Board management software is integral for any individual part of a board of directors to keep meetings organized, efficient, and valuable. If you have participated in a board of directors meeting in the past, you might be familiar with some of the everyday struggles board members face. Without high-quality board meeting software, your team will likely struggle to achieve all of your goals on time. For many individuals partaking in a meeting, minutes seem to stretch endlessly with no significant progress.
Because of this, you must understand the different board of directors meeting types through a step-by-step analysis of what a successful meeting looks like. Our board management solution can be essential to any board of directors committee seeking ways to organize their meetings and achieve all of the goals on their schedule. We offer teams essential tools, services, support, accountability, and knowledge for board members to lead successful meetings.
One of the first aspects that must be understood by all members of your board of directors is the format of the minutes of a board meeting. To fully understand, you must first learn why board minutes are essential and who has access to board meeting minutes. The importance of board minutes cannot be diminished when determining an agenda for your board of directors meeting. Board meeting minutes record the board of directors’ actions and decisions. Board minutes are the official, legal record of board meetings that include crucial details about what was accomplished during a specific meeting.
Prospective sponsors, donors, and other funders have access to your board meeting minutes to ensure that your board of directors effectively discusses and achieves your goals. Ultimately, your board of directors meeting will have to provide detailed records of your board minutes to secure continued funding.
Who can attend board meetings?
You might be asking: can non-board members attend board meetings? While non-board members can attend board meetings, and many boards allow non-board members to participate in discussions, a board of directors does not allow non-board members to partake in the ultimate decision-making process or final vote. Additionally, non-board members and board members should know the board of directors’ meeting frequency before determining whether to attend a meeting. Because many board members struggle to attend every in-person meeting depending on the frequency of meetings, a board management solution is essential. Our solution allows meetings to take place regardless of where individual members are with features like the meetings center, task manager, reporting, voting, and goal tracking.
Meeting Rules
When partaking in the meeting, there are specific rules that you should understand. The previous section answered the questions: can non-board members attend board meetings? Who can attend board meetings? However, you should be aware of more board of directors meeting rules before determining the best way to run or participate in a board of directors meeting.
When questioning how to run a board meeting, Robert’s Rules of Order is an excellent place to begin learning. Robert’s Rules of Order provides board members with an excellent board meeting example that members can follow to ensure a successful meeting. The following are some of the crucial steps from Robert’s Rules of Order to help you understand board meeting voting protocol and how to run a board meeting.
- Begin by calling the meeting to order at the designated start time.
- Conduct roll call to identify all attendees, including presiding officers, staff members, and guests.
- Approve the agenda for the meeting and the previous meetings’ minutes.
- Present officer and committee reports for information. Typically, no motions are necessary at this stage.
- Go through “old business,” covering unresolved items that the board previously discussed. Action items are assigned here.
- Adjourn the meeting when there are no further questions or discussions or when the designated end time approaches.
Meeting Agenda
Any successful board meeting will follow a specific board of directors meeting agenda to ensure that all members stay on track and focused on the board’s ultimate goal. Without a comprehensive board agenda, your board of directors will likely get lost in discussion without accomplishing the goals set at the start of your meeting. All your meetings must begin with a meeting agenda to help all attendees track the subjects discussed within a single meeting.
To understand the importance of effective board meeting agendas, you can turn to the guidance of Boardable. Your team must create a board meeting agenda PDF or template to ensure that your meeting remains focused on an ultimate goal. You must also understand who sets the agenda for a board meeting. When creating your agenda, it is vital to involve all meeting participants in creating the agenda. Doing this can ensure that all relevant topics are covered in a meeting while encouraging engagement between board members.
Meeting Minutes Template
Given the importance of tracking meeting minutes, your board must implement a board of directors meeting minutes template to track the necessary actions and decisions made within a specific meeting. When tracking board meeting minutes, PDF templates shared with all board members can be integral to ensuring that your meeting is successful and that you follow all appropriate procedures. We offer templates that can help the overall success of your board of directors. By tracking minutes you can ensure that your board continues to receive essential funding.
Board of Directors Meeting Notice
Before making a complete schedule, you must craft a meeting notice to send out to all attendees. An official meeting notice is essential to ensure attendance and availability, as the notice will specify details like the time, location, and date of an upcoming board meeting. Because this notice is essential to ensure unified decisions among board members, you should use the guidance of a board meeting notice template when sending out a notice to attendees.
An effective template will cover all the board meeting notice requirements, including date, time, location, subject, and agenda for a specific meeting. Your template should also include any special meeting notice requirements depending on the goal and intent of your upcoming board of directors meeting.
Are you ready to enhance your meetings with board software? Book a demo today with Boardable and learn more about how we can help your organization.
