Building a Compelling Advisory Board
When you’re in the midst of scaling your organisation, building an advisory board will be in your peripherals for a multitude of reasons. Ultimately, knowledge is power, and the more exceptional talent that you have sharing ideas, the better.
But, knowing where to start can be half the battle, and sourcing the correct expertise for your advisory board can make or potentially break your organisation. Whether it’s an NED, advisor, or consultant, all have different purposes and values.
“Much like an athlete would hire a trainer to improve their game, a board of directors looks to an advisory board for coaching. No matter how engaged and talented the board members are, they’re still busy people with unique strengths and weaknesses. An advisory board helps with effective board management. Read on to learn more about an advisory board’s roles and responsibilities.” - OnBoard
Permanent board vs Interim board
A permanent board is traditionally made up of your C-Suite team, as well as a Non-Executive Director (NED) and in some instances, a Chair. This type of board is usually cultivated from internal promotions or the natural hierarchy of your business.
An interim board is often made up of advisors or consultants, and even Interim C-Suite individuals who are there to oversee a transformation within your organisation. Additionally, an interim board of consultants may be there to assist with specific projects, whether this is internal growth or something else.
At some point, you may even look to have a hybrid model which is made up of permanent and interim individuals - depending on the stage that your organisation is at!
So, how can I start to build a compelling advisory board?
Step 1: Assess what your needs are in the short, medium, and long-term
This is a great way to decipher what your permanent vs interim board will look like. Highlighting what your short (6-12 months) medium (12-24 months) and long (24 months+) goals give you a strategy of who you need and when.
For example, you may be looking to grow exponentially over the next 24 months, but your current Talent team hasn’t got the expertise or seniority to lead it alone. It doesn’t make sense to hire a permanent HR manager, but instead - an interim Head of HR could enable you to upskill your current team whilst also offering that support, as well as being involved in executive decisions at board level.
Step 2: Go to market and find the talent - or use a partner to assist you
Now, it’s time to find exceptional talent for your needs. If you have an in-house talent team, ensure that you’ve created briefing documents and job descriptions so they can find these individuals. It’s important to note that you should have more flexibility for interim talent as some needs may require rare skill sets, so enabling remote or global talent is a must.
If you’re struggling with your go to market strategy, work with a trusted recruitment partner who can execute complex mandates. A good recruitment partner will have an excellent network as well as real-world examples of when they have hired that specific skill set. Generally, executive search firms are the most well-versed in these types of recruitment projects.
Step 3: Measure how it impacts your business (D&I, Culture, L&D, Performance)
Ultimately, your advisory board (both permanent and interim) should be measurable and have a significant impact on your business. Put bluntly, these will be some of the most expensive hires for your organisation, so you must ensure that what they are executing is actionable and measurable.
For example, if you have hired someone to work on a D&I campaign on an interim basis, what deliverables have been put in place and have they been met?
Equally, if you decide to hire someone permanently at board level to advise you on business performance, how will they be held accountable, and what do they need to be responsible for on a day-to-day basis? An advisory role should still be measured.
We work incredibly closely with a number of organisations, both from an advisory perspective on whom they should hire through to executing searches to build out their board and interim advisors.
