HBA Process for Corporate Board Nominations

Succession Planning:

Choosing the best candidates for board positions is imperative to the HBA’s success — not only from a good governance perspective, but also from a reputational perspective.Development of HBA volunteers into more senior leadership positions is the responsibility of all board members.

The process should be similar for the local chapter and corporate levels and ideally, candidates serve first on a committee and then progress to a board director-at-large and then officer position. For corporate board positions, the preferred candidate has served in a volunteer capacity at the local level prior to considering a corporate board position, but this is not a requirement if the candidate has significant expertise in a functional area pertinent to the position under consideration. It should be noted that corporate board members can also be considered for chapter board positions.Candidates typically move through the following succession path:

  1. Volunteer for a specific effort or project, e.g. chapter event
  2. Serve as committee member
  3. Chair a committee
  4. Be elected to director-at-large on the board
  5. Be elected to an officer position on the board*

* Officers may progress to the position of president in subsequent years although this is not a guaranteed progression and is subject to approval by the nominating committee.

Nominating Committee:

The HBA corporate nominating committee is chaired by theimmediate past presidents and four other members who have significant knowledge of HBA and leadership acumen. Two of the members are appointed by the corporate board and two members are elected by the membership at the annual business meeting. The makeup and responsibilities for this committee can be found in the HBA by-laws.

Collaboration between Corporate and Chapter Level Nominating Committees:

Since the goal is to have an HBA corporate board of directors that is comprised of HBA members from all geographies, the corporate nominating committee will look to the chapter boards for recommendations for future corporate board members. Since there are corporate board members who may be interested in serving on chapter boards as they cycle off the corporate board, it is important for both corporate and chapter nominating committees to interface during the planning of the next year’s boards. The following are the considerations and points of discussion between the various nominating committees when they begin the process:

  • Share term limits of all chapter and corporate board members
  • Share and discuss recommendations as to who is eligible or interested in possibly moving from a chapter to a corporate board position and vice versa
  • Contact the potential board member to ask for their consideration of a role only after the relevant board and nominating committees have reached agreement (e.g. if the person is serving on a chapter level board, contact the nominating committee chair (the chapter IPP) before contacting the candidate)

Criteria for Evaluating Potential HBA Corporate Board Members:

Experience with HBA

  • HBA member in good standing
  • HBA chapter or corporate board
  • HBA chapter or corporate advisory board member
  • HBA WOTY, Honorable Mentor, STAR, or Rising Star
  • HBA chapter or corporate committee member

Professional Experience and Commitment

  • Understands HBA and its structure
  • Will commit to attending a majority of board meetings and will be actively involved
  • Has a solid knowledge of the healthcare industry
  • Has previous experience with boards
  • Has specific skills such as finance, audit, legal, international, information technology, public relations, marketing, market research, leadership development, etc

Proposed Timelines and Procedures for Nominations:

  • June:Corporate and chapter nominating committees distribute a call for nominations based on a review of the board rotation schedule and the number of positions open for election.Board members are requested to share their recommendations for the chapter and corporate board. Candidates who are ready for a corporate position should submit their name, qualifications (both HBA and non-HBA experience that apply) to the immediate past president of the corporate board, who is chair of the corporate nominating committee. If the candidate is currently serving in a chapter position and they wish to end their service to the chapter and begin service on the corporate board, both IPPs (corporate and chapter) should be notified simultaneously.
  • July:Thenominating committee reviews the nominations and interview all candidates. No positions are promised however interest for specific positions will be noted.
  • August: The slate proposed by the nominating committee will bepresentedto the current sitting board(a vote is NOT required for approval of the slate).
  • September: The final slate will be distributed to the membership (for corporate, it is sent to the entire HBA membership, for chapters, it is sent to their local chapter members only).
  • October:Official election is held at the HBA Annual Business Meeting.

CorporateBoard Positions and Committee Chair Positions:

  • Officers - Immediate past president, president, president-elect, 1stvice president, 2nd vice president, secretary and treasurer. All positions are one-year terms without the ability to serve successive terms. The exceptions are the treasurer with a two-year term and may serve three successive terms and the secretary with a one-year term and may serve one successive term. The immediate past president is not an elected position.
  • Directors at Large - Directors are elected as directors-at-large and their responsibilities are defined after election (the elected title is director at large and not director of public affairs). These individuals should have expertise in a functional area pertinent to the open positions.
  • Committee Chairs - Typically appointed by the incoming board members, however suggestions of candidates by the corporate and nominating committees is desirable.

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