This week, NCVO published a report documenting the trustee recruitment and retention challenges faced by charities across the country. We have therefore dedicated our team blog this month to this hot topic.
In this blog, our Business Support Lead, Karen, shares how we diversified our recent trustee recruitment campaign to reach a wider pool of trustees. Karen also shares some simple and effective changes that you can make to enhance your next recruitment drive.
Karen's Blog
Prior to our last trustee recruitment cycle, I attended a training course to find out how we could improve our trustee recruitment processes. More specifically, I wanted to know how we could make our recruitment campaigns more accessible, as well as how we could reach people from a range of backgrounds.
Like many other VCSE organisations in Gloucestershire, we’ve found it challenging to recruit trustees over the last year or so, especially trustees from diverse backgrounds and talent pools. It’s something that we are committed to improving as an organisation, so that we can ensure that our board reflects the diverse communities that we work with.
As I write this blog, we are currently interviewing and onboarding the trustees that applied for our trustee vacancies during our recent recruitment campaign. We were really pleased with the candidates that applied this year and look forward to introducing you to our new trustees soon.
However, we're committed to reviewing and adapting our recruitment processes so that we can continue to improve the diversity of our board in the longer term. The recent trustee report from NCVO is helpful as it provides insight into the experiences of other charities across the country. Additionally, it offers some guidance about what we could all do to improve our recruitment practices in the future.
Here are some of the key takeaways from my training and our recent recruitment campaign that we found helpful:
- Be mindful of the language that you use in your trustee adverts. For example. words such as “leader” and “expert” appeal to those who are already confident in their abilities, but often act to exclude really good people who might not recognise those qualities in themselves.
- Look at where you’re advertising. Use social media to expand the reach of your adverts, rather than relying on word-of-mouth and existing networks. If you can, look at your analytics and find out the best time to post online, research relevant keywords and ensure that these are included in your posts.
- Consider the timing and venue of your meetings. Some demographics such as parents and carers or those in full-time employment may not be able to attend meetings at certain times. Instead of inadvertently excluding them, look at whether you can change your meeting times to appeal to a wider audience base.
- Remember that recruitment doesn’t end with appointing an applicant. Give some time to think about how you can make a potential or newly appointed trustee feel welcome and included. This could be via a buddy scheme or having a single point of contact for your new trustee to ask any questions while they settle into their new role.
- Make sure that your recruitment materials are accessible and not over-onerous. Language and fonts can make a huge difference to the readability and accessibility of your recruitment materials. Also be aware that not everyone is ICT savvy and think about whether you could adapt your recruitment practices to account for this.
- Make direct approaches to individuals who fit the bill. Often people just haven’t ever seen themselves as “trustee material” and are really pleased to be asked and then go on to make an amazing trustee.
- Be mindful of when you are recruiting and be open to extending your recruitment period. During our last recruitment campaign, we began promoting during the summer holidays. Aware that many people were away, we extended our deadline for a month to attract anyone who may have been away during the summer holiday period.
I’d encourage VCSE groups & organisations across Gloucestershire to read the NCVO report and to think about what changes they could make to improve their trustee recruitment campaigns. It may seem daunting at first as the trustee recruitment landscape is really challenging for us all and there isn’t a ‘quick fix’.
However, don’t forget that there's a range of support and information out there to help you, including the resources section on our website and our fully funded training programme. You can also advertise your trustee vacancies in our VCSE Sector News Bulletin and on Go Volunteer Glos website for free.
I’d also like to encourage anyone interested in a trusteeship with Gloucestershire VCS Alliance to get in touch with us – we'd love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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