The Challenges of Online Board Meetings

Board meetings that are online eliminate one of the biggest barriers to participation and attendance: time. Meetings are shorter and board members are able to attend more of them. This increases attendance, and decreases the likelihood of being absent from crucial decisions. It’s also important to be aware that managing an online board meeting is not without its problems.

In-person meetings allow participants to read body language and facial expressions which can be difficult to achieve in a virtual meeting. It’s also harder to keep board members who are located far away active. Board members might be reluctant to speak out in the event that they feel their voice won’t be heard. And even when they do speak up speak up, their voice might be drowned out by other attendees or background noise.

Inconsistent audio quality as well as inconsistent software are also issues for online board meetings. It is essential to select a video-conferencing software that is secure, accessible, simple to use, and offers numerous features that can help your business. It’s a good idea request your board members to test out the platform before your online board meeting to avoid technical issues.

Another issue is keeping the meeting on time and limiting the length of discussion topics. It is recommended to establish a goal for each item and limit the time it takes. For boardmgmt.net instance, you could assign a participant as the leader for each topic on the agenda or establish a time limit for each item. The aim should be to reach a decision or generate ideas before moving to the next item.