Inside the Virtual Boardroom

Charities, now maybe more than ever, rely on robust decision-making by their Board of Trustees. Challenging times need robust planning, scrutiny, and often difficult decisions, and that can only happen through your Trustees coming together to deliberate and reach a unanimous direction. That is what the Boardroom is for, isn't it?

So how do you navigate charitable governance in a virtual setting? It's a challenge a lot of us are grappling with in the current situation, ensuring that our organisations keep running smoothly while we frantically run through our Articles of Association and other governing documents hoping we're allowed to hold meetings over video-link (luckily, if your documents don't specifically prohibit it, you're probably fine - the common law definition of a meeting is that all participants can simultaneously see and hear each other).

I recently supported our largest annual Board of Trustees meeting. As a students' union, we change over almost half of our Board (at minimum) each year, and our May meeting is the opportunity for the incoming elected "Officer Trustees" to observe. Supporting a meeting with 26 participants is a challenge at the best of times, but virtually? It's certainly not any easier - even if there are no places to set or catering to confirm. All in all, the meeting went smoothly and we had good feedback from our Trustees and the staff who presented items, though there are certainly a couple of things I plan on taking forward into our next virtual meeting. So...

Getting ready

As an administrator, preparation is my bread and butter. Need a plan? I have three, including a gluten-free option. Even so, preparation for this Board meeting felt intimidating until I sat down and considered the differences between this and other meetings - which in preparation terms are actually fairly minimal.

Papers. These should be clear, include a call to action for your Trustees, and should be delivered in a timely fashion so that Trustees have time to prepare. If it is appropriate, make sure you remind your contributors of this - at the moment it's easy to feel like people will have "nothing better to do" than read papers, so what does it matter if they are a few days late? The problem is, you don't know how busy your Trustees are personally, when they have set aside time to read their papers, and how much they might want to consult contributors for clarity before the meeting. If contributors are worried about the accuracy of their papers given the constantly changing guidance, they should make that clear, and prepare the Board for additional material to be tabled, not circulate their paper late.

We chose to send all of our papers in hard copy (a departure from our usual electronic-only circulation) to ensure that all of the participants could have their device screen free for the meeting. If you're circulating hard copies, bear in mind that you might need a longer lead-time at the moment as postal services are delayed in some areas.

We have several different Trustee categories, including students who we always offer preparation meetings to. For this meeting, we ended up running three separate prep sessions to ensure Trustees were clear on the content of the items, and to allow them to ask any detail questions which would facilitate discussion in the meeting. We also encourage Trustees to approach contributors with any questions before the meeting - not to diminish what happens in the room, but to enhance discussion. Every organisation has quirks, acronyms, and practices which are unique, so give your Trustees the opportunity to refresh their knowledge before every meeting where possible.

Platforms and practicalities

Which platform do you use? There are plenty to pick from. For me, the key is to pick a platform which you're comfortable with, because really you need to be in control of the meeting. If you Chair isn't familiar with your chosen software, coach them through what you need from them. They will be most comfortable if they know that you are going to keep the meeting running smoothly, and using your preferred platform will allow you to do that.

Do take some time to think about what you want your platform to do as well. If you're in a less tranquil setting where you are based, pick software which allows you to record (and get permission to do so from your participants). Most platforms record both the video and the chat function, which is very useful for reviewing the details of the meeting if you get pulled away by a doorbell or a small child. You can also elect to use a platform which lets you share your screen, splits people off into "breakout rooms" and has accessibility functions like captions.

Accessibility should be the big bonus of virtual meetings, but in reality it can be a real pitfall. Make sure you check the needs of all your members when you're considering how to run your meeting - some people may not be able to maintain a strong internet connection which may limit how far they can interact on video and audio. Any members with aural or visual impairments might be disadvantaged by this mode of meeting. And it is an unfortunate truth that if you have less tech-savvy members, simply meeting online might feel like a huge step. These are all barriers which can be overcome, the key thing is knowing about them in advance. This is a new way of working for everyone involved so encourage your Trustees to share their concerns with you, and take the time to be available for test-calls to walk them through the system and build their confidence.

The final practicality is to make sure you are using a platform which is secure. Data legislation varies between different jurisdictions, but most well-known platforms will comply with your local law, as long as you know how to use them properly. If you record, make sure you know where your recording is being saved and how it can be accessed (and by whom). If you are inviting your members via a link, ensure that they are the only people who can access your meeting - you don't want to be zoombombed as you try to review your accounts.

Supporting your Chair

Your Chair has always been the key player in the room, but never more so than in a virtual setting. Without proper management it is all too easy for your contributors to run well over their time without spotting visual cues from the audience, or for one person to take a significant amount of airtime, not realising they are monopolising. Your Chair needs to be ready to shut people down and move people along, without stifling the discussion (which is the vital part of any Board meeting).

To support your Chair, it is always worth preparing a Chair's agenda. This should highlight the planned timings of each item, who will be presenting it, and what the desired outcome is from the Board (for example to note the information, or make a specific decision). You can also include any other useful facts here, such as where a Trustee has a certain area of expertise which might be relevant, or any conversations which have already taken place outside of the meeting. All of this information will help prepare your Chair to manage each item, knowing who is most likely to chime in and why.

At our meeting, we chose to run a slideshow throughout, which I moved along as we moved through agenda items. Each slide showed the item title and number, which pages of the papers were relevant to the item, who the lead presenter would be, and a summary of the item including the recommendation to the Board. Having this information on screen meant that the Chair did not have to keep referring back to their pack to help people find their place - and the discussion flowed more easily as a result. This also had a dual purpose, because anyone dropping in and out of the meeting could easily bring themselves back to the correct item without needing to ask for help.

I am lucky. My Chair is not only experienced (this was their 5th meeting in the chair, and 10th meeting with our Board) they are also an excellent multi-tasker. This meant that without much support they could keep an eye on their timings and listen to the discussion, at the same time as being attentive to the chat window and picking up when people asked to be invited into the conversation. If your Chair does not feel ready to manage all of those things at once, consider how you can support them. Chiming in when items overrun may help them, or having someone watching the chat who can keep note of interjections on their behalf.

In the room

My first pointer for supporting a virtual meeting would be, be the first one "in the room" (on the call). Plan to be available at least 15 minutes before your meeting is scheduled to start so that you can check the meeting link is working, resend it to anyone who has lost your original email, and so that you can let your members in (a key part of keeping your meeting secure).

Work with your Chair to set the terms of interaction for the meeting. We chose to run our slideshow throughout, meaning that people weren't staring at a tiled wall of each-other's faces, so getting involved in the discussion had to be managed via our chat window. Some Trustees opted to share their comments by typing them out to be read by the Chair, while others used the chat to indicate that they wanted to speak. Both methods worked for us, but going forward we will look at building consistency to ensure everyone involved has an equal "voice in the room".

Speaking of having a equal voice in the room - spend some of your meeting time getting everyone talking. We used a photo-based icebreaker, and asked our Trustees and meeting attendees to submit a picture in advance of something keeping them happy during lockdown. This not only allowed us to test everyone's connection and microphone, it also allowed every person on the call to speak and gave them a personal interjection into the meeting. Our Chair occasionally made references to people's images throughout the meeting and it kept everyone involved and included. It was ultimately a great way to humanise what could have been a quite formulaic meeting.

Factor in breaks. Virtual meetings seem to be shorter and more focussed, because the ability for free discussion is a bit stunted in this mode - but that doesn't mean your meeting participants don't need breaks! Including these clearly in your agenda and slideshow (if you use one) will give people the chance to move away from their screens briefly and reset, which will help you in maintaining focus for the duration of the meeting.

Follow-up

Like preparation, your follow-up for a virtual meeting may be no different from your usual process. I chose to record our meeting, and then used the recording to support my minute-writing. Once the minutes had been approved for circulation by my Chair, I deleted the recording. Depending on the format of your minutes, these may look a little different due to the different mode of working, but mine are almost entirely consistent with previous meetings.

The first time you run this type of meeting, I'd always encourage getting feedback on the meeting format from participants as well. What looks good on paper may not work in reality, or might work well for some members and not others. I've already had feedback that a number of my members have two devices and don't feel they need the hard copies we provided. A big part of supporting effective meetings is recognising that there is space for improvement every time - so don't be afraid to ask!

Final Thoughts

Anyone who regularly supports large meetings knows that it's no easy task. Often we're keeping a lot of plates spinning, and that doesn't change in a virtual environment. If you're going to take minutes, run a slideshow, manage admitting people into a virtual meeting each time their connection drops, and monitor a chat window, be confident you can keep track before you dive in! Your Board need to have confidence in you, your record of the meeting, and that they are having equal opportunity to participate, or their decision-making for your charity will suffer.

So there's really only one tip I'd share from my experience supporting a large virtual Board, and that is have confidence in yourself, and if you don't already have it, take the time to build it. Look for best practice, contact peers and colleagues, and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need an extra pair of hands to keep your meeting running effectively.