Top 5 Best Corporate Board Meeting Software to look out for in 2023
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According to HBR, an average CEO spends 72% of their time in meetings. Additionally, top executives attend 12-17 meetings on average. Interestingly, executives consider 45% of these meetings to be pointless.
What do these statistics tell you? Meetings take up an inordinate amount of time in the work life of any top executive or board director, and a considerable amount tends to get wasted preparing for the meeting and dealing with post-meeting formalities in organizations.
While meetings are necessary for planning and setting goals, discussing new projects, or delegating responsibilities, especially for the top management and directors, they demand a lot of time and effort. On average, management spends 50% of their work time scheduling, conducting, and documenting these meetings (HBR Report analysis on LinkedIn), making meetings quite an expense on company resources.
To remain top-notch in the way they lead and productive to the hilt during meetings, top leadership needs to be efficient with their time. For this, they need to have ready access to materials like internal briefings and data. This can get frustrating for management when they have to search for the required document across disparate systems.
Conversely, board members and executives can use board management software to access the required docs and collaborate, plan, and organize the meetings in an efficient way. Directors and top management can use this software to stay organized, plan cohesively, and make timely decisions.
Corporate board management software helps ‘organize board meetings and crowdsource executive opinions and ideas on a company’s financial, directional, and product decisions.’
A typical corporate board meeting software offers collaborative tools to set up agendas, compile and grant access to meeting-related documents in one place, make notes, record minutes, and manage calendars and contacts to inform about the corporate meeting.
These board meeting management tools are used by leadership teams, boards of directors, top executives, managers, and CEOs. The tools can be integrated or structured along with other collaboration tools available to mild-level and lower-level employees. Verified Market Reports estimates that the Board Management Software market, valued at USD 2.81 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to USD 6.23 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 12.4% from 2024 to 2030.
Some of the core benefits of using corporate board meeting software include the following:
These tools simplify various aspects of board meetings
Assist in planning by integrating with the company calendar, email, and contacts
Facilitate communication of information about such meetings
Survey tools help to gather feedback and gauge the unanimity of the decisions taken during the meeting
Save time spent in managing meeting schedules by calendar integration
Notifies users of the meeting time, agenda, and documents via email notifications
Provide summaries and meeting notes to users post the meeting
Allow searching through the database of former meetings to locate previous comments or common agendas
How are board meeting software compared?
An efficient corporate board meeting software would serve as a centralized information hub and a meeting management toolkit and assist in remote collaboration and preparedness for the meeting. Some of the applicable criteria to look for while choosing the right corporate board meeting software may include:
The software must be compatible and intended for use by the managing committee and board
It should facilitate communication and engagement between members via chat and video conferencing options
It should be equipped with tools to generate agendas, set up meetings, record minutes and notes, etc.
It should have the provision to collect feedback and reviews once the meeting is over.
The software must possess a multi-layer security architecture for the safekeeping of the company documents
It must contain features like role-based accord, data access authorization, and other application benefits.
The deployment options may include on-premise or cloud-based options
The extent of customization available and the categorical access per an executive’s authority
It should allow for integrations with in-house technology stacks and applications, including other communication channels.
It should have robust technical support
And lastly, to compare different corporate board meeting software, administrators can use these four parameters – document management, ease of use, E-signatures, and agenda builder.
Key Features to look for in a board meeting software
Corporate board meeting software is intended for use by top executives and board members. As such, these software solutions must be compatible to serve the needs and requirements of the top management.
Some of the key features to look for in corporate board meeting software are:
#1 Storage and Sharing of Documents
A board management software allows sharing and storing of documents within its portal. The documents can be either uploaded to the portal or taken from an external content management system once integrated. These documents rest in centralized storage and can be accessed by board members. Some portals also allow linking documents with an agenda or meeting notes.
#2 Structured Collaboration
A board management cum meeting software helps the members to collaborate via a structured framework to organize and streamline meetings. Users on the portal can come together for sharing, polling, surveys, note-taking, etc. The portal also helps to communicate the meeting schedules and agendas effectively and summarize minutes to the members.
#3 Agenda creation
This feature is one of the primary functions a board management software performs. Any of the members can set the agenda and share it with all the members for view and review before the meeting commences. Setting agendas in advance helps board members to stay on track, plan, and prepare and attach documents for the perusal of the other members with the agenda itself.
#4 Record meeting notes
Once the agenda is set and the meeting begins, note-taking becomes an imminent task. Switching to a separate app for note-taking is inconvenient and inefficient. The meeting software should have tools for note-taking either privately or shared with others members in the meeting. Once the meeting ends, these notes and minutes can be communicated to all the members together via the software.
#5 Conduct surveys
It is a good practice to take feedback and opinion of the members about the proceedings of the meetings. Many board meeting software solutions have in-built survey and polling options where members can contribute their opinions and views. The survey can be attached to the minutes and stored in the portal to be referred to later.
#6 Allows comments and annotations
Users can also use the board meeting software to record their comments publicly or privately, either to share with other members or to attach to the meeting minutes for later reference. The members can annotate their personal views and make notes in their copies, and keep them for reference.
#7 Accessible
The software must be accessible via the desktop app or mobile version at any time and from anywhere. Also, offline availability is another feature that can help distributed and hybrid management to collaborate and remain in the loop even if they reside in separate corners of the world.
Integrations with content management systems: most businesses employ content management systems, calendars, and communication applications for mid and lower-level employees. A board meeting software must be capable of integrating these external applications and streamlining the workflow.
#8 Online chat and video conferencing
This software must contain online chat and video conferencing tools to manage and run the meetings via virtual communication. The software must be equipped with an e-signature facility for paperless documentation and governance.
Top 5 Best corporate board meeting software
#1 BoardPro
One of the easiest-to-use corporate board meeting software, BoardPro helps board administrators and top executives create meeting agendas, take minutes during meetings, compile board packs, and store files securely.
The software is suitable for small enterprises, small-cap companies, and non-profit organizations (NPOs). It helps the administrators to save up to 55% of their time. In User satisfaction, the software has an average score of 9.
Salient Features
Streamlines board meetings and the events leading to them
Automates manual processes such as setting meeting agendas, compiling board packs, etc.
Unlimited users and administrators
Can clone agendas and helps with minutes, votes, and actions.
Regular feature releases
Allows assigning selective access
Pros
Cons
Increases overall productivity
Basic subscription model doesn’t have many features
Easy to use and time-saving
Restricts information sharing to an extent
Dedicated customer support and live chat
Has a learning curve
Can be accessed from any device
Facilitates quicker and more efficient board meetings
Pricing
The BoardPro Essentials plan is available from $75 per month while the Premium subscription is available from $125 per month.
#2 OnBoard
Onboard board management software creates a system of record that directors, administrators, and executives can use to make decisions easily and quickly. The intelligence software transforms the outdated and time-consuming board meeting procedures such that the management is able to concentrate on core matters. OnBoard board management software has an average user satisfaction score of 9.5.
Salient Features
Automates scheduling meetings
Allows the creation of itemized agendas
Compiles all meeting materials in a board book
Suitable for NPOs, management, and banking organizations
Includes Board tools like E-signatures, meeting archives, annotations, notes, permissioning, polls, and questionnaires
Pros
Cons
Intuitive data and analytics
Doesn’t allow changes in the minutes once they are started
Uncomplicated board meetings to make them more efficient
Lacks options to customize profiles
Can be accessed from any device from anywhere
Unified and secure communications
Facilitates collaboration, productivity, and efficiency
Free trial available
Pricing
Price is available on request. The software comes with a 30-day free trial period.
#3 Boardable
Boardable helps administrators and top executives collaborate and streamline operations for a comprehensive management experience for every part of the meeting’s lifecycle. Boardable has an average user satisfaction rating of 8.8 (document management) and 9.1 (ease of use).
Salient Features
Customizable and easy-to-share templates to build agenda
Consolidates meeting materials in one place, accessible to all
Records of voting in polls and surveys
Provides a document center to view all documents in one place
Centralizes communications to minimize back-and-forth emails and allows file sharing
Useful for recording minutes and assigning tasks
Pros
Cons
Time-saving and efficient organization and distribution of meeting materials, tasks, and agenda
Buggy video integration
Intuitive and easy to navigate from any device
The Android/iOS app doesn’t support all the features that the web browser version has
Automates paper-based processes via e-signatures
Limited capabilities on the Spotlight platform
Facilitates groups for team-focused discussions
Provides actionable insights into the board’s performance
Pricing
Price is available on request. Boardable offers a free trial for each of its subscription offers.
#4 Azeus Convene
Azeus Convene is an award-winning board management software that offers an all-in-one suite to enhance the efficiency of the meetings, documenting them, and generating actions based on them after that.
The software is popular among SMEs, banks, associations, governments, NPOs, and listed companies across 100 countries.
Salient Features
Organizes and distributes board documents virtually
Provides a large number of tools for collaboration, file sharing, polls, etc.
Functions via highly secure and certified data centers worldwide
Can be hosted on-cloud or on-premise
Compatible with Windows, iOS, Blackberry, and Android
Good technical customer support
Pros
Cons
Easy-to-use and Intuitive UI
Doesn’t allow tools for integration with third-party video apps
Highly flexible to suit specific client needs
The app shows frequent error messages.
Keeps client data secure
Can be accessed via any device
Affordable
Real-time collaboration
Pricing
Price is available on request.
#5 Nasdaq Boardvantage
Nasdaq Boardvantage is an award-winning corporate board meeting software from Nasdaq. The software comes with the credibility of a global brand like Nasdaq and a network of corporate governance professionals.
Salient Features
Board portal helps manage meetings, build agendas, and distribute materials
Aggregates information for board directors to access in one place
Facilitates communication through in-app email
Allows reviewing meeting materials and executing decisions effectively
Can be accessed via desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
Pros
Cons
Simple, efficient, and boosts productivity
Steep learning curve
Robust security
Limited Calendar functionalities
Sleek and user-friendly interface
Only allows document linking via OneDrive
Seamless and consistent user experience across all devices
Unlimited storage and access to all features
Offer long-term value
Good technical support
Pricing
Price is available on request. Nasdaq Boardvantage software is available at an upfront pricing model at no hidden costs.
Wrap-Up
Corporate board meeting software helps to smooth out the bumps and diversions while manually planning board meetings. By streamlining and sequencing tasks involved in setting up a meeting, running the proceedings, and documenting post the meeting, these tools help directors and executives to collaborate and exercise efficient leadership.
Board meeting software is a necessity for corporations given the spread of remote work and the hybrid model of work to keep everyone in the loop, engaged in the proceedings, and contribute their best to the organization.
A corporate board meeting software is a portal that helps manage and run effective board meetings. The software offers a suite of functions like aggregating and sharing meeting materials, scheduling meetings, recording minutes, and setting agendas. The software helps to make the meetings more productive, improve engagement, notify members, and automate tasks related to meetings.
What factors are important for an effective board meeting?
Besides using good corporate board meeting software, directors must ensure that the meeting participants are well aware of the agenda of the meeting and have all the documents at hand. Directors should also have a good rapport with managers and keep them in the loop. They should discuss long and short-term goals while managing conflicts of interest during the meeting.
How do I choose a board portal?
Choosing a good board meeting software or board portal involves making a selection based on specific criteria, including mobility, engagement, security, support, technology, ease of use, director access, etc.
What should a good meeting agenda contain?
A good meeting agenda should comprehensively state the objective of the meeting, identify topics related to the objective to be discussed in the meeting, allot time to be spent on each topic, and include a list of necessary documents required for the meeting. A good agenda must also establish the type of meeting.
What are the 5Ps of an effective board meeting?
Experts usually gauge the effectiveness of a meeting using the formula of the 5Ps. The 5P formula measures the time well spent during such meetings based on the purpose, planning, preparation, participation, and P.S. (follow-up post the meeting).
