How to Build the Best Chamber Board Ever

As a chamber pro, it doesn’t take long to understand the importance of your board in helping you achieve your goals. They can make or break a chamber career. A petty board can cause division and raise doubt in your competency. A professional, positive board can rally the entire community around your efforts.

In this article, we’ll cover ways to attract and retain the type of people who will help you do incredible things for the community. We’ll also talk about the different types of boards and how they impact your outreach. Finally, we’ll cover the do’s and dont’s of building a strong, impactful chamber board.

Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Top Talent for Your Chamber Board

A strong chamber board is the backbone of a thriving business community. With it, you can do amazing things. But recruit and choose poorly and you could have a problem. That problem could end up with costly court cases (or theft) or embarrassing social media gaffs. (That is not to say that you are immune to such problems if you recruit and practice due diligence. Problems can still occur but hopefully you’ll be more equipped to see them earlier.)

It’s important to know how to attract, recruit, and retain exceptional members for your Chamber Board. Here are a few tips:

Know What You’re Looking For

No chamber pro (unless you are starting a chamber from scratch) will get to select every board member from the minute you step into your role. It can feel a little like selecting a Supreme Court Justice but with a more frequent selection process. Unlike the Court, your board positions will have expiration dates.

Assuming you have one (or more) positions on the horizon, you should be clear on what type of board you need.

Think Strategically

What type of board will benefit your community and further your goals the best? Here are a few examples of the types of boards you may look to build.

Representative Board: reflects the diversity of your member base in terms of industry, size, and demographics. When recruiting this type of board, you would consider business composition and mirror it in your board selection. There are two ways to do this–based on your current business members or based on your business community (including nonmembers). That means if 75% of your member businesses are small, 75% of your board would be comprised of small business owners. On the other hand, if you based it on your larger business community, and 75% of those businesses were big manufacturers (for instance), you would recruit more large-scale manufacturers for your board. The difference between these two options is being true to your current demographic or desiring to shift it by recruiting that’s more in line with the larger community.
Community Leaders Board: is composed of prominent figures with significant influence and connections. This board gives strategic expertise to the chamber through C-level leaders. Keep in mind top execs and leaders will not likely attend ribbon cuttings and weekly handshaking events. They will, however, be drawn to the higher-level consultative role within the chamber. If you want to recruit a board like this, you’ll want to focus on high-ranking decision makers, not the marketing manager.
Network-Centric Board: Focuses on individuals with extensive networks to expand chamber reach and collaboration. While this role is generally assumed by the ambassadors, some chambers envision their boards to be connectors and representatives of the community, friendly faces with business acumen but not necessarily the top decision-makers for their firm.
Guidance Board: It’s possible that your business community is struggling with a very pressing issue. You and your board may have identified it as a critical component of your strategic plan but perhaps you have no current board members who can provide the necessary insights into addressing that challenge. You may decide to recruit based on the need for guidance or outcome on an individual challenge.

Now that you’ve decided what type of board will move your chamber forward and serve your community best, it’s time to focus on attraction. Every board nomination, brings you closer to your ideal board. If you have an idea about the type of board member you want, don’t falter from it. Don’t make excuses that, “It’s just one seat that doesn’t fit the vision. No biggie.” If they don’t fit your ideal, don’t nominate them. For instance, if you’re committed to only C-suite leaders on your board, and you invite one who then wants to assign the role to their admin, don’t agree to it. Whether it’s one seat or five, every seat brings you closer to (or conversely further away from) the board you desire.

Tips for Attracting and Recruiting Your Ideal Chamber Board

Attracting the right type of board member is critical to the nomination process. That’s why you’ll want to:

Showcase the Impact: Highlight the board’s positive influence on the community. Create testimonials from past board members about their experiences. The board is critical to the chamber’s (and your) success. Draw attention to the board and thank them for their efforts. Not only will your current board feel appreciated when you do, but others will see you admiring them and want the same for themselves. It will become a coveted role.
Diversify Your Messaging: Appeal to different motivations. Some potential board members might be passionate about community development, while others might seek leadership experience or networking opportunities. However, the messaging you use to reach potential board members should be consistent with the role they will play.
Leverage Existing Networks: Promote board opportunities through member communications, social media, and local media partnerships. This is not a position you will advertise per se, but asking for word-of-mouth recommendations from current board or ideal members is a good place to find qualified individuals who would be a good fit.
Targeted Search: In addition to considering the type of board you want, think about what’s needed. Don’t just fill a seat – identify specific skill gaps and actively seek individuals with expertise in those areas (e.g., legal, marketing, finance). For instance, while you may want a C-suite board, there may also be a need for improving the chamber’s social media. In that case, you may recruit and select an exec who has an impeccable personal brand and strong (individual) social media presence to add to those talents and collective board wisdom. While they won’t perform the administrative tasks of social media engagement and building an audience, they will be able to share their talent and provide suggestions.

Dos and Don’ts to Building an Effective Board

Do: Develop a clear board profile outlining desired skills, experience, background, and commitment level.
Don’t: Settle for the first qualified candidate, keep searching for individuals who complement your existing board or your ideal board.
Do: Make the recruitment process personal. Engage with potential candidates, explain their role, and address any concerns. This is not a job for a blanket email to twenty individuals to see who pops up first. Have a conversation, make sure they know what’s expected of them and the time they will need to dedicate to the position.
Don’t: Focus solely on “know-how” – look for passionate individuals with a genuine desire to contribute to the community. But keep in mind if you have decided on a “minimum qualification” or job title for a board member, waiving it even once, will derail your vision for the board.
Do: Express appreciation for their time and interest, even if they decline the nomination. Maybe this term isn’t a good fit but perhaps they will be interested in the future. It’s not personal. And a decline from someone who cannot meet the time demands is better than someone agreeing and then being a no-show consistently.

Making Board Service a Great Experience for All

Finally, once you’ve recruited the ideal board member, explained the requirements, educated them, and installed them on the board, there are several things you can do to ensure the best experience possible including:

Providing board members with opportunities to utilize their skills and contribute meaningfully.
Publicly acknowledging board member contributions at events and through awards. Be as specific as possible as to their contributions so that people understand why is most valued.
Maintain regular communication with board members, keeping them informed on chamber activities and decisions.
Offer workshops or retreats to help them stay current on best practices in chamber governance. Many of them don’t understand their fiduciary responsibilities.

While following these tips does not mean you won’t ever struggle with board problems–personalities are what they are and sometimes you don’t know until things implode–but by implementing these tactics, you can build a dynamic and effective board that propels your chamber forward and strengthens your community.

By: Christina Metcalf