ICSA: the Governance Institute has published guidance for charities about recruiting trustees and warned that failing to recruit trustees appropriately is a "breach of trust".
ICSA, the professional body for chartered secretaries, put together its guidance following a survey in May by charity Getting On Board found 74 per cent of found recruiting trustees difficult.
It warned that: "Charities must ensure that trustees are appointed in the appropriate manner. Failure to do so could result in the trustee body being in breach of trust, and in some severe cases mean that none of the trustees are legally able to make any decisions as they were not appointed correctly."
This means charities should be aware of the rules in their governing document before embarking on a recruitment process.
It also urged against relying on word of mouth as it "not necessarily the most appropriate for demonstrating that the charity is impartial".
The guidance covers legal and governance considerations; recruitment methods; and advice on how to prepare for and manage the trustee recruitment process as far as nomination, appointment and induction.
It recommends that trustees should primarily be appointed on the basis of experience, diversity, empathy and knowledge.
The guidance also suggests charities undertake an audit to assess the strengths of their current board before setting out to recruit a new trustee.
Other recommendations it makes include:
- Trustees must be able to devote sufficient time and commitment to the role;
- Trustees must act solely in the interests of the charity and not of any other organisation or interested party;
- Charities need to be aware of any other directorships or trusteeships that new trustees may hold and any interests in contracts;
- A full and tailored programme of induction;
- After the induction of trustees, the board should commit to undertake ongoing training and development to ensure that their knowledge is up to date and relevant.
Louise Thomson, head of policy (not for profit) at ICSA, said: “As the Charity Governance Code (2017) states, every charity should be headed by an effective board that provides strategic leadership in line with the charity’s aims and values.
“As a member of the steering group that worked on the code, I consider that for trustees to be able to fulfil this role it is crucial that the board has the skills, experience, background and knowledge required for the effective administration of the charity in pursuit of its objects.
“Inherent in building and maintaining an effective board of trustees is having robust systems for recruitment, appointment and induction of trustees, backed up by ongoing support and development.”
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