Simon’s RSBC trustee story

As one of RSBC’s trustees, the decisions that Simon make have a huge impact on the lives of the children, young people and families we support. Here, we talk to him about what motivated him to become an RSBC trustee, how his professional experience has shaped his approach, and how he’s found his first year in the trustee role.

What inspired you to become a charity trustee, and why RSBC specifically?

I've worked with a few charities related to children, and I was introduced to RSBC just over three years ago, when I was involved with the building of the charity’s Life Without Limits Centre in London. It was clearly a great cause trying to do some amazing things, and I was very happy to help. From then on, I just got involved in more things - I was always happy to, as everybody's so friendly. The more I did, the more I was hooked on it. I'm very fortunate that I've done OK in business, and RSBC just seemed like a good fit.

When the trustee opportunity arose, it was good timing, as I was stepping out of the day to day running of ITG. I could free up some time and I figured, if I could make a difference, then that's a good thing.

How long have you been a trustee at RSBC?

It’s about 12 months in total. It didn’t take long to go through the process. 

RSBC needed somebody with marketing experience, and I’d been working with the charity as a corporate supporter already. I had a call with Julie, RSBC’s CEO, and Patrick, who’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, then had to go through a process to make sure I was suitable to be a trustee. I went through things like credit checks, criminal record checks and DBS checks. 

Possibly because I'd already worked with the charity for some time, I found the process really straightforward. 

As a trustee, what are your main responsibilities?

It varies! There’s an element of governance involved with the role, so I have a responsibility to make sure that the senior management team are held accountable and the organisation overall is acting appropriately and in accordance with best governance practice. RSBC’s pretty good from a governance perspective and takes it very seriously. 

The formal side of the trustee role means getting involved in various boards and being an independent representative. I chair the Income and Engagement Committee, and also work with the Head of External Affairs and her teams to try and help. I have lots of contacts and can give support by bringing people in. I get involved with the marketing side of the business as much as I can. I’m possibly a ‘trustee plus’!

Tell us a bit more about ‘trustee plus’?

I have limited time to give – there are only so many hours in the day - so if I can get a favour from someone I know, I will! I’ll drag people in and say, “Come on, help me out for a great cause!” And they’re not really helping me – they’re helping the charity and the children RSBC supports. We end up getting more done, and the charity isn’t out of pocket.

Not all charities are appreciative, but RSBC certainly is. It’s something I don't mind doing - it makes me feel good, because it's a fantastic cause. 

How does your professional background and expertise contribute to your role as a trustee?

I've been in marketing for around 35 years. I didn't do A levels - I just wanted to work, so I initially trained as a photographer, and was a commercial photographer for a few years before starting an agency. 

I was quite young, and it did very well. I sold it, and that led me to set up and run more of my own businesses. I was interested in behavioural psychology – knowing the weird reasons people did things - and wanted to turn that knowledge into great business ideas. 

Two of the companies became pretty big – one was a marketing and print business, and one was a technology-focused marketing group. 

As for professional qualifications, I went back to do an MBA later in life because I thought people who had been to university knew something I didn’t. Then I realised that they don’t! But having run one large Plc and grown two huge businesses from scratch, I think that from a marketing perspective, I have the qualifications and skillset to help. 

How do you work with the charity’s executive team and other stakeholders? 

I'm in contact with RSBC two to three times a week in some way, shape or form, but that’s because I choose to do it. 

There's never any pressure for me to do more, and as a trustee, you don't need to be in touch so often. You can fulfil the role through half a dozen meetings a year, or you can get involved a little bit more and you'll be welcome. There's no pressure, but you do have to take your responsibilities and accountability seriously.

RSBC has a range of different meetings that trustees attend, depending on their remit. I sit on the Income and Engagement Committee, which meets every quarter, and there are formal Council meetings too.

More informally, I speak to RSBC’s CEO quite a lot, and if I’m in London, I'll meet up with her. And at least every two weeks, I have a proper catch up with the External Affairs Director.

What's the role of trustees in setting the charity’s long-term strategy and goals? 

It’s more shaping, rather than setting, goals and strategy. The job of a trustee is to listen to the Senior Leadership team, which sets the strategies with the assistance of the Chairs and pitches them to the main boards. Then it's the trustee’s job to interrogate, question and validate, making sure that the strategies that are put in place are checked and sensible, and holding people accountable.

During your time as an RSBC trustee, which successes stand out? 

We’ve brought some stability by ensuring that the right team is in place. Plus, we’ve implemented a new database and upgraded the RSBC website – projects that have been big successes. We managed to get some great people involved, while keeping costs to a minimum.

I’ve brought in a wider support network, reducing some day-to-day costs by introducing other businesses to RSBC. So, from that perspective, it's been a successful – if busy – 12 months. 

I always think I could do more, but time’s limited as I also chair another five businesses. Because I feel guilty about that, I try to get as many other people involved as I can. Ultimately, if I rolled together everyone who’s given their time free and my time, it would probably make a full-time role! 

What are the key skills that someone should have to be an effective trustee?

Any skills in general management are good. You need to have some knowledge of ethics and governance principles - if you're a fast and loose type of person, it’s probably not going to work. You've got to act appropriately and have organisational skills and common sense.

Understanding good governance is important because there are rules and ways of doing things within charities that may appear strange in the commercial world. Follow those rules, and be seen to be following them.

If you've got good, broad principles, if you're a decent person, you live by a set of guidelines, and if you've got some experience in a particular sector, then you should be OK. You just need to take the role fairly seriously, but have a bit of a laugh at the same time - otherwise it'd be very dull, wouldn't it?

What advice would you give someone who's considering becoming a trustee?

Make sure that you can allocate a set amount of time per month to genuinely interact with the charity, finding out what it does and how it does it.

And you do need to be able to commit time to read the board packs and other documents. Some of them are pretty dry, but you do get some nuggets if you look in there! Be curious - you might see something that others haven’t spotted, as we all have different skills. I always welcome somebody saying, “You know, I've noticed we don't do any of this…” - whatever it may be.

Finally, try to network with some of the other trustees as much as you can, as you’ll get a lot out of it.

What makes you feel like you've made a real difference as a trustee?

Every 12 months, I'll look back at the previous year and think, “Have I done enough to have made a sizeable contribution to the charity?” And if I can tick that box, I start with a clean slate. I challenge myself to do that again in the next 12 months with another, completely different set of goals.

It's always a journey with any charity. There's never an end goal - trustees are stewards for a period of time, so you're just owning part of the journey for a while. As long as you’re pushing forward and ticking a few things off each year that have made a genuine difference, then I would say that's success.