Regardless of how often your company holds a board of directors, it is still one of the most important processes to help you understand a problem and find the right solution. However, organizing this meeting is also a difficult and time-consuming task on which the productivity of the participants depends. The agenda that the organizers form should be formulated and purposeful, it should include issues both on routine work and on special projects. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to successfully organize a board of directors using an agenda.
Prepare for the meeting
Preparing for a new meeting begins with the host reviewing the agendas from the previous meeting. It serves as a , and after carefully examining its contents, the manager should prepare new material in advance, asking the rest of the board members to add new points and questions to it. The directors then begin to prepare the documents and reports required for the meeting.
Once the organizer has finished working on the agenda, he should send it out to all other participants and optimize this process. Many companies have started using board portals that allow them to upload the agenda to a digital board, which will immediately become available for other participants to view.
Structure of a typical agenda for a meeting of the board of directors
That’s how the traditional agenda looks like:
- Header
Here you need to indicate the name and address of the company, address, date, and time of the meeting.
- Call to order
The head of the council asks for an order, and the secretary of the council at this time records the time of the call in the minutes. When the board meeting is officially open, the chairman of the board gives a welcoming speech and asks all board members to introduce themselves and state the purpose of the meeting and briefly talk about the activities of the organization.
- Changes to the agenda
This is the action when the manager makes changes to the agenda by the changes that have occurred. or exceptions that have become clear after the beginning of the meeting.
- Approval of the protocol
This is the third stage in the structure of the agenda, which is indicated along with the date of the last meeting of the board of directors. As a rule, members of the board of directors receive a copy of this protocol in advance. Members of the board of directors are legally responsible for ensuring that the contents of the minutes coincide with the actual activities of the company.
- Reports
The first person to report to the board is the executive director. This report provides an overview of operations and projects to help you understand the future of your business. After him, the CFO makes a report. The rest of the board must understand what these reports are talking about, as this helps prevent potential financial threats.
- Old business
At this stage, directors bring up old business issues that have never been resolved. Participants re-discuss it and then can vote for the final decision
- New business
Accordingly, new issues are highlighted here that require decisions or some kind of action plan.
- Comments, announcements, and other questions
At this stage, board members are free to ask additional questions, or (if using a whiteboard portal) leave comments. Also, directors can discuss issues that should be added to the next agenda.
- Delay
This is the moment when the council comes to an official end. The secretary must enter the exact closing time on the agenda.