FEATURE
EXECUTIVE SEARCH & RECRUITMENT
A NED could help you get ahead
By Grant Hutchison (pictured), Principal Recruitment Consultant at Forsyth Barnes
WHAT IS A NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR? A Non-Executive Director (NED) is a member of the executive board and is involved in planning and strategy, ensuring the business is aligned to meet its aims and objectives. A NED won’t get involved in the day-to-day running of the business, enabling them to provide an unbiased and impartial opinion based solely on facts and figures. A NED will typically be a specialist within their field and
will bring a level of expertise, knowledge and experience to a business, aiding strategic direction. A NED is likely to have a clearer picture of external factors that may be affecting the business within the market.
WHAT BENEFITS DO THEY BRING? There are a number of benefits a NED can bring to a business, large or small – but to highlight three significant factors: Expert knowledge – NEDs are specialists in their field
and they can bring years of experience to help organisations through uncharted water, periods of growth and tough times. They can also act as a mentor to the business in order to challenge the norm. Both small and large organisations can benefit from such
expert knowledge, whether it’s expertise from within their market or a different business area. In fact, many businesses actually look to bring in NEDs from outside their market to see what value can be added from other industries. Fresh ideas – it’s not uncommon for management teams
to lose sight of the overall business goal and it’s not unusual to run out of innovative ideas. NEDs take more of an objective view, which can act as a reminder to the management team of the overarching business goal. Furthermore, NEDs can bring fresh and innovative ideas that will help the business stay ahead of the competition. Extended network – when hiring a NED you aren’t just
hiring them, you’re also hiring their network. NEDs come with experience and a network that will have been built up over multiple years. Their network is also likely to go beyond their expertise so if there is a question they don’t know the answer to it’s likely they will know someone who does. In addition to added knowledge, this network may also include suppliers, distributors, investors and even potential hires.
HOW AND WHEN SHOULD YOU HIRE A NED? You should be looking at hiring a NED when the management board requires something that they can’t find within themselves or their own network. The salary or day rate for a NED can vary significantly –
as one might expect, the more you pay the more experienced the NED. Typically, NEDs would commit one day a month (though this is not always the case) and would either be paid a day rate similar to a contractor or an annual salary. When appointing a NED it’s important to first
understand the gaps within the organisation. This will determine the skills you need and the knowledge you’re lacking – you may wish to conduct a SWOT analysis of the
50 business network December 2018/January 2019
‘NEDs are specialists in their field and they can bring years of experience to help organisations through uncharted water, periods of growth and tough times’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
