Founded in 1996, Ergonomic Solutions has grown rapidly to become a global leader in the design, manufacture, and supply of the most ergonomically advanced mounting and security solutions for a wide range of static and mobile technology hardware.

We had been aware that other Boards were using a Board solution for some time, so we were considering implementing a meeting software ourselves. We had identified the need for an efficient and seamless method for sending out important information to our non-executives.

Owing to an online security concern, the view was that it would be beneficial for the Board to be independent of our IT department. This added weight to our decision to implement a software solution. With Convene, our information security is taken care of and confidential company information is now only accessible to the intended audience.

We have two Boards here at Ergonomic Solutions, the Group Board, and our Executive Board which is headed up by our CEO.  All heads of functions report to him.  We hold our monthly meetings on Convene, and it's also used by our sales leaders.

What Was Your Meeting Process Pre-Convene?

Our Group Board meet six times annually, while our Executive Board meet twelve times, and our sales leaders four times per year.  This busy meeting calendar required considerable time and effort in collating papers and compiling packs. With Convene, we can clone previous meeting templates to be used for the next meeting.  We now have a seamless meeting preparation process and we are saving valuable time. We were not especially print heavy historically, but with Convene there is hardly any printing now.

Period of Transition

Convene has been well received. We find that the system has a nice look and feel and is user friendly. The implementation process was smooth and non-disruptive.  Even our more traditional Board members are happy with the solution.  One Board member was a little resistant initially, but once a link including instructions had been sent to him, he was able to set it up himself!

Useful Features of Convene

The Review Room makes it easy to examine and check documents.  There are some times when it's necessary to print off documents to be reviewed by senior leadership, so having the print option with Convene is really helpful.

We use the actual meetings and actions functionality.  We also use the Document Library for our reports, plus the folder option to store quarterly reports and management accounts in separate folders. We use the Document Library to amend any documents and assign access to the relevant people which ensures that the appropriate documents are accessible to the right audience.  It’s helpful to be able to access documents post a meeting.   The Agenda function makes it easy to build agendas, and if there are any last-minute changes to an agenda, we can easily move items around.

Would You Recommend Convene to Other Organisations?

Yes, we would definitely recommend Convene.  In fact, we had a director who moved across to another organisation who then came back to us as a non-exec.  Based upon his experience of Convene at Ergonomic, he had established it at another company.