If you’re considering establishing an entirely new board or overseeing an existing one, it’s crucial to establish a clear procedure. This article provides general board meeting procedures to help you organize meetings with efficiency.
Board members must read the board documents in advance and ask questions. This is an important step to keep meetings on time and focused. If you allow members to pose questions that have answers in the board package they will slow down the meeting and give little time to discuss important agenda items. Members should also be prepared to disclose potential conflicts of interests that could affect the discussion.
The chair of the board must open the meeting by highlighting key points of the meeting, and also the highlights of the calls which were conducted prior to the meeting and the board’s agenda. This helps to set the tone for everyone in attendance and draws participants into the discussion.
If a motion is made, the board members debate the issue following strict rules regarding who can speak and the length of their remarks. This ensures that all views are equally weighted and the board is able to reach a consensus. It is crucial to respect the other members by not interrupting or critiquing them in the course of discussions.
Following the discussion, the board votes on the motions, and decides on the actions to take. The secretary of the company creates the minutes and distributes them out to all attendees. The minutes can be ratified at the next board meeting, or modified if needed.
