Consultants Suggest Improvements in Director On-Boarding

A memo from consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates discusses ways firms can build successful corporate director onboarding programs, which may prove useful to fund boards. According to research cited in the memo, only 24 percent of directors said they had experienced customized onboarding, compared to 58 percent who went through a standardized program. The authors write that many boards are not investing heavily enough in integrating their new members, and few firms tailor their onboarding process to the diverse experiences and tenures new directors bring. They suggest that boards can improve new directors’ effectiveness by: creating a board-led on-boarding process; considering a board mentoring program; personalizing the onboarding process and experience; broadening the pool of key board and management leaders that new directors meet; and improving director feedback by scheduling frequent one-on-one review sessions.