BORED MEETINGS ?

Any organization, regardless of its size would benefit tremendously from effective board meetings. They are a sine qua non both for helping the company stay on track with its goals, and for keeping individual board members interested and involved.

Many a disengaged director has cited lack of information, lackadaisical attitude of management and refusal to implement Board decisions as responsible for their detachment. Clearly, even with the right people, Board meetings can still feel like routine; with management feeling drained and yet not getting value, and Board members adopting a box- ticking attitude with respect to their duties.

Some tips for effective and productive Board meetings include the following:

• Structure: A fitting composition and an effective Corporate Governance structure is a crucial foundation upon which effective proceedings will rest.
• Agenda: Preparing an agenda ahead and sticking to it is of great importance. It is not uncommon at meetings to find a member veering into other matters such as politics, while another is casting frequent glances at his wristwatch. A simple, yet effective agenda tip particularly for new companies or large boards is to set time limits for each agenda item, as well as for the entire meeting.
• Notice: It is mandatory to provide sufficient notice to attendees. The Companies and Allied Matters Act provides for 14 days’ notice. Ensure that all stakeholders are carried along.
• Information: It is crucial to circulate all necessary documents to the attendees well ahead of the meeting date. Apart from the fact that surprises reek of disrespect, members contribute better when they have had time to reflect on the issues to be discussed prior to the meeting. This allows the Board spend its time adding value, and making decisions, not just listening to the CEO read lengthy update reports as is reported of many “bored” meetings.
• Action Points: Assign and track action points so that items are conclusively dealt with, and not repeated at subsequent meetings. This can be discouraging and time wasting.
• Records: Minutes of meetings should be thorough, accurate and timely.  
• Review: It is important to create an environment which welcomes honest communication and feedback.  Such sessions encourage members to also provide tips from their wealth of experience garnered as a result of their memberships on other Boards. Management should be sure to recognize the Board’s sacrifice of their time and knowledge and constantly show appreciation.

In addition to the above, experts have emphasized the need to maintain cordial relationships all year round. In many cases, free information flow could trigger discussions on problematic issues, or in some cases a “meeting before the meeting”, thus preventing avoidable rancor.  An occasional change of venue has also been mentioned to have a positive psychological effect.

The role of the Board Chairman in creating an enabling environment and dictating the tone; combined with that of the Company Secretary in stakeholder management and preparation cannot be overemphasized, and we will treat each of these in subsequent posts. Nonetheless, the tips mentioned above will undoubtedly set the tone in the right direction.