Preparing for a meeting of the board can be a stressful job since you must deal with multiple how private boards govern and operate stakeholders and adhere to deadlines. However, by following the established guidelines and employing the most effective tools, it’s possible to minimise the pressure and optimise the experience for all those involved.

The agenda of your board meeting should be planned to maximise the amount of discussion and decision-making time you have available. Each item should have a time limit as well as a clear objective, such as informing or seeking out information or obtaining an informed decision. When the discussion veers off-topic take care to guide the conversation back to agenda topic. Make sure that someone is taking notes so that key decisions and the outcomes are documented.

Be sure that all attendees have been informed about the meeting, which includes the date, time and the location. This can be accomplished with a portal for boards which can make it easier to distribute the materials.

The meeting should begin with brief introductions to all attendees, as well as any guests or special guests. Do a roll call to determine if there’s an adequate quorum at the time of the meeting. Review any business issues that remain unresolved from the previous meeting. Then, approve the minutes.

The remaining time to discuss any new business or other issues that require discussion prior to the meeting’s end. It’s also a good time to remove any public meeting notices and replace them with the date for the next meeting along with the time and location.