It’s a competitive world out there. Whether you’re running a non-profit, credit union, Crown agency, or corporation, every organization is eager to find new ways to run even more efficiently.
Here are a few methods that organizations are following to help them become more efficient.
Board Portal Software
If you want to make your organization run more efficiently, you need to give your board of directors the tools they need. Board portal software is purpose-built technology specifically designed to improve communications among your board of directors.
All communication will be centralized no matter what devices your board prefers so your top people won’t waste time communicating across multiple formats. The app is cloud-based, so any change one person makes is reflected immediately and automatically on everybody’s copy, no matter what device they use.
It’s not just messaging that is made possible on these apps, but full-on digital collaboration with people in different geographic areas. Any director can read, flag, and annotate documents, as well as share questions and corrections with other board directors.
If any changes are made to a document, an email alert is automatically sent to the other board members. This way, your board of directors will always be in sync without manually having to do anything.
Here is a case study on board portal technology that will clarify and unpack all the other ways that this secure, cutting edge technology can help your board run more efficiently.
Never Stop Improving
Part of increasing efficiency is viewing improvement as a constant quest. No board should ever be satisfied with its performance, because there’s always room to get better.
Possessing this attitude isn’t enough. You must assess your board accurately; to get a picture of how you really govern and gather data on the subject. Your board doesn’t make a decision about the company without data, and you should hold yourself to the same standard when assessing how your board runs.
There should be a frank discussion about how directors rank their board’s performance, though you can find out what they really think by having them submit input anonymously.
Give your directors a bit of reading to do that’s related to the meeting’s topic with a couple of questions to answer —this keeps them intellectually stimulated and focused. Be careful though: if the preparatory work isn’t useful and the director’s time is simply wasted, this can inadvertently increase inefficiency and frustration.
Choose How to Improve Wisely
One of the conclusions from this comprehensive study into board effectiveness states that it’s equally important to choose how to spend the time improving. In general, many boards would benefit from more focus on long-term CEO-succession planning, reviews of core risks, and discussing the talent pool.
No two boards are the same but identify where your organization really needs the most attention and focus your directors’ time there.
There is more than one path, but acquiring modern board portal software, being committed to improvement, and being methodical about how to improve are all important pieces in an organization’s quest to run more efficiently.
