Board of directors training
In PwC’s 2024 Corporate Directors Survey, 58% of respondents said the board didn’t consistently understand environmental, social and governance issues. Likewise, only 10% of boards say they plan to expand their AI skillset over the coming years. This points to a possible gap in the board of directors training in emerging topics.
While they may seem similar, board of directors training and board education are two different things. Board education focuses on general education around certain board-related concepts while learning how to be a board director. In contrast, the actual environment around board training requires a deeper dive to ensure that your board is packed with the most skilled directors possible. Read on to learn how the right training in the right topics — including climate and cybersecurity — can impact board performance for the better.
How to improve board member training & development
Learning for a board member never ends. With every new industry or issue, proper training should ensure that your board of directors is fully equipped to deal with every issue head-on. Your board should always have a clear-cut plan to offer directors more training and development opportunities.
Purpose of the board development committee
The role of the board development committee is to continue training and education for every board director. It also ensures that directors follow up on their training and do everything they need to excel in their roles. Finally, the board development committee needs to strive to ensure that the board can reach its fullest potential.
Another growing need for training within the boardroom is cybersecurity. Aside from the NIST Framework, which offers training for the board of directors to ensure that their organization is protected from growing cyber threats, there are many other opportunities and ways to train board members. With specific communication channels and the prevalence of board-centric cyber attacks, boards must understand ways to combat the cyber threat to protect themselves, their business and their customers.
Board training topics
Over the past year, expectations for boards have ballooned. Concerns about generative AI and energy transitions have added to traditional financial and strategic oversight responsibilities. While boards can prioritize emerging functions during recruitment, it’s also essential to cultivate deeper understanding among existing board members.
Board education programs like Diligent’s Education & Templates Library, part of the Diligent One Platform, can help board members stay up to date with today’s most pressing topics, including all of the following.
Governance training for board members
The essence of the board of directors training is to equip the board to function collaboratively and strategically. That begins with governance. Good board governance is the guiding force behind board roles and responsibilities, committee operations, onboarding, succession planning and more.
Governance training ensures each board member has the expertise to support these mission-critical processes. The best governance training will offer a deeper look at each, explaining board governance’s core components and what members must do to support them. Without that comprehensive training, board members may struggle to operate in sync across their many areas of oversight, ultimately compromising their ability to lead.
Enterprise risk management training for board members
While following a governance framework is critical, understanding the role of enterprise risk management (ERM) is also vital. ERM influences nearly everything the board touches, from organizational oversight to corporate strategy.
Board directors are responsible for proactively identifying, assessing and mitigating risks in accordance with the company’s long-term objectives and relevant regulations. ERM training equips board members to do all that and more, integrating risk management best practices that simultaneously increase operational effectiveness. Boards may struggle to navigate risk effectively if they lack the training to identify or mitigate emerging risks.
Climate and sustainability strategy board of directors training
As many as 58% of boards say they don’t understand ESG challenges consistently, making it difficult to lead on this urgent issue. Climate and sustainability strategy education and training library can deepen the board’s expertise so they can develop more informed ESG strategies.
Effective climate training programs will equip the board to embrace climate change opportunities. Look for interactive e-learning formats and continuing education credits to help the board stay ahead of the rapid pace of change in the ESG space.
Cybersecurity training for board of directors
Cybersecurity is a growing field of study for board directors. With technology relied on for almost every facet of a business and used in boardrooms, board directors need to be as well-versed as possible on any cyber threats to ensure that they are protecting their business.
With the right cybersecurity training, a board will be better able to respond to cyber incidents, figure out why they happened and prevent another. The most comprehensive training will focus on threats as well as the policy and governance structures related to cybersecurity.
AI ethics and oversight training
Even though relatively few boards are focused on developing their AI knowledge, these tools are evolving quickly. Knowing how to use general-purpose AI isn’t enough, either. Boards must both learn how AI works and be prepared to make sound, ethical decisions related to it.
This requires an in-depth knowledge of the tools, how they are developed, what they are intended for and the regulations that apply to them. First-of-its-kind legislation like the EU AI Act and existing rules like GDPR will shape how organizations can use AI. Boards can more successfully steer organizations to success if they complete AI training emphasizing these core components.
Human capital, compensation and culture training
Human capital is a company’s greatest asset. It can also be an incredibly vulnerable one. As more board directors shift from intuition to data to evaluate board culture, understanding how to leverage that data for the good of the organization takes thorough human capital training.
This means continuously refining the board’s point of view on key issues like diversity and human resources and learning to make data-driven decisions about compensation. Boards must also know how to spot the trends that can shape company culture positively.
Technology in the boardroom
Technology has become an ever-present element in the boardroom. First, board portals usurped paper and became relied on for all board communication. Email slowly faded out while boards looked for more secure communication platforms that ensure director-to-director communication is protected.
Now, digital transformation has become inherent in board activities. A significant challenge for 36% of boards is overseeing generative AI, especially given the current importance of technical innovation. There is also a benefit to getting the technology right: 46% of boards also say that technological developments positively impact company performance.
As such, board directors constantly need training to ensure they use and understand the technology that is becoming commonplace in the boardroom. Certain best practices must be followed, and whether an existing board member or a new one, a robust training program is always advised.
Keep board members up-to-date with education and certifications
Directors are constantly busy. Despite the many demands on their time, board directors must also deepen their expertise on the many issues facing modern corporations. Online training solutions let directors learn at their own speed. This means directors can learn all the time without stopping their work.
Not any board of directors training will do, though. Diligent partners with industry-leading experts to combine cutting-edge curriculums on topics such as AI, cybersecurity, governance and risk with subject matter experts and real-world context to help directors expand not only their knowledge but also their ability to apply it. Learn more about Diligent’s Education & Templates Library, as part of the Diligent One Platform, and how it can help prepare your board for the future — now.
