Online Board Meetings Benefits
As a non-profit organization, you probably have a limited amount of board members. A lot of these slots are hard to fill due to the time commitment required for traveling and attending in-person meetings. Virtual board meetings remove the need for travel and calendar sync, making them more accessible for busy board members.
It’s also simpler to plan and host virtual meetings, which can reduce the amount of preparation required prior to each meeting, and the need to coordinate meeting space. This can ease the burden of your board which can be beneficial to your organization’s bottom line.
Another important benefit of board meetings that are online is that they can help connect and engage board members. A good technology platform can allow this to happen by offering tools for communication using video conference, presentation and discussion in form of chats, and whiteboard collaboration. These tools can be utilized in a similar manner to a face-toface meeting, and still abide by the rules of participation and meeting protocols.
To keep engagement high it is recommended to reduce the duration of meetings, and to take breaks when needed. It’s also beneficial to provide the opportunity to train less tech-savvy board members and to encourage the use of different meeting tools. This includes using polling questions, muting, utilizing the virtual “raise hand” option and allowing members to submit questions via the chat box.