Hospital board members can use a competency list to ensure committees possess at least a "critical mass" of several members who have the expertise and skills necessary to perform committee tasks. The American Hospital Association's most recent "Great Boards" (pdf) report includes the following lists, but hospitals should build their own competency lists based on the needs of their organization.
"Annually, before making committee appointments, the board chairperson, working with the governance committee, should consider the competency of each board committee and adjust its makeup accordingly," consultant Barry S. Bader, president of Bader & Associates, wrote in the report. These competencies can also drive hospitals' education and development opportunities, for either individual committees or the full board.
Here are 58 competencies hospitals may wish to include in their committee competency requirements.
Finance committee
• Financial management and planning
• Financial analysis
• Business risk assessment
• Bond ratings
• Financial aspects of mergers and large transactions
• Healthcare markets and payment systems
• Ability to analyze financial reports and trends and apply them to strategic thinking, financial planning and high-level decision-making
Quality and patient safety committee
• Clinical quality measurement and improvement
• Evidence-based care
• Performance improvement strategies in industry and healthcare
• Patient safety practices
• Patient and customer satisfaction
• Medical and nursing care processes and education in acute, ambulatory and long-term care settings
• Medical informatics and technology
• Organizational transformation and innovation
• Ability to understand performance reports, trends, sentinel events and other information and apply them to board responsibilities for decision-making and oversight
Audit and compliance committee
• Financial audit
• Financial management
• Enterprise risk management
• Corporate compliance
• Laws and regulatory policy
• Organizational and individual ethics
• Ability to understand and act on audit and compliance reports
Executive evaluation and compensation committee
• Executive leadership of large, complex organizations
• Human resources development
• Leadership development
• Executive and physician compensation
• Ability to engage in oversight and decision-making
• Organizational and individual ethics
Community benefit committee
• Community health and improvement strategies
• Understanding of underserved and vulnerable populations in the community
• Linkages to other community organizations and their leadership
• Organizational mission and values
• Laws and regulations affecting non-profit organizations
• Community orientation
• Ability to understand information about the organization's mission effectiveness and apply it to board responsibility for decision-making and oversight
Governance and nominations committee
• Experience as a board member in another organization
• Good governance practices
• Human resources development
• Adult and continuing education
• Laws and regulatory policy
• Organizational and individual ethics
• Ability to understand and act on committee information
Human resources committee
• Human resources development
• Leadership development
• Employee engagement and satisfaction
• Labor relations
• Workforce issues
• Ability to engage in oversight and decision-making
Strategic planning committee
• Strategic planning
• Global trends in healthcare
• Community health status and improvement
• Ability to think strategically and integrate strategic planning with long-term financial planning
• Ability to understand and apply the organization's mission to the board's responsibilities for strategic planning, decision-making and oversight
Philanthropy committee
• Fundraising strategies and methods
• Strong connections with other community organizations, potential donors and "connectors"
• Volunteer orientation
• Ability to understand and act on committee information
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"Annually, before making committee appointments, the board chairperson, working with the governance committee, should consider the competency of each board committee and adjust its makeup accordingly," consultant Barry S. Bader, president of Bader & Associates, wrote in the report. These competencies can also drive hospitals' education and development opportunities, for either individual committees or the full board.
Here are 58 competencies hospitals may wish to include in their committee competency requirements.
Finance committee
• Financial management and planning
• Financial analysis
• Business risk assessment
• Bond ratings
• Financial aspects of mergers and large transactions
• Healthcare markets and payment systems
• Ability to analyze financial reports and trends and apply them to strategic thinking, financial planning and high-level decision-making
Quality and patient safety committee
• Clinical quality measurement and improvement
• Evidence-based care
• Performance improvement strategies in industry and healthcare
• Patient safety practices
• Patient and customer satisfaction
• Medical and nursing care processes and education in acute, ambulatory and long-term care settings
• Medical informatics and technology
• Organizational transformation and innovation
• Ability to understand performance reports, trends, sentinel events and other information and apply them to board responsibilities for decision-making and oversight
Audit and compliance committee
• Financial audit
• Financial management
• Enterprise risk management
• Corporate compliance
• Laws and regulatory policy
• Organizational and individual ethics
• Ability to understand and act on audit and compliance reports
Executive evaluation and compensation committee
• Executive leadership of large, complex organizations
• Human resources development
• Leadership development
• Executive and physician compensation
• Ability to engage in oversight and decision-making
• Organizational and individual ethics
Community benefit committee
• Community health and improvement strategies
• Understanding of underserved and vulnerable populations in the community
• Linkages to other community organizations and their leadership
• Organizational mission and values
• Laws and regulations affecting non-profit organizations
• Community orientation
• Ability to understand information about the organization's mission effectiveness and apply it to board responsibility for decision-making and oversight
Governance and nominations committee
• Experience as a board member in another organization
• Good governance practices
• Human resources development
• Adult and continuing education
• Laws and regulatory policy
• Organizational and individual ethics
• Ability to understand and act on committee information
Human resources committee
• Human resources development
• Leadership development
• Employee engagement and satisfaction
• Labor relations
• Workforce issues
• Ability to engage in oversight and decision-making
Strategic planning committee
• Strategic planning
• Global trends in healthcare
• Community health status and improvement
• Ability to think strategically and integrate strategic planning with long-term financial planning
• Ability to understand and apply the organization's mission to the board's responsibilities for strategic planning, decision-making and oversight
Philanthropy committee
• Fundraising strategies and methods
• Strong connections with other community organizations, potential donors and "connectors"
• Volunteer orientation
• Ability to understand and act on committee information
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