Best board meeting tools & software

Let’s face it - board meetings are serious business and not something one should take lightly. These meetings exist for board members to discuss important issues and make big decisions that might affect the future of the company. However, despite their gravity, board meetings should still be treated as any other meeting. It is essential to have a clear agenda, present topics effectively, and, most importantly, ensure active participation from all attendees.

If you are new to board meetings and want to know more about how to run them please read: How to run board meetings - examples and advice from an esteemed board expert

However, if you’re already accustomed to board meetings but are looking to make them more interesting and interactive, then this is the article for you. Here we list 5 tools and software perfect for board meetings. 

1. Mentimeter 

Neat presentations with a high engagement level 

Keep things professional and clean while adding elements that will make your fellow board members engaged. With Mentimeter it’s easy to create a presentation, adding relevant topics whilst incorporating interactive elements. Features like Live Polling, Q&A, and Open Ended Questions help you easily gather important insights from the participants that will appear as dynamic visuals on the screen. The submission from your board members will hopefully highlight new ideas, form decisions, and spark debate. After the meeting, this important material can be downloaded with a simple click of a button so that you can go back and review the results as a PDF.

To make things even easier - Menimeter offers a great Board Meeting Template for you to use. Click on the template below to get straight to this template and start filling it with relevant content for your meeting.  

Board Meeting Template

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We asked the board expert and business leader Katarina Bonde how she engages all board members in the meeting process, and what techniques she uses to ensure active participation. Here’s what she answered: 

"This requires thinking ahead and is part of the whole plan for running the board. Here are four common steps I follow: 

• I usually talk to each member to get to know their interests, passions, and communication styles, so I know how they contribute. 
• I share information in advance to reduce presentation time. 
• I make sure to ask even the quietest people for their opinions on each topic.
• I use Mentimeter to capture diverse views and start conversations. The results become part of the minutes."

For more tips from Katarina on how to run a board meeting, please read: How to run board meetings - examples and advice from an esteemed board expert

2. Boardable 

Boardable is a user-friendly software tool designed to simplify board management for organizations. It offers a range of features that help streamline collaboration and decision-making. With Boardable, you can easily create agendas, schedule meetings, share documents, manage tasks, and communicate securely. It eliminates the need for manual processes and excessive email chains, saving time and improving efficiency.

The platform prioritizes data security and privacy, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected. This means that board members can collaborate confidently, knowing that their communications and documents are secure.

Boardable is designed to make board management more efficient and effective, allowing organizations to focus on strategic decision-making and driving positive outcomes. Give it a try and experience the benefits of streamlined board collaboration! 

3. Board Pro 

Board Pro simplifies board management for organizations and is designed to streamline collaboration and decision-making among board members. This platform offers a wide range of features to help you efficiently organize your online board meetings. For example, you can easily group meeting items into themed or departmental categories for organized discussions.

Flexibility is key with BoardPro. You can effortlessly add and make changes to word processing files, and distribute them to the board members with just a single click. Collaborative annotation of board papers is also made simple.

All meetings are automatically recorded and securely stored digitally, accessible from any device and location. Creating agendas is a breeze with BoardPro's drag-and-drop agenda creator. You can also use it to store records, minutes, and important documents while setting rules to review action items. BoardPro seamlessly integrates with popular tools like Slack and Trello, allowing for smooth collaboration.

4. BoardEffect 

BoardEffect streamlines the process of scheduling meetings. With BoardEffect, you can easily select a date for upcoming board meetings and allow board members to confirm their attendance with a simple click. The software also includes a convenient voting tool for approving board meeting minutes, new members, and policies.

Another key feature is the ability to annotate board meeting materials directly on your mobile device. You can make last-minute changes and instantly notify the board members about the updates. Additionally, board members can set email reminders for specific tasks and mark them as complete once finished. It also enables you to set up post-meeting follow-ups with different team members to keep the conversation going.

5. OnBoard 

OnBoard is a user-friendly board management software that makes meetings a breeze. With its minutes builder feature, you can easily create meeting minutes, track attendance, assign tasks, and take notes right within the platform. This frees up your time to focus on the actual board meeting.

One cool feature is the engagement analytics, which shows you which documents are being read and which parts of the meeting are sparking note-taking. This valuable feedback helps you plan even better meetings in the future. OnBoard also has an eSignatures feature, so you can send and sign documents from any device without needing a separate app.

Additionally, OnBoard has an easy-to-use interface with consistent typography and is designed to work seamlessly across different devices, so you get the information you need without any hassle.