Board meetings online eliminate one of the most significant barriers to participation and attendance time. Meetings are shorter, which means board members can attend more of them. This increases attendance and reduces the chance of ignoring important decisions. However, it’s crucial to be aware that managing an online board meeting isn’t without its issues.
In-person meetings allow attendees to read bodylanguage and facial expressions. This can be difficult in a virtual conversation. It’s also a challenge to keep board members who are located far away interested. For example board members might be reluctant to speak at an event if they don’t feel their contributions will be heard. Even when they do speak up it, their voice could be drowned out by other attendees or background noise.
Other issues that arise with online board meeting include poor audio quality and inconsistent video software for conferencing. It’s essential to choose a video-conferencing software that is secure, accessible, simple to use, and comes with numerous features that can benefit your business. Ask your board members if they can test the platform prior to your online board meeting. This will help you avoid any technical issues.
Another issue is keeping the meeting on track. Limiting the duration of the discussion items can assist. It is recommended to have a time limit, and an end-point for each item. You could, for instance assign a participant as the leader of each topic on the agenda or set a time limit for each item. The goal should be boardmgmt.net to reach a decision or generate ideas before moving on to the next item.