Governance Online meetings can be efficient and engaging ways to make decisions that affect the whole organization. However, they’re not a replacement for face-to-face meetings. Governing board members and shareholders require physical presence to take decisions that legally binding.
Virtual meetings should be conducted as close as possible to a face-to-face experience. This means that participants need to prepare for the meeting by reading any relevant materials, they need to arrive on time, and they must interact with each other the same way as they would during an in-person meeting.
The best way to do this is to prepare an agenda for the meeting that is sent to all participants in advance and set a specific timeframe for each item on the agenda. This will help to keep the discussion on track and prevent the meeting from running over time. Furthermore, the presiding officers should encourage participants to raise their hands or send messages to the chat whenever they wish to participate. This will let participants be able to voice their opinions without disrupting other chat participants, and will prevent them from feeling alone.
The officer in charge of the meeting should encourage the use of the Mute button. This will help to mitigate any background noises, such as children’s crying, dogs barking or doorbell that is ringing. It is also recommended that they check in with the attendees regularly to make sure they’re in a position to participate. Finally, they should make an effort to ensure that the minutes are recorded and that any major actions or decisions made during the meeting are recorded.