Online board meetings can be an ideal option for nonprofit boards that are unable or not willing to meet in person due a lack of geographical constraints, travel expenses or a busy schedule. They can be difficult to conduct in a productive way and ensure that everyone feels included and engaged. Fortunately, following some basic best practices will make these virtual meetings more efficient and efficient.

Clearly communicate meeting materials to board members prior to the meeting so that they can review and submit questions prior to the conference call. This will allow the meeting to accelerate, stay focused and provide better insights. Furthermore using http://www.boardmgmt.net/ways-of-increasing-productivity-and-decreasing-administrative-burden-for-a-manager/ a presentation tool such as Mentimeter allows you to gain important insights from your attendees via dynamic visuals. The content will be published in the meeting's minutes as a permanent document that can be referred to years later.

Encourage participants to use their camera features so that they can be able to see each other. This keeps everyone involved. Also, set guidelines that allow everyone to take part equally, such as the chair asking for a raised hand to determine the speaker or asking people to use their mute buttons when not speaking. It's also a good thing to limit meetings to 90 minutes and avoid scheduling them during meal times to ensure that participants don't eat on camera.

Set up specific discussion topics and time-limits for each item, which gives directors a sense of urgency in addressing items on the agenda, and improve productivity. In addition the focus on specific topic areas will cut down on distractions that could otherwise happen during meetings in person like chatting with other directors or checking email.