Despite the current pandemic nonprofit boards must still be regularly meeting to make decisions. Virtual meetings are a great solution that increases the efficiency of board members and their engagement. However, these meetings online are not without their problems. Some board members may not be comfortable with new technology, and others may not be proficient in technology.
Virtual meetings can also lead to a lack of motivation or focus, especially in long meetings. Participants may experience “zoom fatigue” or be easily distracted by other things on their screen. To prevent this, it is important to keep the meeting short. It is important to ensure that the agenda is clearly communicated and encourage participants to speak up during the meeting. You can also employ polls and questions to keep your audience’s attention.
Another issue associated with virtual board meetings is the inability of observing the body language of facial expressions or gestures. This can impact the engagement of board members, as well as the effectiveness of the meeting. To combat this board directors must be encouraged to utilize video during meetings to ensure that they can precisely discern the non-verbal cues of their peers.
The difficulty in recording and distributing minutes of board meetings is an additional challenge. Recording the entire meeting is crucial for the event that a board member is not able to attend. It can also allow future boards to revisit past decisions and understand the reasoning behind a particular decision. It is recommended to utilize a board management tool that has a central archive of all meeting material that is both historical and current.
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