Board Meeting Software with Online Scheduling and Social Communication

Board meetings often fail to produce desired results because participants usually come unprepared or meetings are directionless. Moreover, in online meetings, distractions and interruptions are another major cause of inefficiency. An ineffective board at the top sets a dismal example for the rest of the organization, and this is something you don’t want for your company.

How can you overcome these hurdles? One way to make your board meetings more productive and result-oriented is to use some advanced tech like board portal software. Here is a brief introduction to board management software and how it makes board meetings and communication better.

What is a board of directors software?

Board portal or virtual boardroom is a cloud-based, paperless board meeting software used by corporate boards, CEO, secretaries, CFOs, and managers to share and access board material, streamline board meetings, and communicate with ease.

Board portal software is different from other meeting management solutions because it has everything a board needs. For example, board software gives you abundant data storage space where you can keep board-relevant materials that directors or other board members can access anytime.

Then, board management software has all the necessary tools for online meetings. That includes agenda builder, video and audio conferencing tools, live polls, voting tools, minutes and notes builder, document viewer, etc. In simple words, when you have board software, you don’t need other apps for board meetings.

Here is how you can make board meetings more productive with a virtual boardroom.

How to streamline board meetings with board management software?

1. Organize board data

Board meetings are mostly arranged to discuss important administrative affairs such as the financial performance of the company, changes in government policies, their effects on the company, etc.

Decision-making is always based on solid information, and board members need corporate data during meetings and for regular use as well. To tackle this problem, board management software acts as a remote database where companies can upload and organize all board documents.

Boardrooms allow you to structure and access board documents with ease. Finding any document from hundreds of folders takes a few seconds if you have the full-text search feature in your boardroom. To cut it short, the board portal makes board document management a lot easier. 

2. Calendar management

Calendar management and board meeting schedule have been made simple by the board portal solutions. You can add to your portal all board members and other personnel that regularly participate in board meetings.

Later, you can schedule your board meetings, and the calendar will be updated automatically. This way, everyone in the boardroom will be well informed about future events. 

If there is any change in the calendar, every concerned member will get an immediate notification. 24/7 access to board material and a regularly updated calendar help members prepare better for meetings.

3. Pre-meeting preparations

Pre-meeting activities can be easily managed on virtual boardroom software. The board secretary or the person responsible can send out formal invitations to board members in the portal.

The board meeting agenda is the most important document in pre-meeting preparations. Any standard board portal has built-in agenda builders and free templates. All you need to do is to put data in the template, and the agenda will be ready. The secretary can immediately share it with expected participants, record their suggestions and incorporate them, and get the agenda signed by the chairperson.

It is also important to share the board pack or board book before the meetings. It will give board members enough time to review the materials, annotate documents, and prepare their notes/questions to be discussed in the meeting. Boardrooms have board book builders that make the process faster.

4. Smooth meeting proceedings

During the meetings, board management software makes sure everything goes smoothly. For example:

• HD audio and video conferencing tools make sure that everyone can hear or see other members clearly without interruptions.
• The attendance tracker records all absentees and those present in the meeting.
• Data sharing during meetings is simple, secure, and fast.
• The order of the meeting can be scheduled to avoid overlapping.
• The board chair can move any motion, resolution, or proposal to vote via online voting tools or live polls.
• The electronic signatures feature makes sure all the decisions, agreements, or contacts can be signed immediately in the meeting.
• The meeting minutes/notes-taking process can be automated during the meeting. 

5. Post-meeting activities

Secretary can finalize the meeting minutes and notes, get them signed by the chair, and share them with all present and absent members. Task manager allows board members to track the progress of tasks assigned to them.

Final words

A virtual boardroom is a paperless board meeting solution that helps boards organize their data in an optimal way and streamlines board meetings from start to end. Most importantly, it simplifies the communication between board members, while helping with data organization, calendar management, and all the essential pre-meeting and post-meeting activities.