The pandemic has made it more difficult than ever before for non-profit organizations to function and gain community support, and many are relying on remote board meetings to make important decisions and ensure their existence. However it isn’t easy to conduct an effective remote board meeting without the presence of all board members.
A clear, specific agenda will help keep the board meeting you are hosting remotely on track and on-topic at all times. Include your board members in the process of establishing the agenda. This will help you determine what topics should be covered. Then, you should send the agenda in advance to all attendees to allow them to prepare. This will ensure that they are aware of the topics that need to be covered and can add anything to the agenda prior to. Utilizing an online board portal that is secure to distribute the agenda and other materials will also aid in reducing security risk.
Video can increase the participation in remote board meetings by adding a vital face-to-face aspect to discussions. Additionally video makes it simpler for attendees to look at the body language of other people and to observe non-verbal signals such as boredom, impatience or excitement.
Meeting in person may be difficult to schedule for busy boards that have to manage many professional and personal commitments. Finding the right time that is suitable for everyone is easier with remote board meeting software. Tools such as SavvyCal’s polls for meetings let you propose multiple times for your meeting, and let everyone vote on the times that work best for them. This will eliminate the need for back-andforth emails and can save you time and effort.