Using technology to make #advisoryboard meetings more productive and insightful

#Digital #technology has become an all-pervasive part of our lives and will only expand its footprint further. Hence, embracing it and integrating it with all aspects of our work is the smart way to work.

Traditionally, #advisoryboards have been either one/few presenter(s) and multiple listeners, or a moderator-led discussion. Nothing wrong with it, but there are a few disadvantages. One, it can get difficult to keep the audience engaged in a presentation-listener mode. Two, in a moderator-led discussion, some voices might be more dominating and inadvertently decide the direction of the discussion, while also influencing the thoughts of other members or making them reluctant to share their opinions. The third and biggest disadvantage is time constraints. Have we often not felt that 4-5 hrs were woefully inadequate? There is always more to be shared and learned. That is where #technology can come to the rescue.

In recent times, online platforms for conducting #advisoryboard meetings have become popular. These can be used for conducting virtual meetings as well as extending the scope of a physical meeting, thus making them more productive. A closed group of #advisoryboard members on such forums can be created months before the actual meeting. The advantage is that every member can access and participate at his/her convenience. The platforms allow members to suggest topics for the agenda and even fine-tune the agenda. This helps make the agenda more objective, focused, and sustains the interest of all members. Members can step forward to present a topic on the day of the meeting and also ask the opinions of other members as to what they would like the presenter to focus on or discuss under a given topic. There is the feasibility of pre-sharing fulltexts or any other pre-reads. This is particularly useful if the meeting's objective is to arrive at #consensus statements on a particular topic. It can also be used for #Delphi voting. The meeting can be recorded if held virtually, or even a video of the physical meeting can be uploaded. Post-meeting discussions, opinions, way forward etc. can be discussed as well. If a member has a different or additional opinion to share after the meeting, the platform can be of great help. The organizers can update the members about the actions they are planning to implement based on discussions at the meeting and also keep them updated about the progress or seek their inputs for implementation. The best part about these platforms is that they are completely web-based, do not require an app, and send auto-alerts to members when any member posts. The organizers of the meeting can generate detailed reports of the discussions on the platform, which can be very useful for formulating strategies.

The physical meeting itself can also be made more interesting. Some members might want to voice their opinions, but not quite publicly. Voting pads can be used so that members can provide their honest opinions anonymously. These are similar to the PowerPoint poll but unlike PowerPoint, they need not have the presentations playing on their laptops to vote. The presenter can put up questions with options and the audience can vote through the electronic voting pads. These not only make the session more interactive, but the meeting organizers can get honest insights about the members' diagnostic and treatment algorithms related to a disease or any other questions since the responses are anonymous. For #medicaldevice companies, they can present a new product's prototype at the meeting and gather honest opinions about the product's benefits, advantages, and also what needs to be improved.

The opportunities to increase the productivity of advisory board meetings by using technology are huge and exciting. It only needs a smart marketer to tap them.

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