Board Meeting Prep for the Real World

While it’s common for senior leaders to have direct access to board portals, a board success platform enables third parties to securely upload files without requiring an account or excess access. Contributor features have one-time-use tools, so non-users can add files to agendas for rapid book building. Updates are seamless and there’s no need for training or adding accounts.

Attendees Should Know What to Read

Last minute additions to the agenda happen frequently. Your board members shouldn’t have to hunt through hundreds of pages to find the one document that’s new. Smart board portals generate reading lists of unread documents and allow readers to jump directly to them. Long documents should have a bookmarking feature to make it easy for board members to return to the page where they left off should their prep time be interrupted.

Clearly Differentiate Changes vs. Minor Updates

Your platform should make it easy to distinguish between when a major revision to an item has occurred and when a minor grammatical error has been corrected. For members who have already read a previous version, there is no need to ‘cry wolf’ for a minor correction. However, they should know exactly how many new documents they need to review to be ready for the upcoming meeting.

Keep Annotations and Discussions in the Platform

Membership should use in-app features to hold discussions about agenda items, including any personal notes they may take. Encourage your members to resist the temptation to start email chains and expose sensitive information to other less-secure sets of tools. Proper board management software should have easy and secure tools to communicate about important meeting items.

Monitor Membership for Missed Updates

Using member engagement tools ensures that your communications aren’t missed. Board members may occasionally need a gentle reminder that a document is available in the portal. Using tools that allow you to see exactly which members have read the documents—and who have not—helps you craft specific messages for each member.  It makes it easier and more efficient than sending “Don’t forget to read…” email blasts that include people who are already up-to-date.

The Platform is Your System of Record

Your board portal software is the source of truth for final decisions. Keep your system clean by purging extraneous information, such as comments and annotations, regularly after meetings to eliminate confusion in the future. Keeping your data and documents well-groomed helps protect the organization and the directors.