The quality of your board’s meeting is dependent on the amount of work members do prior to each meeting. Meetings online can be more productive and efficient when participants are prepared. A well-prepared team is more likely to stick to the agenda and ensure that they aren’t distracted by any tangent.
It’s crucial to communicate clearly to remote board members what they are expected to do in meetings. It’s ideal, for example, to remind participants to mute themselves when speaking and only speak when asked to do so. This stops people from talking over one another or leaving the meeting without feeling heard. It’s also important for the convenor to inquire participants for assistance with a technology problem before beginning.
Include the rules of virtual meetings in the board member orientation material so that everyone knows what to expect prior to, during and after the meeting. For instance, it’s crucial to send the board agenda prior to the time of the meeting and to follow up with attendees a day or morning before the meeting to confirm the details, send them the Zoom or meeting link again and remind attendees of any other preferences at the meeting (such as https://protectednetwork.org/ requesting attendees to tune in from a quiet location to limit distractions). It is recommended to include a placeholder to an executive session to each item on the agenda, and include it at the start of the meeting to avoid confusion.