Meeting + Digital Duct Tape = Unpredictable Outcomes

Using a lot of different tools and apps to conduct a nonprofit board meeting guarantees productivity– at least on your board members’ personal email and maybe a few games of Candy Crush. 

We’ve all done it. The meeting plods away. We feel disconnected sitting at home and trying to pay attention. Might as well check that email! You can probably quietly respond to a few while you listen. No one will notice anyway, right?

Here is what it’s like for the rest of your team.

Try Boardable for free, no credit card or commitment.

Staying Engaged in the Meeting

Board Admin: “I really feel for the board chair. She tries to keep the discussion moving, but between Zoom, the multiple Google docs we’re sharing, and a separate slide deck, it’s obvious that a lot of the board members are checked out before they are checked in. I wish there were a way to focus all our attention.”

Board Member: “I want to pay attention. I care about what we do. That’s why I’m here. But sometimes I don’t know how to contribute because I’m toggling between multiple screens. And then I see a push alert from my Candy Crush game.”

Board Chair: “Have you ever seen those Zoom backgrounds people make that are a frozen shot of them sitting and listening? Sometimes I feel like I’m just talking to a matrix of screen shots. And, I think – is anyone out there? I try to involve everyone in the discussions, but in the virtual world, I need more ways to create and enhance engagement during meetings.”

Tracking Tasks During Discussions

Board Admin: “It’s my job to capture all the to-do’s that come up during discussions, but I know I miss things. We’d get a lot more done between meetings if we captured all the moving parts better in in real-time.

Board Member: “During meetings, I am happy to volunteer for different projects. If I’m honest though, sometimes I do forget what I’ve promised. I just hope to somehow remember, but then at the next meeting, I realize I let something slip. I wish I had reminders of what all of us are working on.”

Board Chair: “Sometimes I get frustrated when we have a robust discussion and afterwards no one seems to know what the action items are. I use a task app on my phone. Other board members use Trello or Asana or even paper. We need to somehow track all our tasks together.”

Taking Minutes of the Meeting

Board Admin: “I compare taking meeting minutes to watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy once a year with my nephew: Tedious at times, but it has to be done. I know they’re important for the board, but I’d love a way to track votes, tasks, discussions, and attendance without having five different tabs open.”

Board Member: “I don’t really care about meeting minutes… until I need to know something specific. Then, it seems like they record too many disconnected tidbits but not enough information about all the actions necessary between meetings.”

Board Chair: “Traditional minutes are necessary and nice and all, but I really need a lot more insight into what the board is doing to be a good leader. Are people reviewing documents before the meeting? Is our attendance trending up or down? I have no idea.”

Ditch the Digital Duct Tape

There is a better way. 

You can have your whole team participating in the meeting– looking at the same documents, recording all their votes and tasks, and measuring board activity– all in one place.

Try Boardable free (no credit card, no commitment) and test out these solutions:

• Meeting Center: Have the whole team join a meeting and see the documents, attendees, discussions, and more, all in one place.
• Video Meetings: Add a Zoom link or test drive Boardable’s virtual meeting platform right within your meeting in Boardable.
• Polls & Voting: Vote digitally on important matters and have the vote recorded directly in the meeting minutes or take votes between meetings.
• Minutes Maker: Convert your agenda instantly into meeting minutes and assign tasks, record RSVPs and attendance, and document votes live during the meeting.

Keep your team focused on the discussion (and not the Candy Crush game) with a meeting suite that provides everything you need for a more streamlined experience. Everyone wins with  better meeting participation.

Test-drive Boardable free for two weeks. No credit card, no commitment.

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