Q&A #33 – How can we improve Board member engagement with virtual meetings?

Question: I am the Executive Director of a nonprofit that moved our Board meetings virtual early in the pandemic. In the beginning, our Board adapted well, and we had good attendance and participation. However, we have seen some signs of disengagement lately. How can we improve Board engagement?

Answer: Good for you for monitoring Board member engagement, and yes, there are ways to improve engagement and enhance the effectiveness of your organization’s Board meetings.

Now that the novelty of virtual meetings has worn off and become a part of our accepted lives for the foreseeable future, making a concerted effort to assess virtual meeting performance and adopt new practices is critical to the overall health of your organization. This is especially true for Board meetings because active Board member engagement directly impacts overall organization performance, your brand, and the perception of your organization among constituents and the general public.

There are three key strategies to put in place that can improve Board member attendance, participation, and overall performance:

First, make it an established practice to do an annual Board attendance and participation assessment. This should encompass the Board as a whole working unit rather than target individual Board member participation and attendance. Here you are looking for engagement trends, both positive and negative, but not seeking to identify causation. Your conclusion will be to recognize engagement is trending up or down.

Second, look for opportunities to enhance Board member impact on the mission and advancement of the organization. Yes, there are always “housekeeping” requirements in every Board meeting agenda (minutes approval, building reports, financial reports, department reports, etc.) but even these can be delivered in a manner that emphasizes mission advancement and impact. Take the time to think about how to make sure that Board members feel like they are part of the whole management team and are making a real difference.

Third, recognize that changing your Board meeting format and agendas can be good and healthy. Look for opportunities to insert new reporting mechanisms (staff reports, financial dashboards, etc.) and add ways for other staff, committee chairs, volunteers, and perhaps even constituents to participate. Be thoughtful with assembling the Board meeting agenda and change the order to better reflect priorities. Get the agendas assembled sooner than in the past and distribute them early to Board members so they can get engaged and excited about topics to be discussed.

Planning Tip – At least once a year do a very short confidential survey of Board members on a few key meeting performance metrics such as meeting effectiveness, opportunities to participate, quality of discussion, and length of the meeting. During this time of great change and disruption, consider increasing the frequency of the assessment to twice a year. Board member input will be insightful and add to the perception that you appreciate their time and efforts.

Making concerted efforts and assessments related to improving Board member engagement by using these and other strategies will lead to increased Board member satisfaction, impact and retention.

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