Why and How You Should Prepare for a Board Meeting for Effective Results
If you are the Corporate Secretary, you have to facilitate preparations for the regular board meeting in your organization. This goes beyond just photocopying the minutes of the previous board meeting and delivering these to the offices of board members. To prepare for a board meeting, you need to immerse yourself in the concerns of the organization deeply. That way, you can help board members to make vital group decisions.
Steps to Take to Prepare for a Board Meeting
Every board meeting should follow these steps so that the board meeting will improve the overall company performance. The steps are:
Determine Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
Some board members are very familiar with the KPI of their organization. However, in some organizations, certain board members might not understand these at all. As the Corporate Secretary, you must indicate and give examples of the KPI well in advance of the board meeting. That way, board members will remain on top of the issues that will be tackled in that meeting.
Establish Working Relationship with the Organizational Management Team
Management indeed has its own troubles separate from the board concerns. But management may be able to ease the way for the board to comprehend their problems during the board meeting. That way, the board may be able to make decisions that can support management roles and actions. It is the organization that will benefit from this.
Organize Talking Points Clearly
When you prepare for a board meeting, you may find that it is easier for board members when the issues to be discussed are in bullet points. You should place this in its own page for the pre-meeting packet board members will receive. Many board members have to plough through mountains of documents daily, so this is a nice touch to help them out. That way, everyone on the board will be able to absorb information better to improve decision-making.
Set Aside Enough Time for Each Stage in the Meeting
Sometimes, even when you prepare for a board meeting, you may find that there is not enough time for everything. You can improve on this by indicating in the pre-meeting packet how much time to devote to each concern. This doesn’t mean cutting off a board member in mid-sentence just to stay on course. Rather, it makes everyone aware that there’s a time limit to the meeting. Sometimes, the issue being discussed is not resolved due to lack of time. If so, you should indicate that in the minutes that you prepare afterwards.
Summarize the Main Points of the Meeting for the Minutes
Board members are only human, so there may be some points that they fail to take note of. The Corporate Secretary is expected to take notes during the meeting. This means you have to just summarize the notes and send to board members within 24 hours. This does get easier if you were taking notes on your software during the meeting itself. You just link your software with the gadgets used by board members so that they can go over the summary you provide.
Conclusion
Board meetings are necessary so that crucial decisions about the organization are handled with care before being decided upon. It is a given that the board members have their own concerns related to work, so the Corporate Secretary needs to assist them. It is possible that board members are not as aware of issues regarding the organization as yourself. If this is so, you just need to step up your game. You should provide the necessary support for reasonable decision-making by board members before, during and after the meeting.
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