Many companies, Crown agencies, credit unions, health organizations, and even non-profits across North America are turning to board portal software to get modern and secure communications tools for their board of directors. But not all board portal software is of equal quality, and it’s important to select the one that has all the features you truly need.
Let’s take a closer inspection to see what separates the best board portal software from the rest.
Table of Contents
Easy to Use
To be truly useful, board software has to save your decision makers time. Industry leading board portal software is easy to use, for both board administrators and for directors. Not only should the platform itself be easy to navigate on every device, but when you first get your new board portal, it should be very simple to migrate your data onto it from other portals or in-house systems.
Ease of use is a major component to consider when wondering how to find the best board portal software because, ultimately, features that are too difficult to use in practice might as well not exist.
Features Galore
No matter how large or small your organization, the best board portal software should be loaded with features that help you run more efficient board meetings and keep directors up to date. A list of such features includes: automated agenda creator, administrator DIY tools to add or remove directors and committees, reports to track board activity, and more.
Calendar integration should be compatible with all digital calendars so that scheduling board meetings is easy — your board portal service should be compatible with the apps you already use, like Google Calendar, iCloud Calendar, and Outlook Calendar.
The best board portal services are also designed to accommodate directors who are on more than one board; all they have to do is type in their username and password, and all the board data they need is at their fingertips. Ideally, the provider you choose should also only release one product, rather than having “lite” versions which don’t include full access to all features.
Communication Made Easy
The best board portal software makes meetings more efficient by making it possible for directors to confidentially collect input from colleagues on important issues before meetings, or by adding notes to board materials either for their own use or to share with other directors.
The in-app discussion feature facilitates detailed collaboration on documents for directors. Board chairs can call for voting and signatures on demand, and get results in
Track and Report Key Data
When you use an industry leader’s board portal software, admins will be able to easily track key metrics and distribute meeting minutes digitally. It should be easy to generate meaningful reports on meeting attendance, and admins should be able to quickly pull the numbers for director expenses, reimbursements, and education allowances to make sure directors meet all requirements.
Choosing a software that’s going to play such an important role for your board of directors is important, so take the time to really make sure that the software you select meets all your organization’s needs. If it has all the functionality described above, it should benefit your entire organization for years to come.
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