Virtual Board Meetings

The challenges and benefits of taking your organisation’s board meeting online

With the BF office closed due to lockdown, the challenge of bringing the Board together was solved by taking the meeting online. As many have done across the world, the Board meeting took place in a virtual environment.

The BF Board met on June 23^rd 2020 with 11 Board Directors in attendance via Zoom.

BF Chair Mark Lyttle presided. Amongst ongoing business, Sustainability & Resource Management, Insight Led Participation Centred Programmes, GBR Athlete Support & Development (ADP), Clubs and Membership were discussed.

The Chair will be writing to all members with an update on the Board discussions.

In the meantime, clubs and committee members who are intending to run online board meetings during lockdown and beyond, may benefit from some of the following considerations and lessons learned:

Challenges/Lessons Learned

• Zoom fatigue- some directors had already been in Zoom meetings during the day so consideration should be given to help maintain concentration/attention:
  • To reduce travel costs, Committee and Board meetings were often run back to back. Now that travel is not required these meetings can be split over separate days
  • One option that under consideration is meeting more frequently for shorter periods.
• Internet and connection issues – as with all online interaction, the quality of communication is improved when there is a consistent internet connection. Sometimes connection can be improved by switching off video although this can reduce the quality of interaction.
• It is harder to present verbal reports online, producing simple bullet points slides for viewing during the meeting can help focus discussions.

Benefits

• The majority of Board Directors were able to attend the meeting, including a board member who is currently based abroad.
• There was no long journey home after a late finish.
• There was no need to source a venue for the meeting (usually held in a venue in London).
• No travel and room hire costs.
• Screen sharing made it easier for everyone to share documents at the same time in an efficient way. David Moseley, BF’s Finance Director said, “Being able to screen-share was incredibly useful. I was able to share a document I hadn’t planned to present in response to a Director question.”

Future BF board meetings are scheduled for:

15^th September

24^th November

The date of the AGM is to be confirmed

Minutes of previous board meetings can be found here