Online board meetings can be an efficient method for nonprofits as well as their staff to conduct business. Like any other meeting, a number of factors can impact the effectiveness of an online board meeting. This article provides suggestions for making your virtual board meetings efficient and outlines the most common mistakes that can be avoided.
A lack of engagement
Many boards of nonprofits struggle to keep their remote attendees engaged during meetings. This is especially the case if your company has made the transition to remote meetings from face-to-face meetings. Meetings can suffer from low participation when your board members aren’t used to using video for communication or are struggling with the technology itself.
It is difficult to get participants to participate in meetings via video when committee reports are not the most interesting element of the agenda. Encourage your committee chairs to include in their reports a specific question or request for feedback from the Board.
Inadequate meeting minutes
The minutes of your board’s appointed officials are accountable for ensuring that the most important discussions and decisions in your virtual meetings are documented in a concise manner. They should avoid describing informal discussions or personal opinions and should try to strike a balance between thoroughness as well as conciseness. It is also essential that your minutes are recorded exactly as they were and that you have an established system to ensure the safe storage of all documents including governing documents, financial reports, and much more. This will prevent confusion and increase accountability.
