After 2020, virtual board meetings have become a more routine part of their work when the world is significantly shaken up and changed. However, the shift to virtual technology is still ongoing, so it’s difficult for board leaders to create a fully productive meeting remotely. Board members are used to living communication and interaction, eye contact, and handshakes, but that doesn’t mean your collaboration level will suffer with online tools. With the right preparation and selection of a quality tool, you can achieve the desired performance of the board meeting.
Decide on the right tool
Many technology solutions exist right now that allows for video conferencing. Still, it would help if you looked for vendors that offer professional answers and can offer much more than a conferencing function with a user-friendly interface. Boardroom portals are programs designed to meet all the major needs of the board. They will allow for quality pre-meeting preparation through a flexible, reliable, and centralized space and offer a wide arsenal of tools for online meetings.
Make sure the technical part is up and running
Each participant must check that sound, camera, and screen sharing are working before the meeting. To do this, you can get a few meeting participants together and perform a technology test. This will help avoid a bad start to the conference, and as you know, the whole upcoming meeting depends on the set tone of the discussion.
Appoint a meeting moderator
A moderator will be able to ensure the meeting is run properly since one of the main problems with online discussions is that people may interrupt each other even if they don’t want to. The moderator will help decide who will speak and when. Raise your hand if you’re going to add a comment or post a question or concern in the online chat, so you don’t interrupt the speaker.
Think of the small details
The small details from the big picture affect the overall atmosphere of your meeting. That’s why it’s very important not to forget them. Close all unnecessary tabs so as not to create distractions. Also, place the plan on a shared screen for all participants so that everyone can see which item will be discussed next. Finally, of course, it’s important to remind participants that agendas should be sent several days before the meeting so they can come to the meeting prepared.
Share meeting minutes on a secure platform
In addition to the board meeting itself, proper protection should also apply to meeting minutes and agenda distribution. Board portals are secure spaces for storing necessary board documents. They are encrypted with modern encryption methods. In addition, space administrators can set explicit access permissions for papers and prohibit copying, printing, editing, forwarding, and downloading the document if it is not the user’s responsibility.
Avoid using email
The role of email in a company’s professional operations is markedly overrated. Experts strongly discourage using email services to transmit confidential information, as the program’s security infrastructure is very easy to circumvent. Furthermore, email is not security compliant, so if there is a data breach, your company, specifically the board, will be dragged to legal liability. The board portal solves most of the board’s problems because its space does not require using some third-party solution. Inside the portal, you can exchange documents and messages, conduct votes, and even sign and approve minutes and agendas.