Tips for Making Online Board Meetings Productive

September 02, 2024 | aporadix

Online board meetings are a convenient method for nonprofits and their staff members to conduct business. However, just like any meeting, the productivity of an online board meeting can be affected by many factors. This article offers tips on making your virtual board meetings productive and outlines the most common mistakes that can be avoided. […]

Online board meetings are a convenient method for nonprofits and their staff members to conduct business. However, just like any meeting, the productivity of an online board meeting can be affected by many factors. This article offers tips on making your virtual board meetings productive and outlines the most common mistakes that can be avoided.

A lack of engagement

Many nonprofit boards struggle to keep their remote attendees engaged during meetings. This is particularly the case if your company has transitioned to meeting remotely from face-to-face sessions. Meetings may suffer from low participation when your board members aren’t accustomed to video-based communication or are struggling https://protectednetwork.org/ with the technology itself.

It is difficult to get participants to take part in the virtual meeting if committee reports are not the most interesting element of the agenda. To combat this, encourage your committee chairs to include a question or request for feedback from the board in their reports.

Inadequate meeting minutes

Your board’s designated minute-takers have the responsibility of ensuring that the most important discussions and decisions from the virtual meetings are documented in a concise manner. They should not discuss informal discussions or personal opinions and should aim for a balance between thoroughness and conciseness. It is also important that the minutes are recorded accurately and that you have a system in place to ensure safe storage of all documents that are related to the meeting, such as governing documents financial reports, and more. This will reduce confusion and increase accountability between meetings.