Path to bag top board role

Many governance positions are landed by successful, hard-working people. Photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

Have you ever wondered how people find their way onto state-sector boards such as community trusts, the Employment Relations Authority or even the Electoral Commission?

The answer is that they apply, and are then recommended to ministers by government agencies such as the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit (Comu).

To those outside the system it can see like a secret society. Once you know the process, however, getting into governance is a bit like following almost any career path. You start out at the bottom, learn the rungs, use your transferable skills to move to different agencies and, if you so desire, climb to the top - becoming a member or chairperson of one or more of the larger and more influential governance boards.

There are more than 400 state-sector boards and committees in New Zealand, and 2700 members. Becoming one of those appointees can be a way of giving back to the community and also advancing your career.

You don't need to be based in Wellington to get these roles, says Pamela Cohen, director nominations service at the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MWA). Many boards, such as district health boards, are regionally based. What's more, appointing agencies try to ensure that there is a geographical spread of board members, she says.

Most state-sector board positions are part time. Some are paid and others unpaid. For those which do pay, wages start at about $300 a day and range up to $30,000 a year for the plum appointments, of which a person may hold several. Even unpaid appointments usually provide travel expenses.

Sometimes these roles are held by semi-retired or retired people with highly regarded skills and experience, from industry or government.

Nevertheless, being a board member isn't easy money, says Cohen. Many roles have a lot of responsibility. "These [roles] are not trophies," she says. "They are actually hard work and they take time and commitment to fulfil."

The challenges of being a board member include finding time to prepare for and attend board meetings. Many board positions are highly sought after and are landed by hard-working successful people. As a result, juggling the time commitments of the board along with work/life commitments can be difficult.

It can also be a huge responsibility to oversee the organisation represented by the board. You might also find yourself involved in conflict with other members.

GETTING STARTED

If you want to get into governance, it's worth taking the time to read information on websites for organisations such as Comu (comu.govt.nz), the MWA, Women on Boards (mwa.govt.nz/women-on-boards) and the Institute of Directors (iod.org.nz), which explain the appointments process and provide a wealth of resources.

Women are hugely under-represented on these boards and there are a number of initiatives to right this imbalance.

At the time of writing, the MWA was on the verge of launching an online tool called My Board Strengths, which assesses individuals' suitability for governance and directs potential appointees to resources that could help develop their competencies.

The tool will also make it possible to prepare for scenarios of the types of issues that come up at board meetings.

But not everyone will be suitable for a governance role without learning new skills or honing existing ones. They may need to:

* Get experience on local boards and committees of organisations, schools or charities;
*Take a leadership role in a professional association or community group;
*Develop his or her networks/connections within the community or a particular sector;
*Brush up on financial literacy or financial experience.

It may mean taking courses such ones offered by the IOD, which offers a number of services to its members to help them get into board roles. .

The institute offers director development courses on governance, finance and strategy.

Preparing to apply for a governance role could also mean developing your networks, getting known nominations services and networking with those individuals who make recommendations for board appointments.

Joining organisations such as the IOD and local Chambers of Commerce can be helpful for networking.

Once you've met the criteria, it's then necessary to prepare a CV tailored to a governance role before getting your name on to the databases from which board members are chosen. The websites of Women on Boards and IOD offer help with CV preparation.

Next, you need to make contact with a nominations service which will choose who to put forward to the appointing agency when roles become available.

There are six government departments which nominate individuals to ministers and government agencies recruiting board members. They are the:

* MWA;
* Ministry of Maori Development;
* Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs;
* Office of Ethnic Affairs (Department of Internal Affairs);
* Office of Disabilities Issues (Ministry of Social Development) and the
* Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

You can register with more than one and you can also register as a candidate online or view details of any directorships under consideration by visiting boardappointments.co.nz.

Then you need to be patient until a suitable role comes up and you are nominated to the appointing agency.

If you do fit the bill you may be interviewed.

The key appointing agencies include:

* Comu;
* Department of Conservation;
* Ministry for Culture and Heritage;
* Ministry of Economic Development;
* Ministry of Health.

Once you've held one board posting, it's often possible to either move up the chain or take on more board roles.

Auckland barrister Giselle McLachlan was introduced to governance through one of her jobs, and is now chairwoman of the NZ Gynaecological Cancer Foundation, an independent director of the Institute of Financial Advisers and is an Earthquake Commissioner.

Cohen says board appointees generally start at lower-level boards, which may have low staffing levels, annual turnovers and levels of impact.

The MWA has a useful cross-sector governance map on its website that shows the various continuums for government, Maori and not-for-profit boards.

At the bottom end are the unpaid roles such as boards of trustees at schools, marae and playcentre trusts.

At the top are state-owned enterprise boards, such as the Airways Corporation, iwi/hapu commercial entities, and friendly societies.

Some board appointees will work their way up from the bottom, possibly crossing back and forth to not-for-profit, Maori and government boards where applicable.

McLachlan noticed the step up when she became a foundation chairwoman.

"Moving into the role of chairwoman has been a big learning curve for me.

"It's a huge amount of work - like conducting an orchestra - and there is a lot more personal responsibility."

Often the more senior the role, the greater the number of applicants. There can be as many as 1500 applicants for the top board roles with perhaps 20 appointments made, says Cohen.

To take the step up to board chairperson, you will require experience and also additional skills such as:

* Chief executive or second-tier management experience;
* Corporate experience, particularly those who have held profit and loss responsibilities or experience as an entrepreneur or in business development;
* Experience in managing commercial assets;
* Legal experience;
* Accounting with management experience.

A full list of state-sector boards in New Zealand can be found here.