The key to making sure that boards have the best directors with the right skill sets is doing effective board self-evaluations. This is the reason that board self-assessment forms are a necessary component of best practices for boards. Boards have the flexibility to design their self-evaluation processes according to the needs of the corporation. Because manual self-evaluations are time-consuming and cumbersome, it's high time for boards to evaluate the evaluation process. Digital board self-assessment options are a more effective and efficient method of turning information from board self-assessment forms into clear and meaningful data that serves board directors, stakeholders and shareholders.
Areas of Board Self-Assessment
The board self-assessment questions and process are most effective when they're customized to reflect the unique needs of the corporation. Among several other factors, the design of the self-assessment process must account for the company's goals, corporate culture and skills of the managerial team. At a minimum, boards should divide their board self-assessment forms into the following eight categories:- Structure and Processes for Committees and Boards
- Composition of Boards and Committees
- Legal entity and group structure
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Assessing Board Behavior, Dynamics and Culture
- Director Training and Development
- Oversight of Internal Controls
- Oversight of Reporting, Disclosure and Performance
Streamlining and Strengthening Board Self-Assessments With Diligent's Board Self-Assessment Tool
The benefits of conducting board self-assessments online far outweigh the benefits of cumbersome, manual processes. Diligent's Board Self-Assessment tool streamlines board evaluations, creating efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Board evaluation administrators can use the tool to monitor the submission and completion of each director's evaluation. Directors will appreciate the convenience of being able to complete their evaluations any time of day or night using whichever electronic device they have handy. Directors can submit their evaluations anonymously, which promotes honesty and integrity. Diligent incorporated the experience and feedback from multiple industries, including corporate, nonprofit, healthcare, and financial and banking institutions. The features, along with the ability to customize questions, make Diligent's board assessment tool a value-driven solution. The board evaluation administrator can personalize assessments by using a variety of multiple user-tested questions. They can also incorporate glossaries and supplemental reference information using links. Directors can finalize their evaluations with a secure e-signature. Using just a few clicks, administrators can view past questions and results. The program gives immediate results. There's no need to manipulate or calculate results manually. The platform also averages data automatically and creates helpful graphs, charts and reports. Administrators can easily export the results using the export wizards in just a couple of clicks. The platform paves the way for clear results of the board's strengths, weaknesses and skill sets, enabling boards to implement immediate positive change. The visuals make it simple to present and share specifics about board performance with external auditors and others. Highly professional presentations to shareholders assure them that the board is committed to good governance practices. Diligent's Board Self-Assessment tool also eliminates the need for utilizing third-party independent experts that are expensive and difficult to schedule. Overall, the efficiency and cost-effectiveness drive more value for board processes, which benefits corporations in major ways. In many realms, paper forms and paper processes are becoming outdated and replaced by more efficient electronic processes. Diligent Board Self-Evaluations is just one of several software solutions that comprises Governance Cloud, a total enterprise governance management solution, and the No. 1 software product for boards.![](https://annyazommq.cloudimg.io/https://dg-staging-450520-cd.azurewebsites.net/-/media/project/diligent/master/au-whitepaper-images/whitepaper-images/a-buyers-guide-to-esg-data-management-software.png?h=511&iar=0&w=765&rev=263be577-e761-4e63-96ef-8ab461f2c7d1&org_if_sml=1&force_format=webp&hash=66FFC6017BFA4AEF4FEB228C028B7AA2)
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