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Boardmatch Engage

It is recognised globally that leadership skills are key in every company and millions have been spent on training of employees to develop these skills. These skills are also required in the not-for-profit sector and even more today than ever before.

Since Boardmatch was founded in 2005 our experience has shown us that, with the best intentions in the world, people can sometimes register initial interest in joining a board but then either lack the confidence or the push to follow through. Human nature being what it is we all find it easier to follow through on our intentions if we have support. The Boardmatch Engage programme was designed with this in mind.

The not-for-profit sector in Ireland offers a unique opportunity for individuals to develop their leadership skills, whilst using their business skills to the benefit of the social economy of Ireland. Many organisations in the community and voluntary sector face challenges in relations to finance, governance, HR, industrial relations, marketing, funding and strategic thinking, and having people on their board with these skills is vital to them. But the learning experience to the individuals, as they offer their business expertise, is also great.

The voluntary sector is a wide term for a varied level of activity, financial institutions to lettings companies, festivals to hospitals, sports associations to the theatres, international aid to aiding the elderly, they all form part of the voluntary sector. With over 10,000 incorporated voluntary organisations the sector offers something for everyone.

Companies can support the personal development of their employees by joining this programme, during which employees are given a one to one matching service, assisting them with identifying the right organisation for their skills and interests and then helping them through the recruitment process and the early stages of sitting on a board. The process itself creates a learning curve but the real personal development comes through their experience of being on a not for profit board. The leadership skills and the ability to think strategically, as a result of this experience, are just two of the many benefits to the individual of sitting on a board.

Boardmatch offers a service to companies wishing to develop these leadership skills in their employees’ whilst also giving them the benefit of a wider view of society as a whole. Boardmatch can meet with your Human Resource Director and the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility to explore putting in place a programme with the selected employees which will great impacts on individuals:

  • Creates a deep satisfaction and feel good factor from giving something back.
  • Increases knowledge and hence understanding of the not-for-profit sector in Ireland at a macro/strategic level rather than ground level.
  • Improves capacity to see the big picture, think strategically and move away from the siloed thinking that is found in large multinationals.
  • Increases capacity to make decisions.
  • Opens up new and diverse sets of contacts and networks.
  • Increases confidence of individuals by getting them out of their comfort zone and by developing new skills and creating new networks of contacts.
  • Opens individuals  eyes to another reality; from being involved in the voluntary sector and starting to mix with new networks and getting first hand experience of people and situations less fortunate than themselves, this makes them more empathetic and sympathetic people in every aspect of their lives.
  • Gets people out of the ego of thinking of themselves all the time and gets them thinking of others and the community.
  • Increases the desire to up-skill in order to do right by the organisation they are on the board of (i.e. HR people learning to understand a balance sheet, accountants learning about HR/legal requirements of recruiting staff, etc.)
  • Improves understanding of board room environment and the softer skills of negotiation and persuasion that is required in working with a team of peers where there is no reporting line.
  • Allows for greater understanding of Corporate Governance.

Boardmatch Engage  offers a route into volunteering at a strategic level with support, while also creating a service that Boardmatch can offer enabling it to bring in income to the organisation, thus allowing us to continue to offer the, much needed, FREE on line matching service. Boardmatch Ireland has offered this programme with to some of the biggest corporate entities in Ireland, (Accenture, Bank of Ireland, KPMG, O2, State Street Bank) we would be delighted to meet with you to discuss the programme, pricing and potential outcomes for your staff.

For more information, please contact us.