Board Advisory Services

Board Assessment Services

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NACD’s confidential board assessment services are designed to transform a potentially sensitive exercise into a positive experience that accelerates board satisfaction and effectiveness. 

Each custom program is delivered by an NACD Certified sitting director who understands the nuances of the boardroom and appreciates the delicacy of the assessment process.

Our programs draw from leading practices while also being tailored to each board’s needs.

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Assessment Components

Tailored to address the most relevant needs of your board:

  • Electronic assessment to benchmark against NACD Blue Ribbon best practices and research to understand how you measure up
  • In-depth interviews by our elite NACD Directorship Certified and active director faculty to uncover the real issues
  • Assessment results and practical solutions and recommendations with a proven approach based on NACD best practices
  • Facilitated discussion by our faculty to help you move forward
Benefits
  • Elicits candid, confidential feedback: NACD assessments encourage directors to address issues.
  • Third-party facilitation: NACD Directorship Certified faculty members are skilled, objective interviewers. They provide an independent perspective, and their only agenda is to support the  boardʼs development.
  • Serves as a team-building exercise: optimize strengths and unite the board by ensuring all voices are heard.
  • Demonstrates strategic commitment: show your dedication to strategic alignment and governance excellence.
  • Provides practical guidance: concrete action steps establish a road map for continuous improvement.
  • Earns NACD Fellowship® credits: Provides board members with credit toward a recognized director credential.
Assessment Types
  • Full Board Assessment
  • Management Assessment of the Board
  • Committee Assessments
  • Individual Director Assessments
  • Skill Sets Matrix
 
    "NACD facilitated our annual board and committee evaluation process. We were extremely pleased with the quality and level of preparation of the NACD faculty—their insights, their adeptness in facilitating group discussion, the organization of the process, and the utility of their key recommendations.

    Peggy Heeg

    Nominating and Governance Committee Chair, Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP

Board Assessment

Developed in conjunction with NACD thought leaders, subject matter experts, and sitting directors, NACD’s board assessment helps your board evaluate effectiveness across a variety of governance areas with the support and analysis of NACD’s Board Advisory Services Faculty during the interview process. NACD’s tool for board optimization is reflective of principles from the following publications:

•        The Future of the American Board Report: A Framework for Governing into the Future

•        Culture as the Foundation: Building a High-Performance Board

Conducted by experienced, sitting directors who understand the nuances of the boardroom, our assessment provides a comprehensive review of the competencies and overall effectiveness of the board and helps align priorities centered around eight core areas of board responsibility and oversight:

•        Board Leadership

•        Board Culture

•        Board Process and Operations

•        Board Composition and Succession

•        Board Management Relations

•        Human Capital Oversight and CEO Succession

•        Strategy Oversight

•        Risk Oversight

Management Assessment of the Board

Adding a management assessment of the board serves to further enhance transparency and open communication across the management team and directors. Management answers questions from their perspective, and the resulting report is one that sheds light on any potential areas of misalignment of priorities across board and management, or gaps in the perception of the board’s performance in a particular area.

Committee Assessments

Committee assessments enable a review of core competencies, create baseline metrics, and define key performance indicators. We will identify areas for enhancement and assist in developing concrete action plans. Committee assessments follow the same rigorous methodology and data analysis process as board assessments.

Director Peer Assessments

Align your board members to collectively perform as a strategic asset for your company.  Directors assess themselves and their peers along a set of behavioral questions, and will receive their own confidential report, which will outline key areas of strength and areas to consider for continuous development.

Skill Sets Matrix

Generate a snapshot of the board’s current skills using a matrix to reveal areas of board weakness and deficits. Gaps can include areas of expertise (and experience, age, gender, ethnicity, and race) that succession planning committees should be seeking during board director recruitment activities. The resulting matrix enables robust succession planning, leading to long-term success and sustainability.

NACD will build a custom board composition assessment representative of the skill sets, competencies, and experience needed for your board. The resulting output is an analysis of the current skills and skill gaps of the directors.

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