Not all Boards Can Dismiss a Board Member
It is important, initially, to recognize that not all boards have the power to dismiss a member. In these cases, they may not be able to dismiss a member at all or they may only be in a position to recommend dismissal to a higher body such as a national body or government.
Considerations for Governance Boards Which Can Dismiss Board Members
Many governance boards have to consider the issue of board member dismissal for a variety of reasons such as:
- the inability to obtain a quorum
- the board member’s inability to follow the issues when he does not attend meetings regularly
- the extra time it takes to keep briefing him about the current issues, or the time it takes in-between meetings to answer his questions
- the need to avoid misunderstanding and dissention
- the inability to develop a cohesive team or bring all members up-to-date during professional development sessions, and/or
- the inability to count on a member to fulfill needed tasks, such as representing the board at functions or sitting on committees.
What constitutes a good policy?
Before writing any policy the board could consider the following questions
- What constitutes a ‘good’ reason for non-attendance?
- Is it necessary for everyone to notify a designated person, when it is known that a quorum will be in attendance anyway?
- Who should board members notify that they will not be in attendance?
- Is it important to have a quorum in cases where there is an executive team which has the power to make decisions when a quorum is not attainable or when time sensitive decisions need to be made?
Yes, It is Important
Many boards,which have been entrusted with that power, need to make a statement. Here are a few example:
- A Board Member is deemed to have resigned if such Board Member and his/her representative misses three successive Board meetings without communication. http://www.unitaid.eu/images/EB13/bop-nov2010%20english%20at%202010-11-11.pdf
- The Chair of the Board shall not fail to verifiably notify any board member who is absent for three consecutive regular-board meetings that the Board shall not fail to discuss the circumstances surrounding the board member’s absence, decide on a definite course of action to be taken, and, where deemed appropriate, notify the member of the Board’s decision to notify the Minister of Education. http://www.ncsd.ca/novacentral/docs/policy/GovernancePoliciesMay2011.pdf
- The Board has the power under Article 18(6) to remove a Board Member by a resolution of at least three quarters of all the other Board Members. http://www.homesforharingey.org/disqualification_policy.pdf
What is your policy? Please, share it on this site and tell us whether it is implemented and if it works or not.
