The number of board software solutions has greatly increased with many organisations looking to improve governance and increase productivity.
Significant transformation has been seen in the meeting space. Many businesses have got rid of paper-based workflows around board meeting processes and thankfully, saying goodbye to stacks of paper and sticky notes all over meeting tables.
Choosing the right board software can impact your organisation’s future for years to come. With so many options out there, it’s important to choose the right solution for your board.
What is board management software?
Board management software, sometimes referred to as a board portal, is a secure shared digital space for directors to access information and documents as well as electronically communicate with other directors. Board management software also decreases the workload for administrators and completely digitises board meeting workflows.
Essentially, board management software digitises the board meeting processes of agenda building and distribution, meeting minutes, building board packs, access digital documents and more.
Growth in the category has meant that board management software has evolved from basic document management to more complex software that digital governance processes. With many organisations looking to improve efficiency, board software is a necessity. It can be overwhelming with so many options – we’ve put together 5 key things you should be looking for when choosing the right software for your company.
4 Things to Consider When Choosing Board Management Software:
1. Required Features
To know which board meeting management software is right for you and your business, it is vital to understand which features you need and a great way to do this is by tracking your meeting process. Write a list with all the touch points you have pre, during and post board meetings. The software you choose should be able to handle all of these processes seamlessly.
This is an important initial step, otherwise you may end up with an expensive piece of software that doesn’t properly meet your requirements.
At a basic level, you should look for software that enables board members to securely access board meeting documents and allow administrators to create agendas, board packs, take minutes and assign tasks.
2. Strong Security
Paper-based board meeting management is fundamentally not secure, as there is no control around who could view these documents. However, just because it’s digital doesn’t mean you are in the clear.
In today’s climate, with cyber attacks on the rise, secure software is essential. Any board software provider must have a complete and effective set of security capabilities. Security should be a key aspect of product design, not an afterthought.
Security features to look for: cloud based, fully encrypted, two-factor authentication and regularly tested by independent third-party.
3. User Training & Support
One of the most important factors to seamlessly transition your board to using board management software is the service you receive to train your administrators, support staff and board members to use the new system.
Without adequate training, moving to a new system can cause confusion and frustration for both directors and administrators. It is important you select a vendor that offers more than a one-off online training. An ideal technology partner should be flexible with onboarding and offer different options for your business including individual onboarding, group onboarding, videos and other resources. The key thing to look for is different user training options that will suit your team.
Customer support is also incredibly important. Choose a software provider that:
- You can pick up the phone and talk to (without being on hold for hours)
- Support people who have expert product knowledge
Top tip: to gauge the quality of user training and support, get in touch with existing customers or check out customer testimonials.
4. Usability
The final consideration is usability. Look for software with a clean and straightforward interface and user experience, so that your team wastes no time learning the new technology.
Ideally, have a few of your team trial the board management software and really test it out.
The key takeaway is to choose a board management software that meets the needs of your business. With so many great options out there, make sure you look for a solution that has all the features you truly need, has top-of line security, excellent training and support as well easy to use and intuitive interface.
If you want to further discuss how Stellar stacks up to the competition, get in touch. Email: praneesh@stellarlibrary.com