The pandemic has made it more difficult for nonprofits to build community support and operate. Many are currently relying upon remote meetings to make crucial decisions and ensure their existence. It can be challenging to conduct a remote board meeting without having the physical presence of all board members.
An agenda that is clear and specific will help keep your board meeting remotely focused and on the right track. Include your board members in the process of setting the agenda. This will help you decide what issues he has a good point should be discussed. Then, distribute the agenda as far in advance to everyone who will be attending so that they can prepare. This will ensure that they have a full understanding of what’s to be discussed and will allow them to add any items to the agenda prior to time. The use of a secure board portal for the distribution of agendas and other documents will also help to reduce security risks.
Video can be used to improve the engagement of remote board meetings, by bringing a crucial face-to-face element to the discussions. Video also allows participants to be aware of the body speech of others, and to note non-verbal signals, such as excitement, boredom or impatience.
Meeting in person can often be difficult to plan for busy boards that juggle many personal and professional obligations. Finding a time that works for everyone is easier using remote board meeting software. Tools like SavvyCal’s free meeting polls let you propose multiple times for your meeting and allow everyone to vote on which times work best for them. This eliminates the need for back-and-forth emails and can save you a lot of time and hassle.