As regulatory, governance and organisational demands become more complex, internal teams can find themselves managing an increasing range of responsibilities alongside their day-to-day work. External corporate support can provide additional capacity for particular meetings, projects or periods of increased demand, while working alongside the organisation’s existing teams and advisers.
The nature of corporate support has evolved as organisations have become more complex and the demands placed on internal teams have increased. Board and committee activity, governance and compliance projects, regulatory change and wider corporate initiatives can all create periods where additional resource is needed to keep work organised, documented and progressing.
Through my work with organisations across different sectors, I have seen how useful external support can be when an internal team needs additional capacity, an independent resource or practical help progressing a particular piece of work. The requirement may be ongoing, project-based or limited to a particular meeting or period of increased activity.
So, let’s explore why organisations may choose to use external corporate support, the areas where additional capacity can be particularly useful and what to consider when deciding whether external support is right for your organisation.
How corporate support needs have evolved in recent years
Regulatory and governance requirements continue to develop across many sectors. Changes to data protection, company law and corporate transparency requirements are examples of developments that organisations have needed to understand and incorporate into their existing governance, compliance and operational arrangements.
Good corporate governance is increasingly concerned with the quality of oversight, decision-making and accountability rather than simply whether particular governance processes have been completed. Depending on the organisation and its activities, boards and senior management may need visibility across areas such as risk, financial controls, cyber security, regulatory compliance and stakeholder interests. This can increase both the volume of information reaching decision-makers and the work required to support effective governance.
External support does not necessarily replace internal expertise. It can complement existing teams by providing additional capacity when workloads increase, a particular project needs coordinating or independent support is helpful. This can allow internal specialists to retain ownership of their areas of responsibility while drawing on additional resource for defined pieces of work.
Key areas of external corporate support
External corporate support can take different forms depending on the organisation, its existing resources and the work involved. The following are some of the areas where additional support can provide useful capacity alongside internal teams.
Independent Minute Taking
Independent minute-taking can provide an objective record of the matters considered, the key points of discussion and challenge, and the decisions and actions arising from a meeting. This can be particularly valuable for boards, committees and other formal meetings where the quality of the governance record matters or where those participating in the meeting need to remain focused on the discussion rather than producing the minutes themselves.
Board and Committee Support
Effective board and committee support involves more than meeting administration. Depending on the organisation and its existing arrangements, additional support can include coordinating meeting cycles, preparing agendas and board packs, managing papers and deadlines, maintaining action trackers and supporting communication around meetings. This can provide practical capacity for Company Secretarial, Governance and senior teams while responsibility for governance decisions and requirements remains with the organisation.
Corporate Goverance Support
Corporate governance activity can create additional work around maintaining governance documentation, coordinating information, tracking actions and supporting reviews or improvements to existing arrangements. Corporate Governance Support can provide practical additional capacity alongside Boards, governance teams and specialist advisers, helping to keep agreed governance activity organised and progressing while responsibility for governance decisions remains with the organisation.
Compliance & Risk Support
Compliance and risk activities can generate significant practical work alongside the specialist assessments and decisions for which internal teams or advisers remain responsible. Additional support can help with activities such as coordinating information, maintaining risk registers and trackers, supporting reviews, organising compliance documentation and following up on agreed actions. This can provide useful capacity for established teams as well as organisations undertaking a particular compliance or risk project.
Corporate Project Support
Organisations may need additional capacity for a defined project, a period of increased workload or work that falls outside normal day-to-day activity. Corporate project support can include coordinating information and contributions from different stakeholders, maintaining project documentation and trackers, following up actions and helping to keep agreed workstreams progressing. This can be particularly useful where a project crosses several teams and someone is needed to bring structure to the practical work involved.
The benefits of external corporate support
External corporate support can be used in different ways depending on the organisation’s needs. It may provide additional capacity during busy periods, support a particular project or meeting cycle, or bring an independent resource into a defined area of work without transferring responsibility away from the organisation’s existing teams.
Experience and additional capacity
External support can bring experience gained from working across different organisations, sectors and types of assignment. My own background spans insurance, finance, construction, charity and voluntary organisations, together with experience supporting different boards and committees. This helps me adapt to different governance arrangements, working styles and organisational environments while working within the client’s own structures and requirements.
Flexible resourcing
External support can give organisations flexibility to bring in additional resource when and where it is needed. This may be for a regular meeting cycle, a defined project, temporary additional capacity or a particularly busy period. The organisation can determine the scope and duration of the support according to the work required, without necessarily creating a permanent role.
Protecting internal capacity
Internal teams often have competing priorities, and additional governance, compliance or project work can place pressure on the time available for their existing responsibilities. Bringing in external support for defined activities can provide additional capacity while allowing internal colleagues to retain their focus on the work that requires their organisational knowledge, specialist expertise or decision-making responsibility.
Structured and reliable support
Bringing in someone who is accustomed to working with boards, committees and corporate projects can provide structure and continuity around a defined area of work. Established ways of working, clear documentation and consistent follow-up can help keep information organised, actions visible and agreed work progressing, while adapting to the organisation’s own processes and requirements.
When additional support can be useful
The need for additional support often becomes apparent when workloads increase, a particular project requires coordination or important governance and compliance activities compete with existing priorities. The issue may not be a lack of expertise within the organisation, but simply whether the people responsible have sufficient capacity to progress the work alongside their other responsibilities.
Even where an organisation has the necessary expertise internally, competing priorities can make it difficult to give every piece of work the time and attention it requires. Additional support can help relieve pressure by taking responsibility for agreed practical activities, coordination and follow-up, while internal teams continue to provide the organisational knowledge, specialist input and oversight required.
Periods of increased workload can also make it difficult to step back and address work that would improve existing arrangements. Projects such as reviewing documentation, bringing records up to date, improving trackers or coordinating information across teams can remain on the list because immediate priorities take precedence. Additional capacity can help move this work forward without diverting internal teams from their day-to-day responsibilities.
My own experience of working in-house showed me how easily capable teams can become stretched when additional projects, governance requirements or periods of increased activity sit alongside their existing responsibilities. It was one of the reasons I established Corporate Assist: to provide practical additional capacity that can fit around an organisation’s existing team and ways of working.
Choosing the right external corporate support
When considering external corporate support, start by being clear about what you need the additional resource to achieve. This might be support for a regular meeting cycle, additional capacity for an existing team, coordination of a defined project or help bringing a particular area of work up to date. Being clear about the scope, responsibilities and expected outcomes can help identify the type of support that will work best alongside your existing arrangements.
Experience and background are important, but so is the way an external provider approaches the work. Consider whether they understand the environment in which your organisation operates, can work effectively with the people already responsible for the area and are comfortable adapting to your existing processes and requirements. For work involving boards, governance, compliance or sensitive corporate matters, professionalism, discretion and an understanding of appropriate boundaries are also important considerations.
Communication and working style are also important. External support often involves working closely with people across an organisation, handling confidential information and becoming familiar with established ways of working. The right support should be able to integrate comfortably with the existing team, communicate appropriately with different stakeholders and work with the level of independence required for the assignment.
When I work with clients, my aim is to understand how they operate, what they need from me and where responsibility sits, so that I can get on with the agreed work while keeping the right people informed.
Practical external support when you need it
External corporate support can be particularly useful when an organisation has capable people in place but needs additional capacity to keep important work moving. Whether the requirement relates to meetings, governance, compliance and risk, or a defined corporate project, the support can be shaped around the work required and the organisation’s existing arrangements.
Corporate Assist provides Independent Minute Taking, Board & Committee Support, Corporate Governance Support, Compliance & Risk Support and Corporate Project Support. The support is practical and flexible, working alongside existing teams and specialist advisers to provide additional capacity, bring structure to information and documentation, coordinate agreed activities and help keep work progressing.
If your organisation needs additional capacity for a meeting, governance or compliance activity, or a corporate project, get in touch to discuss how Corporate Assist could support your existing team.
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