Online meetings for board meetings are an excellent way for board members to keep in touch without putting them or their colleagues at risk of getting sick. It also provides greater flexibility in scheduling meetings since attendees don’t need to schedule a time or adjust their schedules to accommodate a trip across time zones. For board members working abroad it is also possible to attend in spite of travel restrictions and quarantine.
As with all meetings, the success of a board meeting online is contingent on the planning and communication. This is why it’s important to establish some ground rules to help ensure that everyone on the board is engaged and able to follow along in the discussion. This could include asking remote attendees to put their phones in silent or vibrate mode, and reminding them not to sit in front of a window that could provide unwanted reflections on the screen.
Another method of increasing engagement is to incorporate video during the meeting instead of relying on audio. This will allow attendees to be able to see each other and better judge body speech, which is difficult to do via the phone or on a computer. This will allow the chairperson to identify who is speaking and to give them the floor.
Finally, it’s essential to have secure document storage, as boards handle an abundance of sensitive data. A dedicated Extra resources system can centralize all documents in a single place, with administrators in a position to restrict access and set permissions. It can also facilitate collaboration and increase productivity between meetings by assigning tasks which are then tracked and monitored.