Online boardroom meetings cut down on the need for physical meetings and help reduce travel expenses. It also offers flexibility to participants who can participate from any location. As with all new technologies, there are issues when using this tool. Board members must become comfortable with the software and have an understanding of how it works before they can properly use it. They should also create communication protocols and set clear expectations.
The biggest challenge is to ensure that everyone who is remote is actively participating in the discussion. In a live meeting, it is easy for participants to get distracted and lose focus. It is crucial to keep participants engaged by ensuring they hear the speaker clearly. A clear agenda helps facilitate an efficient discussion and prevents the meeting from going over. Ideally, the agenda should include 20% fewer items to ensure sufficient time for discussion. Additionally, it is important to arrange the meeting outside of regular mealtimes to avoid eating in front of cameras. The chair should also invite board members to use their mute button when they are not talking so that background noises aren’t distracting.
The most important thing is to ensure that the virtual conference portal and the board portal work in tandem. A good solution will be able to support video interactions and allow you to manage both the video call and documents from a single platform. The system will also make it simple for users to download and read agendas in PDF format, even if they are not online.
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