How to Energize Productive Online Board Meetings

Online board meetings require an entirely different level of participation in comparison to their offline counterparts and it can be https://boardmanagementsoftware.info/how-can-online-meetings-be-productive difficult to find new ways to stimulate them. Start by ensuring that your virtual boardroom is equipped with reliable video conferencing, clear communication protocols and the appropriate meeting materials. From there you can establish effective protocols to guide participants through the online meeting process and help them to engage in productive discussion.

Make sure that every item on the agenda is accompanied by an objective for the discussion such as “decide an action item” or “spark new ideas.” This will allow you to move away from the issue that is in front of you as soon as the desired outcome has been reached and avoid overstaying your invitation. Setting a time limit on each topic can ensure that the meeting is kept moving.

Start with the most crucial items on your agenda. When you are in person for board meetings, it is possible to discern body language cues that indicate the other members have something important to say. These signals are more difficult to spot during remote meetings. Beginning with the most urgent issues will ensure that everyone is a part of the discussion and will feel that their time has been well spent.

Use a consensus agenda for your meetings to reduce time spent on more controversial discussion topics that might not have the same impact on your organization. Members can vote on items that are not controversial prior to the meeting begins, which means you can concentrate on the most important issues. Similarly, consider inviting expert guests to give short talks or insights that can widen the perspective of the board and cut off boardroom groupthink.