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David LevensonTraining the board members of the future
Raising Roofs, a new training programme backed by the National Housing Federation, begins next month. Co-founder David Levenson believes it could lead to more diverse boards in the sector
Ever thought about joining the board of a social landlord?
Perhaps you are already a board member, but feel that a brief induction session wasn’t adequate preparation for the role you have undertaken?
The housing regulator requires the boards of registered providers to ensure standards of governance and financial viability are met. How this is achieved is left to boards to determine.
In a post-Grenfell world the responsibilities of board members have become ever more exacting. The National Housing Federation’s (NHF) Code of Governance states that boards must have a strategy for their own renewal which, among other things, should ensure the board includes people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse attributes, to help ensure healthy debate and a range of perspectives.
“The received wisdom is that a board member needs to bring years of accumulated experience to the table, but why should this be the case?”
The theory is fine, but statistics indicate that the practice falls short of the ideal. When it comes to getting on a board, one of the biggest barriers appears to be age.
Inside Housing’s 2016 diversity survey revealed that only four board members from 100 housing associations that responded were under 30 years old. The number of board members under 40 was just 21. The average age for a board member was 57.
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The NHF has been worried for some time about a lack of diversity on housing association boards, and in particular that there are insufficient opportunities for younger people to join a board.
The received wisdom is that a board member needs to bring years of accumulated experience to the table, but why should this be the case?
Every year, more young people are affected by the rising cost of housing, but their voices aren’t heard loudly enough.
And if a board is considering digitalisation strategies for its customers, a millennial is likely to have more to contribute to the discussion than the average baby boomer.
Unlike other diversity categories, the age factor is not talked about much in housing – and of course it cuts both ways. Many highly experienced people are being discarded before the natural end of their working lives.
The Code of Governance requires board members to retire after nine years; indeed this is one of the few regulatory hurdles that registered providers frequently trip over. The challenge, especially for smaller associations, is how to replace their loyal, long-serving members when it is their turn to be recycled off the board.
Is a lack of diversity generally perpetuated by the age barrier? There are no readily available statistics to answer this, but it is highly probable.
Inside Housing’s more recent survey published in January 2018 reported that of 64 housing associations which responded, 18 said they had all-white boards.
What is Raising Roofs?
Raising Roofs was co-founded and created by trainers Dr Ruth Sacks and David Levenson to coach the board members of the future.
Raising Roofs has a bursary scheme which is sponsored by the National Housing Federation and Winckworth Sherwood.
Bursaries are available with preference being given to participants from small organisations and/or working in challenging situations.
Raising Roofs begins on April 24 and will be facilitated by experienced figures from within and outside the housing sector, who will lead workshops on six days over a six-month period.
Among those who have agreed to run sessions for Raising Roofs are Geeta Nanda, chief executive of Metropolitan, Ann Santry, chief executive of Sovereign, Sheron Carter, chief executive of Habineg, Tony Stacey, chief executive of South Yorkshire Housing Association, Richard Petty, director, JLL, and Andrew Murray, lead social housing partner at Winckworth Sherwood.
It would not be surprising if the average age of these boards is above 60, perhaps nearer 70 and with a male majority. Opening up boards to younger members will, inevitably, improve diversity in the boardroom on all fronts.
The NHF’s concern is understandable; the gene pool needs to be urgently refreshed.
Our future housing leaders, who have joined the sector in the past ten years should be encouraged to think about a spell on a HA board as part of their development as leaders.
"Opening up boards to younger members will, inevitably, improve diversity"
More opportunities need to be provided to enable them to do so, such as attending board meetings, being on mentoring programmes and learning from skilled experts in governance from both within and outside the housing sector.
The Raising Roofs programme, commencing on April 24th, provides these opportunities and much more.
The programme will begin to produce a steady core of younger “board ready” candidates before the end of 2018.
Change will be gradual but over time an invigorated cadre of board members will contribute to greater diversity across every branch of the housing sector.
David Levenson, co-founder Raising Roofs, and managing director, Coaching Futures
Inclusive Futures
Inside Housing’s Inclusive Futures campaign aims to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.
We are pledging to publish diversity audits of our own coverage.
We are also committed to proactively promoting positive role models.
We will do this through the pages of Inside Housing. But we will also seek to support other publications and events organisations to be more inclusive.
Our Inclusive Futures Bureau will provide a database of speakers and commentators from all backgrounds, for use by all media organisations.
We are also challenging readers to take five clear steps to promote diversity, informed by the Chartered Institute of Housing’s diversity commission and the Leadership 2025 project.
THE INCLUSIVE FUTURES CHALLENGE
Inside Housing calls on organisations to sign up to an inclusive future by taking five steps:
Prioritise diversity and inclusion at the top: commitment and persistence from chief executives, directors and chairs in setting goals and monitoring progress.
Collect data on the diversity of your board, leadership and total workforce and publish annually with your annual report. Consider gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, age, and representation of tenants on the board.
Set aspirational targets for recruitment to the executive team, board and committees from under-represented groups.
Challenge recruiting staff and agencies to ensure that all shortlists include candidates from under-represented groups.
Make diversity and inclusion a core theme in your talent management strategy to ensure you support people from under-represented groups to progress their careers.
INSIDE HOUSING’S PLEDGES
We will take proactive steps to promote positive role models from under-represented groups and provide information to support change.
We pledge to:
Publish diversity audits: We will audit the diversity of the commentators we feature. We will formalise this process and publish the results for future audits twice a year.
Promote role models: We will work to highlight leading lights from specific under-represented groups, starting in early 2018 with our new BME Leaders List.
Launch Inclusive Futures Bureau: We will work with the sector to compile a database of speakers, commentators and experts from under-represented groups. The bureau will be available to events organisers, media outlets and publications to support them to better represent the talent in the sector.
Take forward the Women in Housing Awards: Inside Housing has taken on these successful awards and will work to grow and develop them.
Convene Inclusive Futures Summit: Our new high-level event will support organisations to develop and implement strategies to become more diverse and inclusive.
