Why is it essential to have an agenda before a board meeting?
Imagine showing up a board meeting where there is no agenda. What are the topics of consideration? What will the members be voting on? How many items will be discussed? Will the meeting go on late into the evening? Without an agenda, confusion would reign
An agenda is an essential tool of board governance. It is a formal document that gives shape and structure to meetings. It allows board members – especially the board president — to organize the meetings so they are efficient and effective, getting board work done without wasting time.
Agendas are the meeting organizers for the board chair and the secretary
The board secretary usually begins preparing the next board meeting agenda shortly after the previous meeting. Much work goes into the agenda before the secretary can send it out to the board members in enough time to prepare for the upcoming meeting.The board chair reviews the agenda of the previous meeting, as well as the minutes. They then begin the process of developing the agenda for the next meeting.
The way the chair words the agenda items also makes a big difference in board meeting efficiency. By listing agenda items as questions, the chair accomplishes several things:
- Board members will know what they are expected to vote on. For example, “Should we sponsor the ABC Conference?” instead of “ABC Conference”
- When board members get off track, the board chair can redirect them to the central question.
- When the question has been answered, it’s time to move on to the next item on the agenda.
The board chair relies heavily on the agenda to keep the meeting moving along while making sure the board covers mandatory and important matters.
Board administrators send the meeting agenda or meeting book out ahead of the meeting so board members can study the issues and be prepared for the meeting. The agenda is a tool to help board members focus on the priorities of their organization.
The best way to get the board aligned on strategic priorities is “ensuring they have the right information in an easy-to-understand format in a timely manner,” said Kim Fuentes of Froedtert ThedaCare Health. Fuentes took part in a BoardEffect survey in December.
Shannon Oliver of Florida State College at Jacksonville says that it helps to remind board members during meetings “that their material is prepared ahead of time for them to review at their leisure.”
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Annual agendas and consent agendas streamline meetings further
In addition to a general meeting agenda, two other types of agendas aid the board chair to conduct business efficiently and professionally. Those tools are called the consent agenda and the annual agenda.
- A consent agenda helps to streamline a board meeting. It’s part of the regular agenda and it includes routine items and reports that usually have clear consensus from the board, like the minutes and the financial report. Board directors then approve all items on the consent agenda with one vote. If a board member has a question, they can request that an agenda item be removed from the consent agenda and added to another part of the agenda. That item would be discussed at the appropriate time on the general agenda.
- Many boards like to set up an annual agenda that guides them with items that need to be addressed at various times of the year. The annual agenda lists items such as when budget discussions traditionally start or reminders to deal with staff performance and raises. An annual agenda usually overlays the general meeting agenda, with the members and the board secretary adding other items.
What purposes does the agenda serve?
To be productive, every board meeting needs to have order. Board chairs use the agenda in conjunction with parliamentary procedure to run the meeting in an orderly fashion. Board chairs can easily redirect board members who speak out of turn by reminding them of where they are on the agenda.
Board members know that the agenda sets the course for the meeting, so it’s the best tool for board chairs to use when problems occur during the meeting, like getting off topic or segueing into other items on the agenda.
Time management for meetings is a skill that all board chairs must develop. Experienced board chairs know how long discussions should take. The agenda helps them calculate how long it will take to get through the items so they can ensure the meeting won’t extend beyond what board members expect. At the beginning of the meeting, many board chairs find it helpful to ask if the agenda has any additions due to late-breaking events.
“Sending materials in advance is essential to keep the focus on the organization’s mission and goals”, advises Becky McKeen, administrator at Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
The board secretary sends the agenda out in enough time before the meeting so that board members can add items if needed. Giving board members an opportunity to add to the agenda is important for several reasons:
- Not all board members will have items to add to the agenda for every meeting, but they should have the opportunity if they need it.
- Board members are more likely to be engaged when their items are up for discussion.
- If a board member needs time to speak to an issue, the chair should clarify if there is a time limit for the discussion.
There may not be time to include every item for discussion, so the board chair may need to clarify why a member requests for an item to be on the agenda. Board chairs should provide an explanation about why a member’s items weren’t added to the agenda.
The board chair prioritizes each agenda item to make sure the most important or pressing items get covered first. Time limits work well for certain items, and the chair can refer them to a committee if discussions are bound to be lengthy. The bulk of the meeting should include discussions about interdependent issues that need team problem-solving.
An agenda is an essential part of every board meeting – and here’s how technology can streamline this
Board chairs need to run meetings like everyone’s time is precious — because it is. A well-written agenda that board members receive in plenty of time before the meeting works wonders for tackling the most critical items in a timely manner. Technology can help make the setting and distributing the agenda easier. BoardEffect, our board management platform, helps to automate putting the agenda together for board secretaries and administrators.
With BoardEffect, youcan create a digital meeting book, easily add documents, drag and drop agenda items and generate customizable cover and agenda pages.
BoardEffect’s customizable approval workflows lets you tailor the agenda creation and approval processes. It allows you to build custom approval trees to match both linear and non-linear workflows. The approval trees can be saved as a template to be used again.
Contact us today for a demo and see how secure board management software streamlines operations, enhances governance practices and enables confident decision-making.
