Understanding Boards As An HR Leader

An Interview with CHRO and Board member Skip Spriggs

In conversations with senior HR leaders, a common topic of discussion centers on organizational boards. We’re often asked about the recruitment and placement process, what types of responsibilities these boards call for, the kinds of skills and capabilities that are most desired, and how to best position both prior HR and other experiences to this audience. 

We recently spoke with Skip Spriggs, the former CHRO at TIAA and Boston Scientific, as well as former President and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the preeminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global Black executives. Through programs Skip developed and helmed, ELC members have landed over 220 corporate board seats since 2013, in part due to the efforts of the organization’s Corporate Board Initiative.

Skip is also active on boards himself, serving on behalf of non-profit, public and community organizations. Skip sat down with us to discuss the skills necessary for board service, how to connect with potential opportunities, and what HR leaders should do to stand out from a crowded field of other cross functional candidates. 

Interview has been condensed and edited

In what areas can HR leaders bring the most value to a board? 

It’s an interesting question. Right now, less than 5% of boards have a CHRO on them. And it’s not because there isn’t a highly competent pool of CHRO’s available. It’s because boards aren’t looking for someone who leads with HR, since that alone is not enough to provide value in a board setting. In addition to experience in recruiting and retaining diverse talent and creating a strong culture, HR leaders need to demonstrate a broad and deep business acumen, and have the ability to deeply understand all elements of the business, from accounting and finance, to strategy and digital transformation, all the way to M&A and driving greater value from human capital. 

However, when coupled with that business acuity, there are specific skills HR leaders can bring to a board environment that other members will value. I don't think there's a company in America that doesn't say some form of ‘people are our most valued asset’. And generally, the person in the organization who has the most responsibility for people is the head of HR. So HR can of course bring value around talent - helping the organization find, hire, motivate and retain the right people in the right place and at the right time. And around company culture - does the organization have the right programs and processes in place where every single employee feels valued and can be their best selves at work? I’ve also seen people with HR backgrounds have influence in compensation committees and company-wide programs and initiatives. 

What advice would you give to HR leaders who want to start serving on a Board?

My first piece of advice is to become highly educated in board governance. It’s important to know how a board works and makes decisions, essentially how they get things done. There are differing procedures and processes, and having that knowledge is essential when thinking about board service broadly. 

Another piece of advice, and a mistake I’ve seen people make, is to really take the time and do  effective due diligence on an organization’s values. Do they overlap with your personal mission and purpose? Is it an organization you want to help grow and feel passionate about? Answering those questions and ensuring that strong alignment will help you show true passion in the interview, and also will make the work more enjoyable in the long run! 

How can HR leaders position themselves for board seats?

As I mentioned above, I would recommend spending as much time as is needed to get as capable and as fluent as possible regarding business strategy and driving tangible, measurable business value, since this is what’s most important to boards. In those rooms, voices are heard from a business perspective first, and while a portion of the discussion involves people systems and processes, a large bulk of the conversation focuses on those other areas like compliance, governance, operations, or finance. And members of those functional areas have been better able (than HR has) to respond to the business side of the question of ‘why it matters’. Being able to speak to driving value and helping to architect the overall vision of a company is vital to consideration for these positions. HR as a function is still trying to catch up to finance, marketing, or  distribution in clearly articulating how we can provide value in running the business. No one ever questions that the CFO knows what the business levers are. People can sometimes question whether the HR organization knows how to drive business value through people systems and processes. 

However, assuming that you are able to clearly articulate business outcomes, one predictable way to get on public boards is to take advantage, time and availability permitting, of serving on nonprofit boards. There is a significant jump from a nonprofit to a public board in almost every aspect, but at the nonprofit level, you can learn overall board governance and how things run.  You can also gain an understanding for the roles and functions of various committees, board procedures and practices, and how to work effectively with other members. And perhaps most importantly, non-profit boards can also serve as training grounds where HR leaders can gain that valuable broader business experience that might be hard to find elsewhere. 

For example, I serve on board of Washington Nationals Philanthropies, and in that role am the chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee. Someone else is actually the chair of the HR committee. When I was interviewing for that position, I referenced the countless hours of private study I had conducted in that area over 20 years as a member of other public boards. I specifically remember, as the chairman of the Urban League of Philadelphia, I sat in on dozens of audit meetings and consistently worked closely with the CEO to ensure that we did not generate any negative news due to a bad audit, as has been the fate of many non-profits in the past. It was through this prior training and the years of seeking out and developing this new skill set that allowed me to be able to sit down and talk to the Nationals as if I was already an auditor. Also, I’m a big sports fan, so this role also aligned well with my interests and passion, which always makes the work more fun and rewarding. 

What are things to look for when evaluating a board opportunity? 

When interviewing and doing due diligence around a potential board position, you certainly need to be comfortable in the way the board makes decisions. You need to gauge whether you feel you can be honest and truthful with the CEO and the board chairman, and you need to ascertain if the organization will properly value and respect what you are bringing to the table. 

What is the experience like of being on a board? Both at the corporate and at the non-profit level?

In my experience, I’ve seen that people who aren't on boards don’t fully understand the amount of work that goes into serving on a public board. It is work. Every day, whether we have a formal meeting or not, there are a number of different responsibilities.  I’m either reading up on industry or analyst reports, or on the phone with the board chair, CEO or committee heads. Also, while the entire board might only meet five times a year, individual committee meetings are much more frequent, and there is a good deal of time spent on learning and discovery in between these formal sessions. However, I realize that I’m on a board because of my experience and value added, and that my work in this regard is not measured on a time clock.  

On the other hand, on a private or nonprofit board, there is generally not as much worry about shareholders, and so there is less of a fiduciary responsibility. The decisions made are also not as big or as impactful, which means that those decisions are far less visible. It’s an exaggeration, but generally at the public board level, the knowledge around the table is exponentially stronger than at a nonprofit. Everyone is an “A” player, and each brings wider-ranging experiences and deeper expertise than on average for their nonprofit counterparts. Also, the time and responsibilities necessary of members are far different as well, with nonprofits on the whole calling for a lower overall commitment.   

What type of responsibility typically comes with serving on a board?

There are many responsibilities that come with serving, but the most fundamental are often the most important. You have to understand governance, how decisions are made, your specific responsibilities when voting on topics to be approved. It’s also really important to have done all of your homework on the minutes, things like: are they accurate, do they reflect the notes you took, and have you reviewed all of the appendices and supplementary information? While boards don’t like to load up their members with too much information, it’s important to carefully review the materials that come your way in order to fully understand what’s important to the organization and the underlying factors behind certain decisions or directions. Being a good board citizen also helps you grow and learn in these settings, and can build strong relationships that can lead to new opportunities. 

How can HR professionals begin to network into potential board opportunities?

There are several different ways, but they all start with relationships. In fact, two-thirds of board placements are filled through relationships, not search firms. So, if there are companies whose boards you are interested in joining, there’s nothing wrong with sending a LinkedIn invite to someone from the Nom and Gov (Nominating and Governance) Committee to introduce yourself and to talk about the board and your skills. Boards today are often recruiting for positions opening 18-24 months from now, so getting on the radar early can be important. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is not so HR-centric that people are going to pass it over. I would actually give the same advice to a college senior as I would to an HR professional in the sense that LinkedIn is now really a big part of that engine, and people are constantly on the site looking for talent. A great profile -- one that shows broad experience in HR as well as deep exposure to other business areas --  is vitally important.  

Another avenue would be through people you already know who are currently on or have been on boards. As I said earlier, it is a relationship business. Specifically, if you are on a non-profit board, there will undoubtedly be people on those boards who are also on public boards, and they can be great resources in helping you learn what positions might be available and promoting your candidacy and interest.  

Outside of personal connections, each of the major search firms will have someone who is responsible for their board practice. Reach out to them, even through a cold call, and convey your interest in being on a board and request an introductory conversation. If you have a strong and relevant resume with the necessary skills and experiences, they will absolutely want to hear from you, since their business model and revenues are based upon the successful placement of board members, and they need a great stable of candidates in order to do that.  

Finally, there are organizations such as NACD -- the National Association of Corporate Directors, which provide board certification processes. There are other organizations similar to NACD, and they can be great places to learn about governance, and offer meetings, fantastic coursework, and are places where you can surround yourself with other people who are either on boards or aspire to be on boards. These places can be great training to get an HR professional ready to serve on a board. 

Read more about Skip and connect with him on his LinkedIn profile, or connect with Benson Search at info@bensonsearch.com.