In recent years, with the increase in remote and online working, organisations have had to adapt to a new way of work. The adoption of communication tools and Board management software has no doubt eased the transition to this new norm.
Board Portal software has played a vital part in helping boards, executive and leadership teams to manage meetings. So, what are the essential features that your Board Portal must have to navigate the remote working world?
1. Built-in Video Conferencing
Your Board, executive, and management teams need to be able to discuss, present and make decisions in real time. It is more important than ever to be able to communicate over a video conference whilst working remotely - especially when you and your colleagues don’t regularly see one another in person.
Whilst video conferencing is important, the meeting process needs to remain simple and straightforward so that all members of the board can participate with minimal technical help. That’s why built-in video conferencing is a must have for your Board portal.
At Convene, you get the best of both worlds. While we feature built-in video conferencing in our Board portal, we also now come fully integrated with Microsoft Teams. This means that whatever way you would like to conduct your meetings, using our software or through Teams, we have you covered so your meetings can still run smoothly.
2. Board Paper Annotation
Running remote meetings requires the ability to collaborate seamlessly with a range of annotation tools. If an attendee wants to make a note, highlight a section or draw on the board papers, they should be able to.
Annotation tools should be easy to use for all types of Board Members. This not only aids the communication process, but also allows participants to get down their initial thoughts and ideas.
Moreover, annotations offer an additional layer of accountability for Board Members and teams. Once a Board pack is annotated, you have a digital audit trail which helps you understand what was happening in that particular meeting. Annotations made on paper can simply get lost - especially when meetings are remote.
Physical meetings often require travelling, accommodation costs, and significant amounts of time. For this reason, Board portals must be able to facilitate the decision making process.
Your Board portal must allow you to create a survey, to be voted on either during or prior to the meeting. The voting system should be a secret ballot, or a show of hands. This improves accountability as well as speeding up the decision making process.
Convene allows Board members to vote anonymously as well as remotely, meaning that if a member cannot attend the meeting they can still participate in the decision making.
4. Document Library
For any organisation there will be a never ending amount of documents to keep track of and that might be needed in a Board meeting. With a Document Library in your Board portal, all meeting packs, Board documents, meeting minutes, reports and anything else you might need are kept securely in the same place.
This helps keep your remote meeting on track and running seamlessly, while also improving accountability and transparency. With everything stored in one place, with any edits or annotations recorded, Board members can see all the documents they might need.
This helps both before the meeting with meeting preparation, and after with recording what has been decided on, giving all Board members the necessary access to Board materials.
Convene even has an inbuilt retention schedule if you need to ensure your records are compliant with specific corporate records management standards, further establishing your data security.
5. Laser Pointer
Board management software should and often does have the previously mentioned features, all of which are key for a good Board portal solution. However, it is the extra, smaller features, that differentiate a good Board portal from a great one.
Convene features an exclusive laser pointer feature that helps those running the Board meeting to identify important information on screen. Features like this help bridge the gap between the quality of online and in-person meetings, and ensure that everyone is able to follow along with the meeting.
So, Why Choose Convene?
Board portal software should simplify your meetings, not complicate them. Join hundreds of organisations around the world in embracing a smart, simple and secure future with Convene.
Convene’s Award Winning software allows your leadership team to communicate effectively and efficiently, in order to establish good Board governance for your organisation.
From creating an agenda to establishing a strong admin trail, every step of the process should be as smooth as possible. With the right software that has the right features, the complex task of management can be much easier.
To discover how you can benefit from Convene, find out more about our software here, or book a free demo today.
