Steph Harland and Nick Wilkie from Centre for Charity Effectiveness joined nearly 100 chairs, trustees and chief executives at Trustee Exchange to think about how Boards might overcome even the most challenging of contexts and events.

In the first two articles in this series we looked at whether the times are especially challenging and how effective boards can prepare themselves to meet those challenges.  There's lots more good advice out there about how to prevent problems and how to prepare for possible trouble.

But in our experience, at some point, something will go wrong. How the board tackles the situation can decide whether the charity thrives, survives or goes under.

Start with the facts

We suggest that the first thing trustees need to do when they hear about a possible serious problem is to do a sense-check. Start by focussing on the facts – cut through the emotion and make sure the facts are established.  Then, stand back and ask yourselves how serious this is (not every problem that is embarrassing, disconcerting, or upsetting to trustees, staff and volunteers is serious).

Be clear-eyed about whether this problem is genuinely urgent and what speed is needed in response. Don't dawdle if it is an emergency, and don't rush simply because everyone is anxious and wants it to be over with. Match your reaction speed to the problem at hand.

Decide who needs to be involved. If your problem involves a major error, possible incompetence or wrongdoing by someone who plays a key role in the charity, they should not be the person you rely on to help you put it right.  Don't forget to follow the charity's employment policies and respect employment law. Do you need external help – has this got beyond the skills and capacity of the staff and volunteers to manage?

Take responsibility and stay focused

It's important for trustees to deliver on their responsibilities – and for staff and volunteers to respect that trustees are accountable.  In our view, as well as making sure that you establish the facts, it is important to document what has happened and what you've done about it.  It's vital to remember that the trustees have collective responsibility, but also that time-critical sensitive matters cannot necessarily be dealt with by a large group of people.  The trustees need to set a timeline for action, assign responsibilities, and agree how the whole board will be kept informed.

It's essential to consider whether it's necessary to make a Serious Incident Report to the Charity Commission. Our view would be, read the guidance on this topic, and, if in doubt, make a report.

There are some common pitfalls for trustees who encounter a difficult problem.  One of these is reaction speed, which can be too fast or too slow.  Personal loyalties can also get in the way, and personalities can play a part when either people treat a problem as an opportunity to push through a decision they've been campaigning for or focus on assigning blame.  We've also encountered plenty of situations where trustees just felt overwhelmed, let down and unequal to the task of picking up the pieces.

It's important, when solving a serious and time-critical problem that trustees don't get distracted too soon into the work of learning the lessons and taking steps to prevent future problems.  The first thing to do is to solve the problem.

What happens next?

Whatever happens, at some point in the future, something will go wrong again.  So the question is, will your experiences make you better prepared to deal with it next time round?

No matter whether you've just heard about a problem and you are trying to get your bearings, or you want to prevent and prepare for future problems, if you ever want to talk to us about anything we've discussed in this blog, please feel free to drop us a line at cce@citystgeorges.ac.uk.

Find out more about Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes Business School