Online board meetings are a convenient and efficient way for nonprofits to conduct business. But, like any meeting, the productivity of an online board meeting is affected by a variety of factors. This article provides tips for making your virtual board meetings efficient and outlines common pitfalls that can be avoided.
Many boards of non-profit organizations struggle to keep attendees from remote locations engaged during meetings. This is especially the case if your company has moved to a remote meeting from face-toface sessions. Meetings can be impacted by low participation when your board members aren’t accustomed to video-based communication or if they’re struggling with the technology itself.
It is hard to convince participants to attend a virtual meeting when committee reports are the least interesting portion of the agenda. Encourage your committee chairs to include in their reports a query or request for feedback from the Board.
The appointed minutestakers of your board are accountable for ensuring that the most important discussions and decisions of your virtual meetings are recorded in a clear, concise manner. They should be careful not to describe informal discussions or personal opinions and should strive for a balance between thoroughness as well as brevity. It is also crucial that your minutes are recorded verbatim and that you have a system in place to ensure safe storage of all documents that are related to the meeting, such as governing documents financial reports, and more. This will help avoid confusion and increase accountability.
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