Establishing Effective Virtual Board Communication
As the coronavirus pandemic has a devastating effect on non-profits their boards, they must work even harder to collaborate and build community support. Due to social isolation, most board members work from home. Effective virtual board communication is now more important.
Virtual meetings are asynchronous and make it difficult to engage board members. Meeting organizers must create an environment that encourages interaction. Utilizing virtual boardroom software that has built-in functions, such as instant messaging, document management and conferencing, is one method of achieving this.
It is important to give all pertinent documents to participants in advance when a meeting is held in a virtual environment. This ensures that everyone are viewing the same version of a document and avoids confusion during the meeting. It is also recommended to use an application that is secure and reliable. Free video conferencing software such as Skype may not be as secure as premium ones that come with more advanced security features, such as password protection and encryption.
Another method to boost the effectiveness of virtual meetings is to review expectations at the beginning of each session and make sure that participants are aware of proper manner of communicating. Additionally, meeting organizers should regularly check in with attendees who are not in the room to see if they have any questions or comments.