A board portal, also known as board management software, is sometimes thought of as a solution intended for larger boards that are members of Fortune 100 corporations. This gives the impression that the technology is prohibitively expensive for smaller and mid-sized businesses.
But in reality, these companies’ boards also require board portals, and there are vendors on the market who see the need to provide this market with the same levels of security, quality, and useful capabilities — sans the obtrusive frills and the steep price tag.
Opposition to Change
Change may encounter some resistance. Smaller boards may wonder why they want a board portal solution when their organizational structure, meeting procedures, and email and team collaboration tools “do the job.”
The response? Blind areas.
By adopting the aforementioned logic, boards of all sizes risk missing problems that, up until that point, they had no idea were serious problems.
The benefits of employing board portals for small to medium-sized boards are highlighted in this piece, along with blindspots that are crucial to the board’s overall effectiveness.
Security
Regardless of size, cybersecurity should be a top priority for all boards.
As it relates to the organization’s resilience, the board of directors and officers of the corporation have a fiduciary duty to monitor the management of cybersecurity risks. Failure to do so exposes the business to legal risks and penalties and raises questions about the directors’ personal accountability.
To transmit board papers or board packs and interact with one another, the majority of boards still use insecure methods like email, but doing so carries serious dangers. Email usage is rife with cybersecurity-related hazards, such as delivering board-level information to the wrong recipients and phishing scams.
Board gateways lessen security hazards.
Data security should be discussed when dealing with board-level material, which may contain vital information on strategy, financial records, intellectual property, etc.
Efficiency
Sending board documents through email (or postal mail) can simply be inefficient, notwithstanding security concerns. Directors frequently deal with the same files being forwarded to their mailbox many times as a result of revisions or adjustments.
Board members and executives are forced to handle version control on their own as a result. It takes a long time, is tiresome, and may result in the evaluation of inaccurate or out-of-date data. This eventually affects the board’s engagement and contribution quality. Efficiency is crucial to the overall board performance yet is frequently ignored.
Board portals act as the informational hub for boards.
Board portals are intended to serve as a centralized location for managing and storing board-related information. It becomes the only reliable source of information for the board.
Board Engagement at Higher Levels
Administrative bottlenecks are a substantial part of manually run meeting operations. Board members waste time waiting for documents or files to arrive. The time spent awaiting approval or signature requests and the delay in returning those to the board administrator should also be considered. The board’s engagement levels may suffer as a result of all of these.
Board portals give strategic deliberation additional time.
Boards are able to focus on evaluating board papers in a procedure that is essentially frictionless thanks to board portals. Instead of being distracted by administrative issues, directors and officers can use their time more productively. Board portals give the board quick access to features that support agile decision-making, like Voting and Approvals or e-Signatures.
The focus is turned to improving communication and strategic deliberation, which all support active board engagement.
Continuity of Business During Times of Crisis
The global pandemic was (and possibly still is) the most disruptive occurrence in recent memory. Organizations have to deal with technology difficulties as workers from remote locations: a lack of remote access technologies and a lack of digitized business processes.
These difficulties also affected smaller and midsize boards. Due to a lack of digitized business procedures among board members, information was frequently shared through accessible directory file folders or over email, both of which, as we previously mentioned, have security implications.
Board portals aid boards in taking quick action during emergencies.
The two issues raised above are solved by using a board portal. No matter the severity of the crisis, boards are able to interact and collaborate remotely in a highly secure environment by fully digitizing board meeting operations. The board is constantly connected and online.