Our top 6 tips for getting the most out of a virtual board meeting

Like most Directors, by now you are probably very familiar with the trials, tribulations and triumphs of video conferencing – seeing colleagues dressed rather casually, catching glimpses of their homes or home offices, and perhaps seeing them deal with the occasional distraction of a child or pet.

As virtual board meetings will be the norm for some time it is vital boards use them effectively. 

Over the past few weeks I’ve talked with many Chairs about how they are making sure boards maintain their performance. Most boards seem to be adapting quickly, but a few common themes come up in discussions.

On the positive side, Chairs tell me that board meetings can be more focussed, with Directors restricting themselves to only relevant questions. Even those Directors who may otherwise dominate discussions limit their comments when they can see others on their screen waiting their turn. This helps board meetings run faster, but they can become very transactional, with little general discussion. Non-verbal clues are also harder to detect so there a greater chance of missing Directors’ discomfort with a decision.

Some say it takes longer to get through the scheduled business of the meeting. It takes more time to go around a virtual boardroom to ensure everyone contributes than to give a quick glance around a meeting table. Many boards were also finding the technology unfamiliar and connections unreliable, although this seems to have improved.

Overall, video conferencing is a blessing when we are all locked down. It provides much better interaction than a traditional teleconference, where it can be hard to simply get a word in. But it takes conscious effort to make video meetings effective.

Here are our top 6 tips for getting the most out of a virtual board meeting.

1.     Allow more time for discussions

While people may be more concise, a virtual board meeting can still take up to 20% more time than a face-to-face meeting to get through the agenda. Allow more time for each important agenda item, even if this means cutting some less critical matters.

2.     “I’ll take the paper as read…”

“…but I’ll now summarise the paper…” It is surprising how often even highly experienced executives make this mistake. With virtual meetings, Chairs need to be absolutely firm that, apart from providing any critical information that has come to hand after board papers were distributed, executives are there only to answer questions. Maintaining energy in a virtual meeting is challenging enough without the recital of a paper that everyone has already read.

3.     Non-verbal messages are less clear

Body language and non-verbal clues are less apparent in a virtual meeting. Back up discussions and probing questions with softer ‘emotion’ questions, such as ‘How do you feel about that?’, ‘Tell me how that sits with you?’ or ‘Are you comfortable with that answer?’

4.     Maintain the energy

High performance board meetings keep people focussed and at their best. This is much harder when participants are dispersed. Chairs can keep energy levels high by giving each Director a task in the meeting, such as leading the discussion on a particular topic. As far as possible, meetings should be used for collaborative problem solving where everyone contributes. Minimise people just talking to reports.

5.     Virtual meetings can be more tiring

The other side of the energy equation is that virtual meetings require more of participants. Directors may face unfamiliar technology, struggle to hear or see visual clues from others or have to deal with unavoidable distractions. A lack of energy means a lack of focus. For longer meetings, plan a 2 – 3 minute pause after the first hour and then a longer 10 minute break at the end of the second and each subsequent hour. This allows people to re?energise and refocus.

6.     Contextualise discussion

Even when well run, important issues or questions can still remain unresolved at the end of the meeting. Give each Director the opportunity to provide any further context to the discussions – a chance to say if they felt challenged or concerned with anything discussed and to check the board is fully aligned around its decisions.

Now more than ever boards need to be performing at their best. Moving to virtual meetings can be disruptive, but just taking a few simple steps will ensure these meetings work effectively.

Steven Münchenberg is the Managing Partner and leads the board practice at advisory firm Blackhall & Pearl.

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