How to Conduct Effective Governance Online Meetings
Governance Online Meetings can be effective and engaging ways to make decisions that impact the entire organisation. They are not a substitute for meetings in person. Board members and shareholders have to be physically present in order to make decisions that legally binding.
Virtual meetings should be conducted as close as possible to an in-person meeting. This means that attendees need to prepare for the meeting by reading any relevant materials and they must arrive on time, and they should communicate with each other exactly as they would in a face to face meeting.
This can be done by distributing an agenda to all participants and distributing a specific amount of time for each item. This will ensure that discussions stay on track and prevent the meeting from running over time. The presiding officer can also encourage participants to leave messages or raise their hands whenever they want to participate. This will let participants express their opinions without disrupting other chat members and keep them from feeling lonely.
The presiding officer should encourage the use of the Mute button. This can help to minimize background noises such as children crying, dogs barking, or doorbells sounding. They should also ensure that they check in with the attendees regularly to make sure they’re in a position to participate. Finally, they must ensure that minutes are recorded of the meeting and all important decisions or actions are recorded.