Seven tips for a better trustee advert

A brown woman and a white woman are shaking hands in an office breakout space beside some seating. They are both smiling slightly and wearing office attire. On the wall behind them there is a neon sign which reads 'Good vibes only'

Creating a captivating ad is an essential part of a successful open recruitment strategy. Our tips will help set your charity up for success.

What’s your Why?

Make it clear what you hope to gain by diversifying your board. If you need more people with lived experience of the issues your charity addresses so that you can understand your community better, say it! Be explicit about the outcome you’re hoping to achieve as a result of the recruitment.

Find Skills AND experience

We’ll say it louder for those at the back, recruiting diversely isn’t about choosing between skills and experience, it’s about gaining both. If you’ve done a skills, knowledge and experience audit, you’ll know where your gaps are. You can then say you need people with experience of digital marketing, fundraising, community engagement etc AND you’re encouraging people from specific groups to apply.

Be inclusive

Inclusive language evolves and changes and it can happen at a rapid pace. Making sure you’re up to speed on how to address different groups of people respectfully and in ways they want to be addressed is essential. It’s easy to shy away from this for fear of getting it wrong. The best way to engage with discourse around language is to ask the folk involved how they like to describe themselves and how they like to be described by others (which may differ). We recommend award-winning inclusive and accessible comms educator Ettie Bailey-King. Her workshops and Substack are a mine of useful info.

And accessible

You’d be surprised how often websites and adverts use a font or a colour combination that is harder for certain groups of people to understand. This extremely useful Content Design Guide gives some great guidelines on getting it right, while specialists like The British Dyslexia Society produce style guides with more detailed recommendations.

Mix it up

There’s no rule that says an advert has to be written. If you think that a video is a better way to reach your target audience then go with it. Here is one from the inclusive dance charity Flamingo Chicks which we love.

Get the images right

If you’re using pictures make sure you are representing the people who you want to apply for the role. Are you hoping to attract more young trustees? Make sure they can see themselves. Be honest with it though, if you want a particular group of people because they’re lacking on the board then show the imagery and state the intention to be more like the picture.

Get the right support

Getting your ad right is just one part of a cohesive open recruitment strategy. To find out how we can support you in all stages of your recruitment process and create an inclusive board culture that enables all trustees to do their best work read about our Transform programme here.