Online board meetings provide better scheduling options. They can reduce the cost and time constraints of travel and eliminate the time constraints that come with hotels and flights. They also broaden the range of board members and can help prevent groupthink. The world of virtual meetings has its own challenges which can lead to poor-quality meetings.
In order to transition from in-person meetings to virtual ones, boards must change how they communicate and conduct business. Many of the elements that support the communication that occurs during in-person meetings such as a physical board book, digital presentations and sharing documents, have to be recreated for a board meeting that is online. This can be difficult for board members who aren’t familiar with the technology. The use of a basic board software program helps to streamline the process, however additional training on the tool may be needed for board members to be successful.
Another challenge when conducting a board meeting online is keeping everyone engaged and productive during the meeting. Getting sidetracked on new topics for discussion can consume time and distract from the most important issues on the agenda. Making an agenda with 20 percent less items, and breaking discussions into 15-minute increments can help reduce this issue. In addition, establishing an ad-hoc discussion platform for new topics may be helpful.
In the end, it is crucial for remote attendees to be able to see the faces of in-room attendees. This can be accomplished by avoiding the use of backgrounds or by moving the participants away from lighting sources such as windows which could glare at the screen and obscure the image for other board members. Additionally, avoiding distractions like cell phones and other devices can increase the participant’s ability to focus on the content being discussed.
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