As the coronavirus outbreak is affecting nonprofits the boards of their organizations must work harder to collaborate and gain support from the community. Due to social distancing, most board members work remotely. Effective communication with the board via virtual means is even more essential.
Virtual meetings are synchronous, making it difficult to get board members involved. Meeting organizers should design an environment that encourages participation. Virtual boardroom software with built-in features such as instant messaging, document storage, and conferencing is one method to achieve this.
It is important to provide all relevant documents to the participants prior to the meeting when a conference is held in a virtual environment. This ensures that all participants are viewing the identical version of the document and prevents confusion during the meeting. It is also recommended to choose an application that is reliable and secure. Video conferencing tools that are free, for example, may not be as secure as premium ones that come with more advanced security features, like encryption and password protection.
Another way to improve the effectiveness of virtual meetings is to set expectations at the beginning of each meeting and make sure that the attendees are aware of the proper communication etiquette. Meeting organizers should also regularly monitor remote participants to determine whether there are any questions or comments.