Making Online Board Meetings Productive and Effective

The quality of your board’s meeting is dependent on the amount of work members do prior to every meeting. If participants are prepared and prepare, they can make online meetings more efficient and productive. A group that is well-prepared is more likely to stick to the agenda and not get distracted.

It’s important to communicate clearly to remote board members how they should participate in meetings. It’s a good idea, for instance, to remind participants to turn off their phones when speaking, and only speak when called upon. This prevents people from talking over each other or leaving a gathering without feeling heard. It is also essential that the convener ask participants if they need assistance in a tech issue prior to starting.

It’s also beneficial to include the rules for meetings that are virtual in the materials for board members’ orientation so that everyone has a complete understanding of what’s required of them prior to the meeting, during, and after the meeting. For instance, it’s important to communicate the agenda ahead of time, and to follow up with the participants a day or in the morning prior to the meeting to confirm the details, send them the Zoom or meeting link in a second time, and remind participants of any other preferences for meetings (such as requesting that attendees attend from a quiet area to minimize distractions). It is also recommended to include a placeholder for executive sessions to each agenda item and to include it at the beginning of the meeting to avoid confusion as to whether there is an executive session.

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