Best Practices for Remote Board Meetings
People tend to be less attentive to remote board meetings as they would in person. It’s easier to give in to the temptation to check emails, eat snacks or pick up the phone. The good news is that you can overcome these issues if you run your meetings efficiently. The following best practices can help you keep virtual meetings on time, safe and productive.
Make use of a reliable, online portal with board management software that includes an agenda-building tool and video integration. Additionally, it comes with useful tools like task managers and document centers. These tools let you conduct meetings without having leave the portal, and ensure that everyone has the ability to access them regardless of the location, time zone, or device. It is also a good idea to assign a moderator to your meeting, as they will be able to oversee all of these systems and ensure that the technology is functioning effectively.
Send reminders to attendees for the meeting at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. This will reduce the amount of no-shows. Also, ensure that attendees are equipped with all the information needed to take part. Additionally, use an agenda template that lists specific details of the call to ensure that participants don’t get lost in the conversation.
If a member of the board is in a position to not attend a remote meeting, he or she must write a statement to the board outlining the reason for the absence and detailing any reasonable accommodations requested. The board will then determine if the excuse is valid. The board should be fair and uniform throughout the process, which is sometimes complicated.