Recruiting qualified board members is crucial for any organization. An engaged and diverse board brings fresh perspectives, expertise, and oversight. With over 740 million members, LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for finding and connecting with professionals. Using LinkedIn to recruit board members takes time and strategy. But it can yield fantastic candidates you may not find through your own network. Here are tips to effectively use LinkedIn for board recruitment.
Define Your Needs
Before searching LinkedIn, clearly define the skills you seek in a new board member. Analyze gaps in your current board’s abilities and demographics. What expertise or backgrounds are missing? Common needs include fundraising, financial, legal, industry-specific, and diversity. Outline the required qualifications and helpful skills for candidates. You may seek someone to chair a committee, international contacts, or a college-aged voice.
Search Broadly
Use LinkedIn’s advanced search and filters to find potential prospects. But cast a wide net initially. Search by skills, employers, job titles, schools, qualifications, location, and keywords. Adjust the filters to expand or narrow your results. Avoid limiting your search too much early on. Broad searches allow you to identify candidates you may not have considered. And view more profiles to find common skills and qualifications.
Evaluate Profiles Thoroughly
Carefully evaluate prospects’ profiles before connecting. Look beyond job titles and employers. Review their listed skills, causes, content shares, honors, recommendations, and groups. Also research their personal websites and organizations. Verify they have the abilities your board needs. Assess for fit with your board and culture. Take time upfront to thoroughly evaluate prospects’ full profiles and online presence.
Make Customized Connection Requests
Send customized connection requests to qualified prospects. Personalize the message to showcase your knowledge of their profile. Mention common connections, experiences, or causes that resonate. Include a brief pitch on your organization and the board opportunity. Ask for a short call or virtual coffee to further discuss. Avoid generic invites. Show prospects why connecting matters given their passions, skills, and goals.
Discuss the Board Opportunity
Once connected, arrange a call or meeting to share details on the board role. Describe your organization’s mission, impact, and culture. Provide an overview of the board’s purpose, committees, meeting schedules, term length, and expectations. Then discuss why the prospect is uniquely qualified for the role based on their abilities and passions. Listen to their questions and gauge their interest level. Be prepared to share next steps if they seem interested.
Introduce Finalists to Key Leaders
Before finalizing your decision, introduce top candidates to key organizational leaders and board members. This gives both parties more insight before making a commitment. Arrange 1:1 virtual or in-person meetings for the prospect to meet the board chair, CEO, staff leaders, and committee chairs. Talk to stakeholders afterward to get their feedback and suggestions.
Onboard New Members Strategically
Once you’ve selected new board members, take steps to strategically onboard them. Pair them with a seasoned board mentor. Schedule an orientation to share essential documents, plans, data, and context. Invite them to observe some upcoming board and committee meetings. Provide clear guidelines on their responsibilities and expectations. Check in regularly to ensure they feel equipped and engaged.
Maximize Ongoing LinkedIn Engagement
Have board members actively engage on LinkedIn to extend your organization’s reach. Encourage them to follow your company page and share relevant content. Repost their program spotlights, volunteer posts, and fundraising promotions. Tag them in organizational updates. Ask them to recommend your nonprofit and endorse your staff’s skills. Recruiting via LinkedIn provides ongoing visibility through an influential new champion.
Tap Into Their Networks
Leverage your new board members’ professional networks to find more prospects, partners, donors, and volunteers. Gather introductions to their key contacts who may help your mission. Ask if they will invite any promising leaders to your upcoming board recruitment events. New board members’ expanded networks often lead to beneficial connections.
Keep Your Pipeline Strong
Maintain an ongoing list of potential board prospects beyond your immediate openings. Continue engaging these prospects through LinkedIn and other channels. Add them to your newsletter list, invite them to events, or send them updates. Nurture these relationships, so promising candidates are ready when board seats become available. A strong pipeline ensures your board stays strategically composed.
Provide Clear Term Limits
To allow periodic infusion of new perspectives, set clear term limits for board service. Establish set terms of 2-3 years that can be renewed up to a maximum limit such as 6-9 years. Communicate these term limits in your board member agreements and policies. Stagger terms, so you’re not replacing your entire board at once. Term limits enable ongoing recruitment and prevent stagnation.
Know When to Part Ways
While you want to nurture long-term board members, also know when it’s time to part ways. Watch for declining engagement, missed meetings, lack of financial support, policy conflicts, or other issues. Have candid conversations to get to the root issues. If problems persist, suggest they resign, or conduct votes to remove members. Parting ways professionally preserves your relationship if they want to volunteer in other ways.
Provide Plenty of Notice for Openings
Notify your board well in advance of upcoming vacancies, so they have ample time to help recruit qualified candidates. Share key qualifications, demographics, and expertise you seek to fill gaps. Ask each board member to put forward 2-3 promising prospects. Extending the recruiting task across your board taps more networks and surfaces better candidates.
Host Recruiting and Info Events
To aid your board search, host in-person or virtual recruitment and info events. These events allow you to present your board opportunity to many prospects at once. Hold a webinar briefing potential candidates on your mission, impact, board role, and application process. Or host an in-person reception where prospects can meet board and staff leaders. Promote these events through your website, emails, social media, and board networks.
Be Open to Non-Traditional Candidates
Consider prospects who bring valuable skills and diversity but may not fit the typical board member mold. Be open to young professionals, lower-level staffers at major corporations, influential retirees, and others you may typically overlook. Evaluate candidates mainly on the specific expertise and networks they’ll bring. Non-traditional members provide helpful new perspectives.
Don’t Limit Yourself to Local Candidates
Thanks to remote meetings, your board search is no longer restricted to local prospects. Search LinkedIn and your networks nationally for the best candidates aligned with your needs. Widen your geography, especially when seeking expertise your region lacks. Tools like Zoom and Google Meet make it feasible to effectively engage board members across the country.
Video Screen Prospects Early On
Schedule video conferences early in the recruitment process to deeply screen promising prospects. This provides more interaction than messages or phone calls. Observe their communication skills and engagement when discussing your organization’s mission and needs. Ask follow-up questions to go deeper. Video meetings give better insight into candidates before you commit.
Gather Feedback From Key Stakeholders
As you evaluate prospects, collect feedback from other stakeholders beyond your board. Ask staff leaders, major donors and partners, policymakers, and clients for input on candidates under consideration. They may offer valuable perspectives on prospects’ community reputation, abilities, or potential blind spots. Input from various stakeholders strengthens your decision making.
Be Wary of Potential Conflicts of Interest
Carefully screen candidates for any potential conflicts of interest if selected for your board. Review their employment, investments, business dealings, and relationships that could create issues. Ask directly about any possible conflicts to disclose or mitigate upfront. Address these forthrightly in your board member agreement. Managing conflicts openly preserves integrity.
Sample Board Member Skills Matrix
Board Member | Fundraising | Financial | Legal | Industry Experience | Community Leadership |
Sarah Thompson | X | X | X | ||
Mark Jones | X | X | X | ||
Lisa Chang | X | X |
Sample Board Recruiting Timeline
Milestone | Date |
Confirm Board Openings | January |
Existing Board Surfaces Prospects | February |
Host Virtual Info Session | March |
Review Applications | April |
Top Prospect Interviews | May |
Final Selections Made | June |
New Member Onboarding | July |
Conclusion
With careful strategy, LinkedIn provides a powerful platform for board recruitment. Defining your needs, maximizing search filters, and evaluating profiles thoroughly leads to promising prospects. Customized outreach, transparent conversations, and stakeholder input helps ensure candidates are a good match. Ongoing engagement with new board members enhances their impact. Approaching LinkedIn strategically saves time over one-off outreach. And it surfaces fantastic candidates beyond your own network.