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CEO Evaluations: The key to keep and compensate the charter school CEO - BoardOnTrack

Written by Sam Falk | Feb 2, 2021 8:00:00 AM

Have you scheduled your next CEO evaluation? If not, you’re not alone.

Nearly 30% of CEOs report to us that their boards don’t follow a consistent CEO evaluation process. (That’s why, on our recent webinar, we taught our process.)

Yet, a consistent CEO evaluation process helps ensure your CEO doesn’t start planning to leave. And helps boards make responsible decisions about CEO compensation. Here’s why.

Nearly 75% of CEOs who experience a consistent CEO evaluation process say they’re not likely to look for a new role in the near future.

Nearly every CEO who’s not likely to look for a new job has two things in common: a board that understands their role, and a strong partnership with their Board Chair. 

Both are addressed by consistent CEO evaluations.

More than half of CEOs whose boards follow a consistent evaluation process report the board understands their role well. 

And, CEOs whose boards follow a consistent evaluation process are far more likely to have a strong partnership with their board chair.

What’s more, a solid CEO evaluation process may be especially important to ensure boards make responsible compensation decisions. 

Charter schools rely on data to raise the bar in every aspect of their organizations, from staffing to academic excellence. The board — and the board-CEO partnership — should be no different. 

Plus, most charter school board members do not have academic backgrounds. 

Boards need to make decisions led by data — both regarding compensation benchmarks and metrics of CEO performance. 

Yet, nearly 25% of our CEO compensation survey respondents said that their board had not hired a compensation consultant or performed a compensation study to guide CEO compensation in the last three to five years. 

And fewer than 10% had leveraged other third-party data in setting compensation. 

A consistent, road-tested CEO evaluation process provides the board and CEO with a transparent, data-driven approach to driving compensation discussions and decisions. Watch our webinar, Successful CEO Evaluations, on-demand here to learn our approach.

Download the report on charter school CEO compensation

What’s standing in the way of a consistent CEO evaluation process in many charter schools?

By far, the most common reason CEOs gave us for not having a consistent process for their own evaluation is that the board hasn’t created a process for them.

This is an area where CEOs can and should take the lead in facilitating the board’s capabilities.

Bring your desired process to your board. Or, at the least, spark the conversation with your board chair that you’d like to work with them to research options and select a process.

They won’t do it without your guidance. But, with you to show them the way and provide them the tools, they will pick it up and run with it. You will all be better off.

A consistent CEO evaluation is worth the time and attention of every board member and CEO

If you haven’t already, start by forming a CEO Support and Evaluation Committee. Then, select the right CEO evaluation tool for your organization. And get ready to hold a useful CEO evaluation this spring.

Need some guidance? Watch our on-demand webinar, Successful CEO Evaluations, to learn our secrets to successful CEO evaluations.