Honest and transparent communications between board members build an environment of trust that promotes accountability. This creates an organization’s board that is more attuned and engaged and empowered to make decisions in support of the company’s goals.
Board members who are new to the organization must be informed of their responsibilities and expectations from the beginning of their tenure. This includes the need to volunteer time, build professional and personal connections and participate in fundraising activities. A welcome letter will outline the communication channels meetings, dates for meetings and other important information to help new directors settle in quickly.
Different people interpret information in different ways, so it’s crucial to tailor the communications of board members to suit individual preferences. For instance, some prefer to read long reports, whereas others might be better at comprehending visualizations of data. Make sure that reports and other information can be easily digested by avoiding technical jargon and using simple language. If needed make use of analogies and real-world examples to illustrate the meaning or the information in reports.
It is also essential to mix up the format of board meetings instead of relying solely on PowerPoint presentations. Mixing up formats can aid in limiting the length of meetings, and also encourage the participation of board members.
Ensure that board members are able to easily access all the information they need even during meetings. Consider investing in an electronic document-sharing platform that provides safe, user-friendly functions and high levels of scalability and compliance with data protection laws. Some of the most well-known solutions include Diligent Boards. BoardEffect. Passageways OnBoard. and Aporio.
