Recruiting and inducting trustees

Charity boards must make sure they have enough trustees. It’s a good idea to evaluate the board each year by considering the following questions.

• Have you got enough trustees with the right knowledge, experience and skills?
• Do your trustees need training or support to do their jobs effectively?
• Have you reflected on your board culture and engaged in inclusive practices?
• Do you need new trustees? If so, where will you find them?

If you decide you do need new trustees, take time and care with your recruitment process.

To find the best candidates it’s important to have clear goals for your trustee recruitment. Here are some tips to help guide your thinking.

• Imagine being a candidate. What will help someone decide to join your board? What will help you identify the skills, experiences and qualities you need from them?
• A trustee role description can help those who are interested to understand the role.
• Running a trustee skills audit with your board can help you learn more about the skills, qualities, or experiences you need. This also helps prospective trustees identify what they can bring to your board.
• Check the terms of office for your trustees. Make sure new trustees know how long you expect them to be part of your board.
• Check your governing document for the formal process of appointing or electing a trustee.
• Make sure you consider equity, diversity and inclusion at board level.
• Agree how you’ll decide if:
  • the new trustee is the best person
  • your board is right for them
  • the recruitment process requires an interview or meeting with the chair
  • applicants should observe a board meeting before committing to the role.
• You need to create a succession plan for if you cannot find the right trustee. This could mean hiring more staff with new skills at different levels.

Reach Volunteering has developed a recruitment cycle for trustees. This free tool sets out what you should consider when planning to recruit new trustees.

Advertising your role

Before posting your role, use the following resources to make sure you recruit a diverse range of trustees.

• Read our guidance on why trustee diversity is important.
• Getting on Board has a free guide on how to recruit diverse trustees.
• Action for Trustee Racial Diversity has developed a guide on recruiting black and Asian charity trustees.

Where to advertise

• Young Trustees Movement can help connect you with younger volunteers.
• Women on Boards can support you to share opportunities with their members.
• Reach Volunteering has a searchable database of volunteers seeking roles as trustees.
• Do It allows you to advertise for volunteer vacancies for free, including trusteeships.
• Some local volunteer centres provide trustee matching services. You can find your nearest volunteer centre on the NACVA website.
• Getting on Board has a helpful list of other places you can advertise your trustee vacancy.

Recruitment processes

How you elect or appoint new trustees will usually be set out in your charity’s governing document. Any recruitment methods you use must follow this.

Below are some common trustee recruitment processes used by charities.

Formal process

You can follow a formal process like staff recruitment. This might include:

• advertising a vacancy
• shortlisting candidates based on a CV and person specification
• conducting a formal interview.

Use our guidance on recruiting volunteers.

Informal process

This might involve meeting with each candidate and then inviting those that are suitable to observe a board meeting. This gives them an opportunity to see how the board works and meet existing trustees.

Involving members

Your members might make the final decision on who is elected. Some membership organisations help members choose between candidates by:

• sharing candidate biographies before their annual general meeting (AGM)
• sharing information about the role, skills and experience needed.

If members elect the trustees at the AGM, the board may suggest who they feel is most suitable. However they won't have the final say on who the members choose.

Charities are responsible for making sure that potential trustees are eligible to take on the role. Potential trustees need to understand what their roles and responsibilities are before they agree to join your charity’s board.

In England and Wales prospective trustees must complete and sign a trustee declaration of eligibility and responsibility.

This confirms their eligibility to be a trustee. Individuals are responsible for declaring their eligibility. It’s an offence under the Charities Act for a trustee to ‘knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information’.

You may also want to carry out further due diligence checks by checking relevant registers. The Charity Commission has guidance on why some individuals can't act as charity trustees.

Read our guidance on trustee disqualification.

Trustee induction is vital. It helps your new trustees to get up to speed with the role, the organisation and their legal responsibilities.

Inductions also help trustees understand your key policies and procedures. These might include equal opportunities, health and safety, and data protection.

Your trustee induction process should include:

• meetings and introductions to other trustees, employees, beneficiaries, service users, and stakeholders
• invitations to events, meetings and presentations
• documents for a trustee induction pack
• buddying or coaching.

You can use the following guidance to help create your induction process.

• Our tips for running a volunteer induction.
• Charity Commission's advice on how to create a trustee welcome pack.
• Reach Volunteering's guidance on creating a great induction for your trustee.