2 min read

5 Reasons A Board Portal Is The New Essential Tool For Schools

By Hisham Al-Ramah on 30/08/23 11:28

School Governance is no easy feat, and planning a lesson agenda is a very different task from planning a meeting agenda! Your time is limited enough, but here are the top 5 reasons why you should consider buying a Board Portal for your Senior Leadership Team in 2023/24. 

Topics: Board Portal Features Convene in Teams Why Convene?
5 min read

Why Listed Companies Choose Convene

By Lottie Wright on 17/07/23 14:52

For many listed companies, investing in technology and software that promises security, reliability and streamlined communication is crucial in ensuring good governance and transparency with the public.

Listed companies are public companies, which means they must issue shares of its stock through an exchange, and adhere to the exchanges standards of corporate governance.

At Convene, our Board portal is designed to aid in achieving these good governance practices, and enables any publicly listed organisation to ensure their organisation has secure and seamless communication.

Here’s why listed companies choose Convene.


Streamlines Business Meetings

Listed companies do not always have time to waste on admin tasks that can be simplified by software. Convene is designed to improve your meeting process from start to finish and create more dynamic meetings.

The complex issues handled by companies during Board meetings mean that directors don’t need the added complication of confusing software. 

The advantages of Convene’s software were noted by Chris Spanias, Solution Architect at Tesco Bank. In his words: ‘Convene has saved our admins time and increased efficiency when it comes to organising meetings.’

From the intuitive Agenda Builder to our auto-generated meeting minutes feature, Convene can simplify meeting administration. This means your team can reduce the time they spend on repetitive tasks and focus their attention on the important aspects of your meetings.

Convene is designed to streamline communication in your business meetings, increasing efficiency in meetings and ensuring collaboration is as easy as possible, especially when remote. 

In an age increasingly regulated by remote interactions, it is essential your software is purpose-built for corporate governance.

As Afonso Cardoso de Menezes, Company Secretary of Bison Bank observed: ‘Convene facilitates and encourages vital international collaboration which is critical for success.’

Afonso crucially noted that: ‘Information is now accessible to Board members internationally in an instant.’ Fluent communication is at the heart of running a company, and our software streamlines this exchange.


Security And Data Protection

On top of all of this, Convene’s state-of-the-art security is designed to respond to evolving cybersecurity threats. With Convene, listed companies can get the best protection for their confidential data.

In the words of Chris Spanias, ‘Convene has the necessary security compliance standards and that was a prerequisite for us’. 

With AES 256-bit encryption and CMMI Level 5 accreditation, publicly listed companies can feel confident their data is protected by Convene. The fully GDPR-compliant system offers 24/7 protection and support for all your security needs.

At Convene, we understand how important it is for companies to trust the software they use. Convene’s data protection makes a quantifiable improvement to Board meeting security.


Balances Cost And Functionality

With so many useful features, you might expect our Board portal to mean budgetary sacrifices. In fact, Convene provides a premium service for a reasonable price, and doesn’t sacrifice functionality in the process.

The features are also more than worth it in the long term. As Chris Spanias noted: ‘Once they switched over to Convene, our Board stopped using paper. [Our] study found that we save so much money on printing and paper alone that Convene has almost paid for itself every year’.


Ease Of Use And Reliability 

Convene’s intuitive features make the software one of the most accessible solutions available. The interface is so easy-to-use that even the most technophobic Board members feel comfortable. 

In the words of Christina Giannopoulou, the user-friendly nature of Convene was one of the main draws for Piraeus Bank. She told us that: ‘It was important for our members to be able to access information easily and to share important documents during meetings. We really liked the user interface of the Convene application, and we found it very user-friendly.’

At Convene, we are dedicated to providing easy-to-use and reliable Board portal software, so your company can upgrade your meetings without worrying about accessibility for your Board members. Convene offers unlimited training, so even those who are less 'tech-savvy' are supported during implementation. 


Enhance Your Governance With Convene: Smart, Simple, Secure

Convene is an award-winning Board Portal designed to digitise and streamline your meeting processes from start-to-finish. 

Now available fully integrated with Microsoft Teams, our comprehensive software has numerous features to support your listed company and its public operations:

Topics: Governance Board Portal Features Business Insights Why Convene?
7 min read

5 Must Have Features for Government Committee Meetings

By Lottie Wright on 13/07/23 16:18

For governments, and their important meetings, a Board portal is a crucial piece of software to help streamline operations. Effective meeting management systems allow public sector organisations to run more efficiently, simplify more complex tasks and boost their transparency.

With many different Board portals on the market, it's important to establish what features will be most beneficial for your meetings.

There are many features you should consider when looking for a new Board portal for governments. We’ve collated the five most critical ones for your organisation to consider.

But first, what even is a Board portal?


What is a Board Portal?

A Board portal is a solution for running seamless meetings in the digital age. 

Board management software utilises communication and collaboration tools to help simplify Board material preparation, reports, and many other meeting-related tasks.

Board portals also facilitate a secured environment for sharing confidential documents and information. 

Board meeting software collapses the entire meeting process, aiming to elevate transparency, practise corporate compliance, and increase efficiency. It removes the need for tasks like printing documents, sending emails manually, and physically compiling annotations.

At Convene, our Award Winning Board portal is designed to help governments to run effectively and efficiently. Convene is here to assist in establishing good governance and communication in your committee meetings.


Features of a Board Portal

If you want to effectively manage different aspects of government, it is important to invest in the appropriate tools. Here are essential Board portal features that will assist you in achieving your objectives effortlessly.


1. Agenda Builder

This feature enables your team to be on the same page before, during, and after committee meetings. 

An Agenda Builder allows you to drag and drop documents into the agenda and update Board packs instantly. This way you can find all the information needed for meetings at once.

Once the agenda has been created, meeting organisers can also choose which participants can access the agenda files. This helps to increase security and confidentiality.

Organisers can assign action items when creating the agenda. When adding the action, they can assign the designated person/s for the task and set the deadline.

With a feature like an Agenda Builder, your committee meetings can have a clear plan and schedule. This means that your meeting process is even more streamlined. 


2. Annotations

Running remote meetings requires the ability to collaborate seamlessly with a range of annotation tools. Attendees should be able to make notes, highlight sections or draw on the Board papers.

Annotation tools should be easy to use for all participants. This not only aids the communication process, but also allows all in attendance to record their ideas within the Board portal.

Moreover, annotations offer an additional layer of accountability for your participants. Once a Board pack is annotated, you have a digital trail which helps track what was happening in particular meetings. 

Annotations made on paper can simply get lost - especially when meetings are remote. This makes them a crucial Board portal feature for both accountability and productivity.


3. In-meeting Voting

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.

A quality Board portal should allow you to create a survey which can be voted on 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 participants to vote anonymously as well as remotely, meaning that if a member cannot attend the meeting they can still participate.


4. Document Library

For any organisation, there will be a never ending amount of documents that might be needed in a committee meeting. With a Document Library, all meeting packs, Board documents, and meeting minutes 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, Board members can see all the documents they might need.

Convene 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. Convene’s document library is protected by 256-AES bit encryption, which is the safest technology available. 

Our Board portal also allows administrators to manage access rights during the meeting. This means attendees can only look at specific documents if they have the correct security clearance..

This is why a secure and efficient Document Library is another important feature of any Board portal.


5. Audit Trail

Automated Audit Trails are another way a Board portal promotes a culture of transparency and accountability within your committee meetings. 

Audit trails make sure nothing goes unnoticed or forgotten, as every action is monitored and tracked. Tracking the actions of users means they cannot misuse any data or sensitive information, as they know that any breach or misuse can be traced back to them.

With a Board portal, audit trails are now easily automated and stored digitally. This saves admin time and allows for more storage of old audits, as well as enhancing security and transparency. 

With Convene, administrators have access to an audit trail log, which keeps a record of user actions, such as login, creation, modification, exporting, or deletion, as well as the date and time at which these transactions occurred. Convene allows users to export the records from the system as a PDF report.  Records that can be exported include meetings, review and approvals, and resolutions.

Audit trails are a critical way to ensure safety and transparency for your government, and having an automated system within a Board portal enables this security.


Enhance Your Board Portal Governance with 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.

Every step of your meeting process should be as smooth as possible; with the right software that has the right features, the complex task of governance can be much easier. 

Convene Board portal features include:

Topics: Security Governance Board Portal Features
7 min read

How To Prepare For A Board Meeting

By Lottie Wright on 09/06/23 18:53

The responsibilities of Board administrators, members and secretaries are immense when prepping for a Board meeting. Board meeting materials must be prepared enough in advance so Board Members are given time to read them, as well as for edits to be made to Board packs and documents.

This is why it is crucial to be well-prepared for your meetings, as if the preparation is thorough, the meeting will be more productive. Preparing for Board meetings well enough in advance helps the entirety of the Board come to the meeting prepared as well. This means your meetings can be as effective as possible and meet your objectives.

To help you learn how best to prepare for a Board meeting, this blog will take you through the necessary steps and how a Board portal could help your overall Board meeting process. 


1. Schedule the Meeting 

The first part of your Board meeting preparation is deciding when and where the meeting will take place. In addition to this, you will also have to consider a location, and confirm that a potential meeting space is available, accessible, and has any equipment that your organisation might need.

If your Board meeting is going to be remote, administrators need to create the necessary channels for the meeting and add in the relevant participants within the platform your organisation uses. Calendar features can help to schedule meetings that align with the schedules of internal participants, and reminders can be sent out automatically.


2. Develop The Agenda

A clear and solid agenda is a framework for running efficient and productive meetings, and should be developed and prepared for as early as possible. Reviewing the previous meeting’s minutes is a good way to understand the objectives of the Board meeting ahead. 

The agenda should focus on actionable and relevant matters for the Board to discuss in the meeting, and there should be sufficient information on each of these action items

Each matter should have a specific timeline and purpose, such as providing information, gathering data, or reaching a decision, to help keep the Board on track and ensure the best use of their time when tackling problems.


3. Contact Necessary Participants

In the previous Board meeting minutes there should be the action tasks assigned to separate Board members from the last meeting. Contact those individuals to check in on progress so you know what to address in the upcoming meeting. This acts as both a reminder and a way to offer additional support for the assigned tasks.

Additionally when sending meeting materials, they should be sent at least a week in advance to the necessary participants. Board Members are often busy and may serve on multiple Boards and teams so it is important to also give them the time to prepare, as well as yourself.
 

4. Compile All Necessary Documents

You should prepare your Board packet well in advance of the meeting, to give yourself a good amount of time to make additions and change

A Board packet is a collection of documents providing all the information Board Members will need for your meeting in a single place.

The basic meeting materials will include:

Topics: Governance Board Portal Features Remote Working
4 min read

5 Must Have Features For A Board Portal

By Lottie Wright on 15/03/23 14:59

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?

Topics: Board Portal Features
6 min read

Why Use A Board Portal?

By Lottie Wright on 20/02/23 11:00

Businesses are transitioning away from manual, paper-based procedures and towards digital solutions for their Board processes. This shift has demonstrated many benefits, such as improved communication, streamlined operations, cost savings, and heightened security.

Topics: Governance Board Portal Features Why Convene?
5 min read

What Is A Board Portal?

By Lottie Wright on 17/02/23 16:02

A Board portal is a solution for running seamless meetings in the digital age. Board portals enable digital Board meetings between Boards of directors. 

Topics: Governance Board Portal Features
4 min read

Why Choose Convene?

By Lottie Wright on 06/02/23 14:27

Convene is a pioneer in the Board Portal software market. We are constantly adapting to the shifts and changes in the market, and ensuring customer satisfaction.  

Topics: Board Portal Features Why Convene?
4 min read

Why Retail Companies Choose Convene

By Lucy Palmer on 15/11/22 10:55

Retail companies are an essential part of our everyday lives, and so they must be prepared to handle a constantly shifting economy. Here at Convene, we recognise the importance of the retail sector in serving customers around the world. That’s why we’re so proud of how many retailers have chosen to adopt our software.

Topics: Switching Board Portal Board Portal Features Customer Quote Why Convene?
3 min read

What Is A Document Conference?

By Gabriella Mangham on 13/06/22 09:49

What Is Document Conferencing?

Document conferencing is when a group holds a meeting to review a document or certain documents. This historically was done in-person with a physical document or board pack and each page was read, discussed, approved and signed by every individual present. Now, in the era of hybrid and remote working, this can be a lot more difficult.

Topics: Board Portal Features Remote Working Convene in Teams
5 min read

Who Are The Primary Users Of A Board Portal?

By Gabriella Mangham on 31/01/22 17:34

Who Are The Primary Users Of A Board Portal?

There are three stages to every meeting process: planning, execution and resolutions. As such, there are also three main users of Convene’s Board management software: those who plan, those who meet, and those who do. 

Topics: Board Portal Features Convene in Teams Executive Committee Why Convene?
4 min read

5 features to make your MS Teams meeting more effective:

By Gabriella Mangham on 30/11/21 17:50

The pandemic led many to see the benefits of remote or hybrid working, and in this new age of working most are turning to Microsoft Teams as an all-in-one solution. 

Topics: Board Portal Features Convene in Teams
3 min read

Why Have A Document Library?

By Lucy Palmer on 04/11/21 11:09

A Document Library is a place to store files so your whole team can access them. The secure, accessible system will allow you to add, edit and delete files in an instant. During a meeting, this can include information and reference materials that make collaboration easier.

Topics: Board Portal Features
5 min read

What is a Skills Audit?

By Lucy Palmer on 23/08/21 16:26

A skills audit is a review of the skills and knowledge your employees have. It allows you to see the gaps in their expertise, and understand the areas you need to improve.

Topics: Governance Board Portal Features
7 min read

Making Use of Flexible Login and Flexible Platforms

By Gabriella Mangham on 23/08/21 16:25

What are flexible logins and flexible platforms?

Topics: Security Board Portal Features Convene in Teams

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