Take a quick look in the mirror, straighten your hair, check your teeth and “click” to enter the virtual board meeting. You’re probably thinking how much time you saved by not having to leave your office to travel to the board meeting, park your car, sign in and get to the board meeting room! You “join” the virtual meeting and begin to see both familiar and the new faces of people who have joined the board since the beginning of the pandemic.

It’s not like before when you would enter the real meeting room, find a familiar or new face, and chit-chat with them while chowing down on a box lunch. There was laughter, last minute audiovisual issues, and, of course, members quickly reviewing the agenda and handouts before the meeting! The energy in the room was palpable. It’s just not the same with Zoom meetings.

From a CEO or a Board Chair’s point of view, compare the two versions of attending board meetings in your head and heart. Do you have a preference in terms of which is more effective, which is better for building the relationships and strength of your board? Personally, I think it’s pretty clear that we all know it is going to be hard to go back to the way most nonprofits operated pre-pandemic, with all or mostly all in-person meetings. On the other hand, there is something missing from the experience when you are not able to shake someone’s hand, share a laugh, and use the “before” and “after” meeting time to build relationships with one another.

plusses and minuses of virtual meetings:

Benefits:

• Cost Effective: Reduced costs and time outlay to both the organization and board members (no travel, board room set-up, or food expenses)

• Time Efficient: Meetings are typically more efficient, shorter (this can lead to a limitation; see 3rd bullet under Challenges)   

• Participation: If facilitated well, everyone can participate and small groups can begin and end immediately, which provides a way for more people to meaningfully participate

Challenges:

• Technology Problems: These may impact the ability to meet, delay start times, or cause mid-meeting glitches during which participants may get distracted or leave the meeting

• Learning Curves: There may be some board/staff members with limited familiarity on how to use the technology or how to participate in special features of virtual meetings (i.e., voting, using chat, “clapping”, etc.)

• Reduced Engagement: The faster pace of a virtual meeting may unintentionally limit board input, leading to decisions that don’t reflect a consensus of board members

The culture of the nonprofit sector has been severely tested by COVID.

Many board members who have had the responsibility of providing oversight of social impact organizations remotely have experienced understandable angst about how they can effectively engage in decision-making and be well-informed financial stewards. Remote meetings have also limited one of the benefits of board service – building relationships with the exceptional people sitting around the board table. 

Hybrid meetings, a third option, provide access for those unable to attend in person but, realistically, create a challenge for the person leading the meeting to be aware of and responsive to both in-person and online board members. Training and refreshers for board members on how to effectively participate in virtual meetings or participate online during an in-person meeting are critical. Without such training, board members and the organizations they serve may miss out on the wisdom around the table (or screen) which may negatively impact the effectiveness of these organizations. 

One last note on hybrid meetings. If, over time, a growing number of board members are opting to join remotely for meetings that have been designated to be in person, the problem may be with the board meeting itself.  More on this in a future article!

Take Aways

• There is a time and place for virtual meetings. Nonprofit organizations will need to weigh the pros and cons of virtual versus in-person meetings and decide how they impact good governance. It may not need to be all one or the other. There may be a good reason to consider a combination of meeting types based on the agendas of the meetings. 

• Hybrid meetings have their place as well, when necessary. Hybrid meetings, the most difficult type of meetings to lead, may also continue to be an option, providing traveling board members or mildly ill board members with a way to participate remotely, especially for very important meetings.  

• Assess virtual and in-person meeting effectiveness. Leave a few minutes at the end of your in-person and virtual meetings to evaluate them on key effectiveness and efficiency measures, as well as the extent to which they created a culture that builds trust and commitment to the mission of your organization. Then, you can make more informed decisions about when in-person meetings are important and when virtual meetings work just as well to get the results you need to move your organization forward.      

CONTACT US

Let us help you with improving your meeting effectiveness, in person or virtual! Go to our website and complete the "contact us" information and Carol will follow up with you OR reach out to Carol at carol@cshattuckconsulting.com.