Board reviews that turn insight into action

A board effectiveness review is a structured, independent assessment of how well the board is performing its governance role.

Our reviews are built on the WhatWhoHowDo framework, which defines board effectiveness across four essential dimensions:

What
Board purpose and role clarity and how that role differs from management's.

Who
Board composition, capability, diversity and renewal.

How
Board processes, including leadership, board, CEO and management dynamics and information and meeting management

Do
Board tasks, including governance of purpose, strategy, priorities, performance, risk, culture, talent and succession.

Together, these dimensions provide a practical and balanced view of governance effectiveness in action.

Boards undertake effectiveness reviews to strengthen governance discipline and ensure they remain fit for purpose in a changing environment.

Reviews are commonly used to:
• support continuous improvement and governance maturity
• respond to regulatory or stakeholder expectations
• inform board renewal and succession planning
• sharpen oversight in periods of growth, risk or transformation

A well-conducted review provides clarity, confidence and practical direction.

Board effectiveness reviews are typically completed by all directors and executives who regularly interact with the board and know them well.
Where appropriate, committee and/or director effectiveness modules may be included.

The emphasis is on candid, aggregated input that reflects the collective experience of the main categories of a board's effectiveness.

The review is conducted using a confidential, structured survey aligned to the WhatWhoHowDo framework and tailored to your industry.

In addition to core governance measures, each industry includes a dedicated module of sector-specific items. Boards are benchmarked only against others operating in the same industry.

Boards may choose between:

• a comprehensive review, including survey and confidential director and executive interviews

• a lighter-touch review using the benchmarked survey only between deeper review cycles

Each benchmarked report shows comparative results against the board’s prior review, allowing progress to be tracked over time.

Boards receive a clear, evidence-based report highlighting strengths, comparative positioning and areas for development.

The report includes:
• industry-benchmarked results
• comparison with previous review results where relevant
• clear synthesis of the main findings and insights
• practical, prioritised recommendations that will deliver the greatest improvement

Where requested, findings are presented in a facilitated session to support constructive discussion and alignment.

Boards typically use board effectiveness reviews as part of an ongoing governance cycle.

Most boards undertake a deeper-dive review every two to three years, supported by an industry-benchmarked survey, confidential director interviews, and a concise report identifying priority governance actions. These reviews allow boards to explore themes in depth and translate insight into practical improvement.

In intervening years, many boards use a lighter-touch, benchmarked survey without interviews. This approach maintains momentum, requires less director time, preserves comparability, and enables boards to track progress over time. Each report shows results relative to prior reviews and industry peers, supporting continuous improvement.

All board effectiveness reviews are conducted independently, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.

No survey ratings or comments are attributed to specific individuals. Where interviews are undertaken, findings are reported thematically, enabling directors and executives to contribute candidly and constructively.

Boards often combine board effectiveness reviews with:

• Director effectiveness reviews and chair effectiveness reviews
• Committee effectiveness reviews
• Board skills matrix reviews
• Board cyber governance effectiveness reviews
• Clinical Governance Committee effectiveness reviews

This integrated approach supports a coherent, multi-year governance improvement agenda.