Have you ever seen a ship in the sea without a captain? If yes, then it must be lost. Now imagine this ship as a company and the board of directors as its captain. The board of directors, in most cases, are elected individuals primarily responsible for leading the company. A good captain will lead the ship in the right direction, while an inexperienced and unskilled captain may lead to the demise of the ship, even if it has a good crew.
The board of directors can make or break an organization. Their role in growing a company is paramount. However, it is important for the company to equip its leaders with the latest tech and make sure the board members are on the same page and can collaborate easily. A virtual boardroom is a business solution that has turned out to be an ultimate prize for corporate boards.
Read 5 of the Best Board Management Software Tools on the Market.
Board portal software has literally shrunk the distance between board members and made sure they can’t blame ineffective communication and lack of coordination for their failure.
Today’s discussion is about the role of a board of directors in growing an organization and how board portal software can help.
Corporate roles and responsibilities of board of directors
The board of directors is responsible for performing some major and many minor functions. Here are some of them.
1. Strategic decision making
The board of directors needs to educate, help or at least inform how a company can grow. The growth can be in terms of expanding business, maximizing profits, investing in other ventures, etc.
Based on their experience, board members are expected to provide a strategic direction and help the company identify potential threats and opportunities. A competitive corporate board will help develop strategies for short-term as well as long-term goals.
2. Corporate governance
Board members are also responsible for creating a framework for the board itself. That may include how to structure a board, how the board will decide things, and how it will operate.
The board sets the rules and regulations to run it. It may include the standard procedures (i.e., how to choose the CEO or chairperson), distribution of work, and how to collaborate with the management. An efficient and diverse corporate board is a key to good governance.
3. Board meetings
Board meetings are an integral part of corporate governance. Board members meet to discuss the performance of the company, address an urgent affair or problem, cast votes on disputed affairs or motions initiated, evaluate the performance of the board members, provide guidelines to the management, etc.
The board chair or even other board members are responsible for helping board secretaries in arranging a productive and efficient board meeting. Read here more about board meetings: https://board-room.org/blog/board-meeting-voting-protocol/
4. Better accountability
One of the most important functions of the board of directors is to ensure that the company is complying with all the legal and ethical standards of the corporate world. Accountability also means that the board and the company are utilizing the corporate resources and assets in the most effective way.
How virtual board software helps boards in corporate governance?
Streamlined board meetings
As mentioned earlier, board meetings are an important part of the governance process, and it is important for the boards to conduct effective board meetings. Board management software is a highly effective tool for online board meeting management as it can automate each and every meeting process.
With board portal software, you can:
- Invite meeting participants online
- Prepare and dispatch the meeting agenda in a matter of seconds
- Share board packs within the paperless meeting solution
- Conduct online board meetings
- Automate meeting notes and minutes preparation
- Get documents signed online with electronic signature feature
Remote document access
Board management software is a cloud-based solution that your board members can access from anywhere, anytime, with any commonly used device. Any boardroom user can access board packs or other documents from their mobiles, tablets, laptops, or other similar devices.
Not only can they access documents, but they can also share, edit, annotate, archive, download, or print those documents based on their permission settings. Most importantly, board members have 24/7 access to the latest versions of documents because all changes are incorporated in real time.
Read Also: What are the Best Board Software Tools And Websites in the Market
Secure online collaboration
Board members’ collaboration is not limited to board meetings anymore, and they don’t have to rely on emails or other insecure communication channels. Thanks to the virtual board software, board members can use a centralized platform to exchange messages (one-to-one), engage in group chats, create online polls, or start public chat threads.
Final words
The board of directors is the backbone of any organization. They provide strategic directions and a roadmap that helps the organization achieve its long-term and short-term goals. Virtual boardroom software plays an important role in maximizing a safe and seamless collaboration between the board members and helping them perform their responsibilities effectively.
