The spread of the disease has made it more difficult for non-profit organizations to gain community support and function. Many are currently relying upon remote meetings to make critical decisions and ensure their existence. However it can be a challenge to conduct an effective remote board meeting without the presence of all board members.
A clear, specific agenda can keep the board meeting you are hosting remotely on track and on-topic throughout the entire meeting. Engage your board members in the process of establishing agendas to find out what topics must be discussed and then forward the agenda to all participants as far in advance as possible, so they can prepare. This will help ensure they have a full understanding of the topics to be discussed, and they can add any topics to the agenda prior to time. Utilizing an online board portal that is secure to distribute agendas and other documents will help to reduce security risk.
Video can improve the engagement of remote board meetings, by adding a vital face-to-face element to the discussion. Additionally video makes it easier for participants to read the body language of other people and note non-verbal signals like impatience, boredom or even excitement.
It can be a challenge for busy boards to arrange meetings in person, especially when they have many personal and professional commitments. Finding an appointment time that is convenient for everyone is a lot easier using remote board meeting software. Tools such as SavvyCal’s polls for meetings allow you to suggest multiple times for your meeting and allow everyone to vote on the times that work best for them. This can eliminate the need to send back-and-forth emails and saves you time and effort.
