Orientation Manual

Larger organizations can afford to spend time on director orientation and training sessions, but smaller associations need to develop a kit for their new directors. It’s gratifying to take on a board position and find a useful director’s orientation manual. When one doesn’t exist, it means a director has to learn ”on the job” and that is not conducive to effective or responsive governance.

So what if you don’t have one, or it is out of date? Why not assign a new director to the task of rounding up all the current information and packaging it for the future. As that person needs to go through the material anyway, it serves as an individual training exercise, and from there the Board can decide on how to maintain the “manual”

What should be in it? Here are some ideas:

• Board Policy Statements

• Board Operating Procedures

• Relevant Association Administrative Procedures

• Board Code of Conduct

• Major Event and Meeting Schedules

• Organization Chart

• List of Board committees

• Key Staff and responsibilities

• Current Strategic Plan

• Minutes of Last 6 board Meetings

• Contact Information

Reg Watts, an AXI Associate, is the President of The StratQuest Group, a management consulting company with specific expertise in strategic management services to non‑profit organizations. Serving associations in all five sectors, StratQuest concentrates on market research and social research, strategic planning, and organizational review and renewal.