Need a Non-Exec Director to Boost Your Management?

Getting the right support for a growing business is crucial but how do you get the experience and knowledge you need from non-executive directors if you don’t have a high budget? Equally how do you get to become a non-executive director and use your management experience?

These are the issues being tackled by Boardcircle, a new organisation set up to match growing businesses with non-executive directors through an innovative new programme. Boardcircle proposes a solution in which companies ‘share’ members of their own management team/board as non-execs, to learn through ‘doing’ and enhance the skills of both executives and boards in the process.

Commenting on the new business, Martin Hawley, Director said, “In recent years the majority of attention has been on large company boards, but through Boardcircle we want the shape of SME boards to be re-thought. SMEs are the life blood of the UK economy and they need as much help as large PLCs.

“Whilst many SMEs consider having an independent voice on their board, they sadly do not end up with one. The reasons are varied: they are not sure about the value added, the role non-execs play, and are put off by the stereotype that a non-exec should be a ‘retired senior manager’. We believe SMEs are ready for a new way of doing things and a new breed of non-executive.“

Boardcircle took inspiration from Luke Johnson, Financial Times Columnist and Entrepreneur who offers some clear advice to boards looking for that new energy within their senior management team, “always recruit the hungry up and comer, never the grandee”.

Boardcircle aims to harness the enthusiasm of a new generation of non-execs and is targeting businesses with up to 50 employees who are looking for talented non-executive directors to support their existing management teams. Becoming a non-exec enables executives to take a step back from their normal management role into an objective, governance-focused role in another company.

All businesses need objective thinking and wider strategic skills to take their organisations to the next level. The whole scheme has been designed to allow businesses to ‘share’ their talent to maximum effectiveness – developing the business and the key individuals. The role is a voluntary, unpaid one for the non-executive. It is expected that the experience will be more valuable to the individuals, in the long term, than a top-up of salary. The scheme is also highly pragmatic - by connecting companies as locally as possible.

Katherine Amery, Head of Operations at Boardcircle added, “To get the optimal match between boards and prospective non-execs, we have developed an online platform for collaboration that simplifies what would otherwise be a complex exchange of resources. There is still a ‘critical’ final matching process led by my team to secure a good fit between boards and prospective non-execs.”

The non-execs are provided by organisations on a voluntary, ‘sharing’ basis to help another business whilst improving the skills of their own management team. It is expected that those who receive non-execs will also look to promote one of their senior team to another board.

Boardcircle charges an annual membership fee of just £1000 once a placement is made, either giving or receiving a non-exec. For more information about the programme and to become a host company or non-executive director, please visit www.boardcircle.me.

About Boardcircle:

Boardcircle provides a unique opportunity for small and medium sized companies to effectively ‘share’ directors, as non-executives.
Formed in 2013 by Martin Hawley, the idea for the scheme came Martin’s experience in SMEs. He often found that the talented professionals he worked with at board level were closer to the mark than many professional advisors. Yet they could also be disadvantaged by being overly close and emotionally involved. Looking around the boardroom table Martin realised that his colleagues could add exceptional value to other boards, and in doing so develop their own skills as directors. Maybe some companies could share their directors as non-executives? And if this could be done at low cost it could revolutionise growing businesses, accelerating growth through better and more diverse governance.

The non-exec positions are not salaried but aim to serve the professional development needs of directors; at the same time providing an independent director to help companies develop. ‘Sharing’ directors is not a straight swap, so Boardcircle works with companies to find the best fit. Companies join to promote someone as a non-executive and look for one. This encourages business leaders to develop executive skills in other organisations and creates opportunities for companies to experience a non-executive from a pool of talented professionals.