What is being taught, and how?
More respondents say their board has received specific information or training over the past year on ESG matters (80 percent) than on any other topic, underlining the rise of ESG as a topic boards are taking seriously.
The next-most frequently cited topic on which boards have been provided with information or training is corporate governance (77 percent), followed by cyber-security (73 percent), compliance/regulation (67 percent), executive compensation (52 percent) and board diversity (50 percent).
The proportion of respondents citing ESG increases with company size: 76 percent of those at small caps say their board has been trained or informed about those matters in the past year, while 83 percent of those at mid-caps, 88 percent of those at large caps and 90 percent of those at mega-caps say likewise. Nine in 10 respondents at large-cap companies say their board has been trained or informed about corporate governance matters, but only 67 percent of their peers at mega-cap firms say the same.
The percentages of respondents who cite geopolitics, economic issues and domestic politics issues as topics for training and informing the board increase with each cap size.
The frequency with which topics are cited is reasonably consistent between respondents in North America and Europe, with the biggest discrepancy occurring on cyber-security, which is mentioned by 78 percent of those in North America and 68 percent of respondents in Europe.
One of corporate secretaries’ key roles is successfully bringing new directors onto the board. Part of that work involves making sure new board members have all the information and training they need. Not surprisingly, corporate governance (90 percent of all respondents) is the topic most frequently cited as the basis for training and information supplied to new directors. This is followed by compliance/regulation (73 percent), ESG issues (57 percent), litigation issues facing the company and cyber-security (51 percent each) and executive compensation and ethics (46 percent each).
More than three quarters (76 percent) of respondents at large-cap companies say new board members are trained/informed about ESG matters, more than those at mega-caps (65 percent), mid-caps (57 percent) or small caps (48 percent).
Compliance/ regulation is more frequently cited by those at small caps (83 percent), large caps (81 percent) or mid-caps (73 percent) than by those at mega-cap companies (53 percent).
More than half of respondents at mid-caps (51 percent) and large caps (59 percent) provide training on executive compensation, compared with 38 percent of those at small caps and 35 percent of those at mega-caps.
Governance, compliance and HR teams at many firms have been expanding the range of formats they use for training employees, including making better use of technology to enhance efficiency, engagement and analytics. For directors, the live approach is strongly favored, not least because it can be more efficient and effective for a small group such as a board rather than for thousands of workers. Overall, almost all (96 percent) of respondents say their board uses live presentations, either in person or online.
Online self-guided courses have a role to play, being mentioned by 29 percent of those taking part in the survey. More than four in 10 (43 percent) say their board uses online educational resources. Other formats such as using real-life examples (16 percent of respondents), blogs/newsletters (16 percent) or videos (12 percent) have gained some traction but are less widespread.
The findings are broadly similar among respondents at firms of different sizes. But 10 percent of those at mega-caps say their board uses adaptive learning technology, compared with an overall average of 3 percent.
Almost a quarter (24 percent) of respondents at the biggest companies say their board uses videos. That compares with responses in the single digits among those at smaller companies. Real-life examples are also cited more frequently among respondents at mega-cap companies (29 percent) than elsewhere.
Almost half (47 percent) of respondents in North America say their board uses online educational resources, compared with just 28 percent of their peers in Europe. Meanwhile, twice as many of those in Europe (28 percent) as those in North America (14 percent) say their board uses real-life examples.
Respondents were asked how frequently over the past year investors asked about the information and/or training their board receives. Overall, the results point to a lack of widespread focus on the issue among major shareholders. Of all respondents, almost half (47 percent) say investors have not asked about director training or information at all in the last 12 months. A quarter say investors have asked about the issue occasionally.
One in 10 respondents say investors have inquired sometimes, frequently or very frequently – but it should be noted that almost a fifth (18 percent) of respondents don't know.
By contrast, a quarter of respondents at mega-cap companies say investors have sometimes asked about director training/information over the past year. Just 20 percent say investors have never inquired. Again, it is worth noting that almost a third (30 percent) of respondents in this group don’t have an answer.
Regionally, more than half (52 percent) of those in North America say investors did not ask about director training/information over the past year. By comparison, just over a quarter (28 percent) of respondents in Europe say the same, while more than four in 10 say their investors have made occasional inquiries on the topic.
