Despite the current pandemic, nonprofit boards still need to meet regularly and take decisions. Virtual meetings are an easy solution to increase the efficiency of board members and increases their involvement. These meetings online are not without difficulties. Certain board members may not be comfortable with modern technology, and others may not be proficient in technology.
Virtual meetings can also lead to an inability to motivate and focus, especially during long meetings. Attendees can get “zoom fatigue” or be easily distracted by other items on their screens. To avoid this, it’s essential to keep the meeting short. Be sure to clearly communicate the agenda and encourage participants to take part in the meeting. It can also be helpful to use questions and polls to keep the attention of attendees.
Another issue associated with virtual board meetings is the inability to observe the body language or facial expressions of board members. This could affect the engagement of board members, as well as the effectiveness of the meeting. To prevent this from happening, board members should be encouraged to take a break and watch a video during the meeting, so they are able to pick up on non-verbal signals from their peers.
The difficulty in recording and distributing minutes of board meetings is another issue. Recording the entire meeting is essential for the event that a board member is in a position to miss. It can also allow future boards to you can try this Key for Managing Sensitive Documents go over previous decisions and understand the reasoning behind a particular decision. The best way to avoid these challenges is to utilize an application for managing boards that provides a centralized archive of all meeting materials including historical and current.
