course, diversity is not just about demographics. It also relates to diversity of experience, approach and more. This article provides the best approach for recruiting diverse board members across all aspects of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) and how to sustain and evolve that strategy.
Key takeaways
- Board diversity goes beyond demographics; it also features a range of attributes and styles.
- Start with a board diversity audit and understand where you are currently.
- Develop a comprehensive director diversity strategic plan.
- Expand your recruitment networks to find new talent.
- Support integration through inclusive onboarding practices.
How to recruit diverse board members
Step 1: Assess the current state
The first step is to audit your current board composition to understand the levels of diversification within your cohort of directors. Make sure you do not focus solely on a single aspect of diversity, but instead widen your approach to consider all fields so that you can gain a true picture of where you stand.
Here is a guide to what board diversity can mean in practice:
| Type of diversity | Explanation | Examples |
| Demographic diversity | The representation of different personal characteristics and identities | Gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability |
| Experiential diversity | Differences in professional background, industry experience and life experience | Legal, finance, operations, non-profit leadership, start-up leadership, crisis management |
| Cognitive diversity | Variations in how directors think, solve problems and approach decision-making | Strategic vs. tactical thinkers, risk-averse vs. risk-tolerant, analytic vs creative |
| Educational diversity | Differences in academic background and the institutions they attended | Degrees in certain subjects, alumni from global universities, fee-paying vs. state education backgrounds |
| Tenure diversity | How long members have spent on this board or other boards | Combining new appointees with long-standing board members to balance fresh thinking with continuity. |
From this audit, you can identify your diversity gaps. Benchmark your current diversity status against your peer organisations to understand your place in the market and ensure you document any missing competencies to inform your future board recruitment strategy.
Step 2: Set a diversity strategy and board diversity policy
Now you understand which competencies your board possesses and where your diversity gaps are, you can create a proactive strategy to address the current situation. Build a diversity policy that you can embed into your governance framework and which addresses both short-term representation targets and long-term culture and governance shifts.
This dual approach is key, as changing the make-up of a board has to fit in with the rhythm of your directors’ tenures (if they have set terms) and your ongoing succession planning. Of course, you may add to your current board, without moving away from the optimal size for your organisation, and there may be times when a member chooses to or has to step down. However, creating a better diversity balance should also feed into the future company strategy.
Your board diversity policy should include:
- A commitment to board diversity
- Clear objectives
- What the company considers diversity to include
- Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in improving diversity
- Selection and recruitment procedures
- Training and development programmes
- Monitoring and evaluation processes.
Work with the board chair and the nominating committee to create a strategy on which the board is aligned and communicate your goals initially to the board itself. When approved, share these goals with investors and other key stakeholders through your board diversity policy.
Step 3: Source diverse candidates
You will already have existing networks through which you identify and engage candidates for current and future board positions. However, by sticking to these, you will only ever be connected with the same types of prospective board members. To increase the diversity of the board, you move beyond these networks and also engage professional bodies representing the areas of diversity that would fill the gaps in your board. For example:
- European Women on Boards (EWOB) is based in Brussels and was formed in 2013 to help more women achieve leadership positions in Europe.
- The European Network Against Racism (ENAR)’s Equal @ Work scheme connects businesses with prospective candidates from ethnic and religious minorities.
- The European Disability Forum promotes the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities, including in leadership positions.
These and other affinity groups will be able to connect you with a wider talent pool from which to develop and onboard board members. Talk to your board recruitment search firms, too, to set expectations on the diverse attributes of candidates they identify. Hold them accountable for looking beyond the regular spaces and finding people who meet your strategic requirements.
Another method for sourcing diverse candidates is to create an internal pipeline, encouraging those from underrepresented groups or with non-typical ways of thinking to join leadership programmes that develop them for a board position in the future. Create a board readiness programme as part of your succession planning and make sure you look at the talent you have in-house as well as externally.
Step 4: Evaluate and select candidates
At this stage, it is worth remembering that you are not looking to simply tick boxes when recruiting your board members. The idea is not simply to have a diverse board for the sake of diversity; it is to find truly exceptional candidates who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to ascend to the board or who bring a genuinely beneficial skill, perspective or competence to your leadership team.
Think about this when you create your inclusive criteria to evaluate the prospective directors. Consider:
- Alignment with the organisational missions and values
- Which underrepresented skills or knowledge they bring
- Ability to contribute constructively to the discussion and challenge ideas respectfully. One of the key reasons to bring in diverse directors is that they will challenge the status quo, but they must do so in a collaborative manner
- Their track record of strategic thinking and oversight
- Their commitment to the time and engagement required to make better decisions in board meetings.
Be aware of unconscious bias during the recruitment process. Use structured interviews, where you ask the same questions in the same order. This ensures consistency of approach and reduces subjectivity in the procedure. It is easier to compare candidates side by side.
Scoring frameworks with predefined benchmarks for responses are another way of reducing the interviewers’ reliance on personal impressions that could be based on preconceived ideas.
Step 5: Onboarding and integration
Once you have chosen the right candidate for your board, you need an inclusive onboarding experience to help them settle in, adjust to the culture of the board and hit the ground running in board meetings.
This should include:
- Ensuring the materials you use are accessible. For example, written in plain language, feature translations and are screen reader compatible
- Assigning a mentor or buddy on the board to help them navigate board practices and understand meeting protocol
- Including DEI training for new and existing board members to reinforce the company’s values
- Scheduling flexible onboarding sessions to accommodate varying availability and commitments
- Providing a glossary of key terms and acronyms to avoid barriers created using insider jargon
- Encouraging informal meet-ups to build relationships within the board
- Inviting input from new members on the process to show they are valued and to help refine it in the future.
You can also assign new members to committees to help them get used to making contributions in meetings where there is a less intense atmosphere. Your new directors should understand the expectations you have of them from the start and be fully versed in what their role entails and the powers that they possess.
How to sustain and evolve diversity
- Create diversity metrics and dashboards to help you track your efforts towards making a more equitable board for your business. This will tell you whether you are moving in the right direction.
- Frequently evaluate board effectiveness to make sure your new team members are having a positive effect on the outcomes of board meetings and board work in general.
- Refresh board composition over time to align with any gaps that you discover or new diversity concerns that arise in the future.
- Set tenure limits and succession plans to ensure you keep your board fresh. When directors stay in post indefinitely, it can lead to complacency, so set a limit and begin planning for what happens afterwards.
- Publicly report progress and challenges to build trust and accountability. Share the metrics with your investors, customers and internal stakeholders to show how you are working towards a more diverse and effective board.
FAQ
What role does the board chair play in diversity?
The board chair sets the tone for inclusivity, champions diverse recruitment practices and ensures all voices are heard and valued during discussions and decision-making in meetings. They should also be instrumental in creating your board diversity policy.
How do we avoid tokenism in board recruitment?
Avoid tokenism by recruiting diverse candidates for their skills, experience and potential contributions, not just to fulfil quotas. By fully integrating new hires into your governance processes and decision-making, you show that they are legitimate directors in their own right, not just box ticking appointments.
Is there a risk of compromising on quality when prioritising diversity?
Prioritising diversity by seeking out candidates from underrepresented groups does not need to compromise on quality. You are merely widening your search from traditional candidates to include those of similar calibre who might otherwise not have been considered.
Conclusion
Recruiting diverse board members means changing the way you manage talent searching, onboarding and succession planning. But the benefits of gaining new perspectives on your board make it worthwhile investing in. Rather than tackling issues in the same way as you always have done and in the same manner as your competitors, you can seek out new and innovative solutions that set you apart from the competition.
Create a board diversity policy and implement search and interview processes that prevent the unconscious biases that exist. Set strategic targets and monitor the effectiveness of your board’s work to ensure you are working towards your goals.
iBabs is a board meeting portal that allows for close collaboration between board members, helping your new recruits settle in more easily. It is available in multiple languages and allows for members to attend remotely if they cannot access the boardroom. Request a demo to find out how iBabs improves your board diversity efforts.
