Board members play an essential part in governance, fostering accountability, and shaping the organization’s destiny. It can be difficult to manage a large number of people in all stages of career especially in a physical space like an annual board meeting.
Boards have a difficult time determining how to supervise management without micromanaging or interfering. It is essential that board members know the difference between higher-level policy decisions, and the lower-level management policies. It’s also crucial that the board has a good relationship with management, and has clearly defined the ways in which they will participate in their decisions.
It is a good idea to schedule regular updates via calling board members for seven to ten days before the next board meeting. This lets the board preview issues that will be on the agenda, and also ensures that bad news won’t be presented at the time of the meeting.
The final step is to make sure that you develop guidelines that clearly define the roles of the management, board members and medical staff. Effectively implemented policies reduce the amount “busy work” during each board meeting. This helps to free time for strategic tasks.
To ensure that the board can be an effective partner in the monitoring process, it’s essential that it’s comprised of people with a broad understanding across all aspects of the business. This includes finance, sales marketing, operations and finance. It can also be beneficial if some of the members have previous experience in other areas apart from healthcare. This allows the board to get expertise from new sources and make the best decision for the business.
