Putting together a board book for board meetings can be tedious. Worse yet is the board that has not yet gone digital in any way. You can avoid these time-consuming meeting preparation tasks by adopting a board portal solution.
Sufficient preparation is critical for both corporate and not-for-profit boards. Corporate boards usually have lots of ground to cover at each meeting, requiring background material, while not-for-profit boards’ resources are limited. In both cases, a virtual board portal will help in terms of productivity and efficiency.
Here are four ways a virtual board portal will increase your board’s efficiency:
1. save time with a board portal
Time saved is efficiency realized. A board portal saves time by removing some of the many hours from the time it takes to put together a board meeting by senior staff and corporate secretaries. It saves the director’s time by keeping all communications off email and through the portal, saving the need to hunt for emails and notations.
Nurit Richulsky is the Vice President of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, a charitable nonprofit organization that regularly fundraises domestic and international Jewish causes.
“Our volunteer leaders are extremely busy people,” says Nurit. “These people are accustomed to and expect a very high standard when it comes to communications. It is important for us to have the tools that we need to get the job done so we can stay focused on our core work, which is our charitable work.”
The DiliTrust Governance suite was the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s board portal solution of choice that allowed them to maintain their board members’ high standards. Busy professionals do not have the time to deal with haphazard communications – they need everything put in front of them when they need it. And similarly, any mistakes take up their valuable time. By consolidating all of the information the board needs in one place, time can be spent focusing on the tasks that really matter.
2. Always have the most up-to-date version of files in the board portal
Secondly, corporate secretaries usually have to do several updates to the book prior to the meeting. This means directors must hunt around for the email that contains the most recent version of the board book. These updates usually include important financials, and a board member looking at the wrong numbers can derail a meeting quickly. With a board portal, directors can always access the most recent version of the file, removing uncertainty and allowing directors to focus on essential objectives.
3. Collect board meeting metrics
See past votes, attendance, and much more data with a board portal. Set your own KPIs to score your directors against and better measure your board’s effectiveness with archive data about each meeting.
4. Increase trust and security with a board portal
Many boards held their first virtual board meetings during the pandemic. In fact, some boards never want to go back to the old way of doing business. According to a July article in the Harvard Business Review, directors regard virtual board meetings as more efficient than face-to-face meetings. There are multiple reasons for this: replacing travel time with preparation for the meeting and using breakout rooms to deal with specific issues.
However, there is still an element of unease with the security of transmitting information digitally. Solutions such as the board portal module are far more secure than email and conventional file-sharing services. All board communications happen within the solution, eliminating email, and all the files the board needs are also stored in and accessible from the board portal.
In conclusion, faster decision-making happens when your board has up-to-date data at its fingertips. The board portal module of the DiliTrust Governance suite will increase your board meetings’ efficiency and allow directors transparent access to data that they need to make informed decisions, perform board evaluations, and more. Contact us today for a demonstration.
Resources:
- The Upside of Virtual Board Meetings, Keith Ferrazzi and Sarah Zapp. Harvard Business Review, July 2020.
- DiliTrust Governance Board Portal
