Weil's new "Strengthening the Board’s Effectiveness in 2020: A Framework for Board Evaluations" outlines a six-step framework for the board evaluation process that can assist organizations of all kinds and sizes in maximizing the effectiveness of this increasingly important and scrutinized practice. Each of the six steps is accompanied by suggested considerations, references to relevant listing standards and benchmarking data, alternative approaches, and practical guidance.
Among other insights, the firm advises companies to consider a number of factors in addition to numerical (or other) "scores" in evaluating assessment results, such as recent company events, response "tones," prior year results, and alignment with corporate strategy. The article also provides a suggested disclosure framework that encompasses the: (i) evaluation objectives and process, (ii) process for communicating the results to and soliciting feedback from the board/committees/directors, and (iii) resulting action plan, and offers best practices on timing considerations along with a suggested quarterly calendar assuming an annual evaluation process.
Access numerous board evaluation disclosure samples in Donnelley's "Guide to Effective Proxies" (reported on here) and in CII's "Board Evaluation Disclosure" (reported on here). Numerous additional resources are posted on our Board/Director Evaluations page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!