In this blog, Association of Chairs trustee Jane Hustwit, and AoC’s Communications Manager Helen Buckley, explore one of the most common missing skills for charity boards.
What are the most sought-after skills for boards?
Remarkably, not treasurers! When NCVO looked into trustee skill gaps in 2024, there was a surprising find. Rather than finances, it was communications that topped the list of missing skills for boards.
The most common gaps for small and medium charities are:
- communications and marketing (55%)
- legal (46%)
- technology (43%)
- finance (36%)
- human resources/people management (36%).
And for micro charities:
- communications and marketing (46%)
- governance (39%)
- finance (37%)
- legal (34%)
- technology (34%).
Defining communications
The term comms is often used widely and loosely. Communication is something everyone does all the time. As human beings, we can’t not communicate. Our voices, our faces, how we move – all make a statement. The same applies to organisations, however large or small. The term comms now covers the full range of communication that organisations engage in – messaging, reputation, events, audiences, and evaluation.
And be aware: marketing and comms, sometimes referred to as marcomms, often get conflated. Marketing is a subset of comms. Marketing focuses on promoting services, activities, products or events. It’s an element of comms activity which requires particular skills and can be an invaluable part of the mix. It’s important to be clear about what sort of trustee you’re actually looking for, so make sure you’re using these terms correctly.
What can comms trustees bring to the board table?
For most small charities, budgets are limited. Staff members (or volunteers) may be managing the communications. It can be hard to do your best when you are an overstretched comms team of one, or a social media volunteer, or an administrator who somehow gets roped into doing the socials and newsletters. Comms work can be reactive, going from one social media post to the next, without an overall strategy framing the work or useful KPIs in place to measure if what you’re doing is working.
That’s where a trustee can help. A trustee with a comms background should be able to ask strategic questions and offer practical guidance on delivery to staff or volunteers. The strategic questions might include:
- What are our objectives? (essential)
- What do we need to do to get there?
- Do we have a plan involving audiences, preferred means of communications and what resources will we need?
- How will we measure success?
A comms trustee can also be a valuable addition to risk discussions, helping to identify brand and reputational risks from activities and what mitigations or controls are needed, such as social media policies or tackling GDPR issues, such as opt ins and legitimate interest, for example.
Depending on their experience, they may also be able to contribute to discussions about data protection, cyber security and useful platforms/ apps.
Events are an excellent way of showcasing a charity and its work. A communications trustee may have valuable experience of designing events that can raise awareness of your cause and enhance your reach.
Please have realistic expectations and remember trustees focus on strategy, not delivery. Don’t expect someone with a comms background to necessarily have an in-depth knowledge of telephone systems, know how to make a viral video for Tik Tok, or be able to recode a website. Communications requires a wide range of skills, sometimes specialist.
Ideally you need a seasoned senior generalist who can take a helicopter view, someone who understands and can apply the full range of possibilities where relevant – classic, modern and future.
Tips from a trustee
Jane Hustwit is an AoC trustee, with extensive communications experience. Here she shares her tips for trustees with communications skills:
- Always have clear objectives, know what you want to achieve.
- Offer careful constructive criticism, especially if resources are stretched. Show, don’t just tell if possible. Offer possible solutions or suggestions.
- Some people don’t understand that good comms are crucial, and becoming even more so in a digital world. Visuals are a modern currency. Make the case and secure a sufficient budget. It’s not a frivolity, but how business is done these days.
- Remind your colleagues that human beings are story tellers – and listeners. Use stories and data – words, numbers and pictures.
Finding the missing piece
If you’re on the lookout for a comms trustee, here are some suggestions:
- Make use of your social media. Comms people use social media channels professionally. Ask your volunteers, staff and trustees to share your social posts to boost reach.
- Facebook has a multitude of local forums and groups. Are there ones for your area? There may also be groups and forums relating to your cause, the people you seek to serve, or the problems you’re trying to tackle. Do some searching. If you don’t have a Facebook page for your organisation, ask a volunteer to do a post into relevant groups.
- LinkedIn may be a good place to advertise – there are many comms professionals on it. Again, if you don’t have an official page, can someone who works or volunteers for you, or another board member, post up some information for your organisation?
- Ask local businesses and universities to help you advertise – they may employ marketing and comms professionals themselves who might make great trustees.
- Ask local papers and radio – they can help spread the word but they also employ people with comms skills who might be interested in volunteering.
- Consider advertising your role with: Charity Comms, Charity Job, and Reach Volunteering. These are paid-for services – if you have any budget for trustee recruitment they are worth exploring.
Visit our page on trustee recruitment to find out more ideas, suggestions, and signposts for building your board.
