10 Tips for Hiring a Trustee

Sandy Hinks, Head of Charity Practice at Moon Executive Search, works on behalf of national charities, not-for-profit organisations and brand-new charities entering into the market to build new trustee boards or extend existing boards.

While many people are happy to be trustees and to contribute their time for free, to get the right mix of essential soft and hard skills, passion, and network, you need to invest time in the search and proactively look for talent.

These are some tips to consider when hiring a trustee:

Strategy

Set out your long and short-term goals and be honest about what you need from your trustees to achieve them. This will allow you to recruit the right trustees and ensure they know what is expected from them.

2. Organisational skills

Administering the duties of a trustee can be a complex job. Trustees need to demonstrate good organisation skills in order to fulfil all requirements necessary for legal compliance.

3. Conflicts of interest

Your trustee is legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of your beneficiary(ies) with no consideration for personal gain. If a potential trustee could have a bias which would cause a conflict of interest, then choose another trustee.

Who will support and drive the ideas for growth?

4. Commercial background

Skills drawn from outside of the charity sector are important. Charities need to be up-to-date with best business practice in order to compete for resourcing and funding.

5. Personality mix

Consider your trustees personality types and the overall dynamics of the board - who will manage the regulatory commitments, who will support and drive ideas for growth?

6. Business network

If you want to grow the charities profile then good business connections can be essential. They can open the door to sponsorship and fundraising opportunities.

7. Passion

Choose trustees who have a personal or professional interest in the area you are working in, demonstrating a passion for, and an understanding of, the charity.

8. Balance skill-sets

To give you the most effective board, trustees should have a variety of corporate backgrounds and different skills i.e. governance, property, accounting, marketing, HR etc.

9. Diversity

Alternative perspectives will push forward the charity and send your message out to different sectors of the community who will in turn promote what you are trying to achieve.

10. Manage time expectations

Make sure that your trustees understand the commitment expected of them and that they have the time to properly fulfil their duties.

If you would like to consider hiring a trustee, contact Sandy Hinks on 01275 371 200 or recruit@moonexecsearch.com. For information on our trustee campaigns visit our website, Moon Executive Search will continue to find the talent that can help deliver the services that organisations require.

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