It’s important to create a structure that keeps the discussion in order and productive when holding a remote board meeting. This is made easier when meeting participants have a plan that is a guideline for them at all times. It’s also helpful to send the agenda and any other documents to attendees in advance via a secure online portal to allow them to note down notes and add items to the agenda and review them before the meeting begins.
Distractions should be minimized to ensure a successful remote board meeting. Ideally, participants should join the call from a quiet office or home space that isn’t filled with a lot of distracting noises. This will lessen the chance that they’ll lose focus and miss the key points that are being discussed during the meeting.
Also, it’s recommended to ask participants to turn off their microphones when they are not speaking, to lessen distracting background noise during the meeting. Also, the person who takes minutes must take note of all motions verbatim, and also who initiated the motion and who voted for the motion. This is crucial to keep a precise record that can be used as a source of reference or for legal purposes in the future.
It is also essential to adhere to the time limitations you set for each item on the agenda to prevent the meeting dragging unnecessarily. You can help promote a productive gathering by encouraging attendees to place ad-hoc issues in a parking lot to ensure they don’t distract from the main discussion.