If you’re a manager of an existing board or planning your first one, you’ll need to set your organization up for success with a clear procedure. This article outlines general board meeting procedures to help you organize meetings with efficiency.
Board members should study the documents for the board in advance and ask boardmeetingapps.blog questions. This is a crucial action to keep meetings focused and on time. If you allow your members to ask questions that are answered in the board’s handbook, they’ll slow down the meeting and give little time to discuss important agenda items. Members must also be willing to disclose potential conflicts of interest which could affect the discussion.
The chair of the board begins the meeting by giving a summary of the main topic for the meeting, as well as highlights from the pre-meeting call and board packet. This helps to draw everyone in the discussion and help them to get oriented.
If a motion is proposed, board members discuss the subject in accordance with strict rules regarding who may speak and how long they can speak. This ensures that all opinions are equally weighed and the board can reach a consensus. It is essential to respect the other members by not interrupting or critiquing them directly during discussions.
After the discussion the board votes on motions and decides the next step. The company secretary then drafts the minutes from the board meeting and distributes them to the board members. The minutes are then approved at the next board meeting or revised if necessary.