For corporations governed by a board of directors, productive quarterly and annual board meetings are essential to short, medium, and long-term success. No organization can thrive without a dedicated core of leaders who have a vision for the future and are willing to make the hard decisions to make it happen, and the board meeting is the space in which those leaders can come together and discuss ideas, strategy, and governance. And yet a common complaint among directors is that board meetings are an inefficient waste of time. If board meetings are so important, why do so many people find them unproductive and frustrating?One way to make the most out of these important meetings is to cut out the clutter of Governance, Risk management, and Compliance issues. The business can incorporate Zen software to maintain these policies, allowing the board of directors to tackle more pressing matters.
As with many structural issues plaguing organizations in the 21st century, there are several factors at play. With more and more board meetings happening remotely, and many board members going months if not years without meeting face-to-face, it can be difficult to carve out time and space for the kind of routine meetings that can deal with smaller issues as they come up. Board meetings become the focal point where problems are dealt with and a raft of important decisions made.
At the same time, the board meeting is also supposed to be the forum for broader discussion about the general direction of the organization. With limited time and an ever-expanding amount of business to be conducted, perhaps it is inevitable that board members are finding their agendas squeezed and their meetings less productive than they want them to be.
In essence, this is a problem of communication, so it shouldn’t be surprising that one of the most practical solutions is better communication technology. Many organizations are turning to board meeting software options in order to facilitate better conversations and more seamless information sharing, and board portal software in particular is an increasingly popular solution to the problems of sharing data and between-meeting collaboration.
Board portal software allows board members to access all documents and communications related to board business via a secure portal, which not only makes it easier for directors to study the board documents in advance, it also makes collaboration easier. Business experts frequently advise that strategic use of the time leading up to the board meeting is essential for making sure that the meeting itself is spent in the most productive way possible and board portals make it easy for directors to do their homework, discuss business with each other, and iron out smaller problems in advance.
When organized well and properly planned, board meetings can be an incredible opportunity for decision-making, dialogue, and debate, and contribute immeasurably to the overall health of an organization. But in order for that to happen, board members need to be in regular contact before the meeting to ensure that routine issues are dealt with so that more time can be spent on the important issues of the day at the board meeting. Board portal software is an easy way to make board communication easier and more straightforward, and because it gives board members a dedicated digital space for all things board-related, it encourages the kind of teamwork and engagement that makes an organization flourish.
