From the moment they join the board, newly-elected board members are held to the same standard of performance of their fiduciary duties as long-serving directors. Therefore, an important “best practice” for boards is to have a well-planned onboarding process. Whenever possible, the onboarding process should begin well before the new director joins the board, and be designed with both the company’s characteristics and the director’s own experience in mind. The board – or its Nom/Gov Committee – should make sure that the onboarding process is planned and executed well, including following-up with the new director. And if you’re a new director and find the onboarding process inadequate, design it yourself! Key takeaways for this webinar include:
- A vibrant onboarding process is an important governance practice for every board
- Its design should reflect both the nature and complexity of the company, and the experience of the new director
- The lack of a sufficient onboarding process does not excuse a director for being unprepared; therefore, new directors may have to design their own onboarding