Board Meetings Part 2

In board meetings part 1, we covered  what a board meeting is and the roles that each participant takes. In this article, we dig deeper into board meetings sharing more details. If you are a first timer, this information will prepare you for the boardroom. The last thing you need on your journey as a board participant is being unaware of what transpires in a board meeting. However, you do not need to worry as the agenda of the board meeting is usually sent in advance to all invited . This is done to make sure that everyone is on the same page as to the purpose of the meeting and not waste time deviating. An agenda ensures that meeting productivity is achieved. Today we are going to look at the topics covered in a  typical board meeting. Lets jump right in:

 Previous Minutes Review

This is usually the first item. Depending on company culture, a participant reads out the minutes line by line or board participants can decide to read the minutes on their own. This enables the board to continue tackling any other pending items that may have been left unaddressed in the previous sitting due to reasons such as time constraints. A previous minutes review is also important in the sense that it offers a verification step on the  matters discussed prior to the current meeting  validating it as a true record. Documentation that includes these previous minutes is provided by the board secretary.

 Business  Performance

After reviewing previous minutes, the board then tackles the business performance since the last sitting.  The core focus in relation to performance are the metrics also detailing key developments. This is also the section where the board seeks to see if the targets set have been achieved  and how the business can do better going forward. Issues to do with increasing expenses and customer feedback  are also addressed here with the board discussing on solutions to deal with any pain points afflicting the business. The board seeks to evaluate business performance through metrics called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as sales (quarterly or annually depending on the period the board has convened), customer satisfaction index, market share segmentation, employee turnover rate, revenues and expenditures. All this information is delivered in summarized format to save time with comprehensive reports available on a follow up basis.

Strategy Formulation

The purpose of the board is to provide oversight and map out the future direction of the company.  After the business performance topic is cleared, the board then formulates new strategies that will drive the business forward and towards growth. This strategy formulation is done taking inference from the feedback given by corporate management that includes players such as the Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO),  Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Human Resources Director(HRD)  to name  a few. For example, in order to reduce employee turnover and boost business performance, corporate management could present ideas such as salary increments and performance bonus incentives to the board, which the board can approve or deny depending on feasibility. Work around tactics to existing problems currently plaguing the business are  discussed in this section too.

 Plans of Action

With strategies formulated and corporate management having presented ideas for the board to consider, plans of action follow. In this section, the board members recommend and approve plans of action that have to be executed by management cascading down to all employee levels in the company. Highlighting the plans of action will ensure that all players are aware of what the next immediate steps are. The board is in charge of all governance issues of a company and is a powerful panel that has the power to even dismiss the company’s top executives. This was the case of Steve Jobs in his early days as CEO at his first company.The board passed a motion that saw him leave the company he started. Once an issue is raised and adequately discussed, the board then goes on to vote on the matter and then arrive at the decision.

Okay, so these are the topics that are generally covered in a board meeting. They are not a rule of thumb but act as a guideline of what you should expect. We will wrap up board meetings in part 3.