Staff are “consistently less positive” than trustees about the performance of charity boards on a raft of governance areas.

The findings have emerged in research published by NCVO using its ‘governance wheel’ tool to gather insights from 800 trustees, employees and volunteers across 70 charities over the last three years.

It found that the “biggest perception gaps” between staff and trustees are in integrity, leadership and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Trustees typically score their performance in these areas as 10 to 15% higher than their staff.

“These differences remind us that governance looks different from inside an organisation than it does from the board table,” states the research.

“Alignment between these two perspectives is a hallmark of stronger governance, with analysis showing that organisations where staff and trustees share similar views on governance also tend to achieve higher overall scores.

“This correlation suggests that shared understanding helps governance become more coherent, trusted and effective.”

EDI ‘lowest scoring area’

Integrity, decision making and managing risk were among the governance areas to receive the highest scores overall among trustees, volunteers and staff surveyed.

However, the lowest scoring area was EDI.

“Respondents shared that while there was a clear intention around improving inclusion and diversifying their organisation, implementation plans were often lacking or not regularly part of board work,” warned researchers.

Their research found that trustee boards particularly struggle to embed EDI “in everyday practice”.

Persistent barriers for under-represented groups into volunteering, a key route for trustee recruitment, remain, they add. This reinforces “the need for inclusive recruitment and retention strategies.

The NCVO research said: “Broader social dynamics, from 'anti-woke' discourse to political polarisation, may also be influencing how EDI is discussed and prioritised.

“For progress to be achieved, EDI must be moved from conversation to culture, creating boards that are not only diverse in composition but inclusive in behaviour and decision making.”

‘Diverse perspectives’ needed

In a speech this week at the Festival of Trusteeship as part of Trustees’ Week, Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth urged charities to “continue widening the pool of trustees, bringing in more diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and skills”.

He called in recruitment to change and highlighted how one in three trustees are recruited directly by chairs, with just 6% coming through advertising.

“Whilst informal networking can be valuable, it may inadvertently weaken the ecosystem of our metaphorical forest,” said Holdsworth.

“We need recruitment practices that are open, transparent, and actively seek out people with rich and diverse skills, experience and perspectives.”

He added: “We also need to remove barriers. No one should feel they cannot afford to be a trustee. That’s why we’ve made clear that trustees are entitled to have their reasonable expenses reimbursed – including childcare, travel costs, and meals when acting on behalf of their charity. Trusteeship should be accessible to all who have skill and passion to offer.”

His comments follow the publication this month of an updated Charity Governance Code, which called for a greater focus by charities to ensure their boards are promoting inclusivity.

Last month the Association of Charitable Foundations found that only 6% of trustees at grantmakers are from communities experiencing racial inequality.

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