The planning of a board meeting can be an enormous task. Make sure you have a clearly defined agenda and distribute all materials in advance. Also, make sure everyone is present at the meeting. The focus of the meeting is essential however it doesn’t mean that you can’t make it fun. The best way to promote high participation is to tap into the expertise your board members have.
It’s also an excellent idea to write a note before the board meeting that clarifies the expectations for attendance. This will help to prevent sudden absences, and help make sure that all participants have all the information needed to be productive during the meeting.
Another key part of the preparation process is to review the prior minutes of the previous board meeting. This will enable the board to understand what was discussed during previous meetings, and enable them to tailor their discussion topics in line with this.
The most frequent topic for board meetings is a review of the company’s performance since the last meeting. Discussions could include sales figures or marketing traffic, as well as other relevant metrics. It is crucial to highlight any milestones or successes, but also seek out areas of improvement such as missed targets or a rise in costs.
It’s also worthwhile to think about compliance and legal issues, such as ensuring adherence to laws and ethical standards. It is in this area that the designated record keeper is a great asset. They can keep track of decisions and discussions to help future meetings.
