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“Our board has an assessment lifecycle,” says Karen Hoffmann, corporate secretary of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union–better known as Vancity –in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The $17.5 billion, 501,000-member credit union’s annual assessment rotation is overseen by a third-party consultant.
Assessments of individual board members are reviewed by the external consultant, the director involved and the board chair.
A plan is put together to develop the board member‘s skills and expertise by using suggestions from the consultant and board chair as well as requests from the director. As corporate secretary, Hoffmann works with the chair to ensure the plan is followed.
Vancity sets aside a small pool of educational money for directors.
“We can help them with ideas and support,” Hoffmann says. “If a director wants or needs more intensive knowledge about a particular subject matter, that may call for attending a conference or a program.” Seminars that are helpful to several board members are often held in house – for instance, ones to enhance their financial fluency.
“About every second year we hold a round of seminars locally,” Hoffmann says. The Vancity financial statement and strategic plan are used as a jumping-off point, setting up such questions as “What is it telling me?” and “What do we need to take a closer look at?” Then, Hoffmann says, it’s up to directors to use that information to augment their own effectiveness.
“The chair is the lead,” Hoffmann emphasizes. “She attends all interviews with individual directors. It’s an important part of her job.”
Charlene Komar Storey is a veteran credit union writer based in New Jersey.
This is bonus coverage from “Starting Point” in the April 2015 issue of Credit Union Management magazine.
