I have found that eliminating email as the primary means of board communication and leveraging collaboration tools (such as Microsoft Teams) can streamline board processes, provide a secure and up-to-date repository of board documents and facilitate essential collaboration before, during and between meetings.
If you are a large private or public company with hyper-sensitive board materials, there are great board-specific platforms, such as Boardpro, OnBoard, or Diligent Boards. However, for most companies, creating a board-only space in your collaboration platform can provide excellent benefits.
I typically create a secure board-only space on Teams with three channels to start with:
Meeting Materials & Financial Reports, including a chat space for discussion before and after board meetings.
Policies and Procedures, including Board Charters (great for reviewing and signing off on policies).
An ad-hoc area for special projects (great for strategic discussions, TAM analysis, market updates, competitive intelligence, etc.).
Regardless of your chosen approach, a collaboration platform provides critical benefits over email chaos:
Acts as a central hub for communication, allowing board members to access meeting materials, agendas, minutes, and reports from a single platform. This ensures all members access the same information, reducing confusion and enhancing transparency.
Promotes collaboration among board members regardless of their geographical location. Features like instant messaging, annotation, and voting enable real-time interaction and decision-making, fostering a more collaborative environment.
Offers a secure platform for sharing sensitive information and protecting data from cyber threats. These systems often include document encryption and access controls, ensuring only authorized individuals can view or edit documents.
Streamlines the organization and management of board meetings by simplifying the distribution of meeting materials and automating scheduling. This reduces administrative burdens and ensures that meetings are productive and focused.
Ensures board members can receive real-time updates on important matters and access information anytime, anywhere. This flexibility ensures that board members are always informed and can respond promptly to emerging issues.
Facilitates surveys and polls to gather feedback from board members, increasing engagement and participation. This helps boards stay aligned with strategic goals and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
Choosing the appropriate tool hinges on various factors, such as the company's age and level of sophistication, whether publicly or privately held. Regardless, move away from email, and your board interaction will improve immeasurably.