Portal Software Is Changing How Boards Keep Minutes

Of all the tasks involved in running a board meeting, the keeping of minutes is perhaps one of the least popular. Noting down what is being said, making sure an accurate picture of the meeting is being recorded, checking that the members present are satisfied that their comments and insights are in the official account of the meeting — it requires a significant degree of patience and sensitivity.And this is on top of the already difficult task of making sure that minutes are kept in a secure but accessible way.

A board meeting isn’t just a forum where the leaders of an organization review executive decisions and vote on issues related to current business; a board meeting is a conversation about the direction in which an organization is going, and the values that are driving it. Ensuring that a detailed record exists of the debates, queries, and counterpoints that come up in the course of a meeting of passionate members plays an important role in keeping the organization accountable.

One of the most useful tips for creating better board minutes is to adopt electronic tools that allow everything related to the board meeting to be contained in a secure and straightforward way. For a growing number of businesses, Crown corporations, and credit unions, board portal software is the go-to solution. Board portals allow board managers to send out documents and facilitate time-saving conversations between members in advance of board meetings, which makes it easier for board members to digest the information they need in a timely fashion.

Portals can also be a huge boon for organizations that are trying to make minute taking more streamlined. Because they create a secure digital repository for board documents and memos as well as annotations and a transcript of discussions about the documents by board members themselves, portal software provides a valuable record of the conversations had by board members leading up to and during the meeting itself.

In addition to making minute taking a more intuitive, seamless, and stress-free exercise, portals also make it easy for the minutes to be distributed in a timely fashion after the meeting is over. Because portals facilitate instant, secure delivery of documents, there is no need for board members to wait for a couriered package to review the important points of the most recent meeting.

An organization’s board is the body that keeps it accountable, and this requires the regular sharing of reliable, up-to-date, and secure communication. Keeping minutes is only one way that boards ensure that the discussions they have and the logic behind their decisions is transparent.

Board portal software owes its popularity in large part to the way it makes it easy for board members to stay on top of their work and stay in touch with each other. Not only does good portal software help boards keep track of their conversations — it puts the data that they need to do so at their member’s fingertips.