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What's included in a good board succession plan?
When mergers created a more diversified membership 15 years ago at Atlantic Financial Federal Credit Union in Hunt Valley, Md., the board, composed mostly of telephone company retirees, recognized the need to diversify itself to better represent the newly acquired select employee group.
The result was a board succession plan that includes developing candidate criteria, generating a list of potential candidates, interviewing potential candidates, and providing formal and informal training. This plan is reviewed annually at the board's strategic planning meeting.
Senior credit union staffers work hard to bring potential directors from SEGs to the board for consideration.
"The largest difficulty is not with identifying individuals, but having a list of candidates" willing to take on the duties of being a director, if elected, says CUES member Richard Webb, president/CEO of the $89 million CU (www.affcu.org). "It's not like the old days, when we had a meeting once a month and that was it. The responsibility for board members is so much greater than it used to be."
While Atlantic Financial FCU's ninemember board does not have term limits in place, it sees turnover of one board member every two to three years. Each board member might suggest a potential candidate each year, and Webb typically talks to five or six.
The succession plan at Atlantic Financial FCU (which is available to CUES and CUES Director members who log into cues.org, choose Members Share under Member Resources, and then search for "Atlantic") further outlines that a candidate must meet established criteria to serve on the board. This includes a focus on credit bureau scores, debt ratios, criminal background checks, a background in commerce or board experience, formal education and/or excellent...