A board meeting online is an excellent way for a nonprofit’s board of directors to meet remotely without the need to travel. Virtual meetings can pose unique problems. Certain issues can be resolved with the use of the appropriate tools for your board’s needs while others require more thought and consideration. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you organize your online board meetings efficiently and efficiently.
An agenda that is well-planned will help you increase the effectiveness of your online board meeting. Include specific topics for discussion, as well as the time allocated and the desired end. This will keep meetings focused on the most important issues and reduce the risk of discussions drifting from the topic or running too long.
It’s a good idea ensure that all your board members are aware of the tools they’ll need prior to the meeting begins. Set clear guidelines for logging in to the video conference and to encourage them to close any programs that could use up bandwidth or interfere with audio. Make sure they stay away from brightly lit areas during their participation to ensure that other participants can’t see their screens.
The best tool to facilitate an online board meeting is an app for collaboration. This will allow board members to prepare for virtual meetings and attend the meetings. Select an app that can reduce meeting preparation time with the ability to build a book for your board, as well as an option that allows you to easily distribute agendas and meeting materials in advance of the meeting. Find an application that lets you share documents in real-time and allows participants to highlight documents and add annotations.