Last week we spoke about how to make Board meetings more effective in the professional membership world. Before you consider the steps for mapping out the meeting content, you need to take into account organising the date, location and any on-location specifics you may need.
While virtual meetings have become increasingly popular, face-to-face meetings still play in crucial role in collaboration, networking and strategic decision making.
Availability
The first step in meeting planning is determining availability with the Association’s management. This needs to be done far enough in advance to be able to juggle multiple calendars to find a date that suits everyone.
We recommend using an online form to gather availability. List dates and times and ask the Board to submit when they have free time in their diary – just make sure to set a deadline to get the dates back to you to avoid having to chase.
Finding the Right Venue
Use the common available dates provided by the Association’s Board to match against venue availability. There’s a number of important factors you need to consider before booking the venue and signing the contact:
- Size of meeting room
- Convenient location
- AV functionality
- Breakout spaces
- Booking cost
- Dining (if required)
- Accommodation availability (if required)
Accommodation & Expenses
Overnight accommodation may be required for those Board members travelling long distances. Consider the start and finish times of the meetings, and if accommodation may be required. Also consider your organisation’s policy on travel expenses – if these are reimbursed, ensure that expense claim forms are sent to meeting attendees immediately afterwards.
Dining
Depending on the time of the meeting and whether accommodation has been booked, you may need to consider refreshment breaks and networking meals. An evening meal, post-meeting can sometimes provide networking opportunities which can help stimulate ideas outside of a formal meeting environment.
Face-to-Face vs Online
Online meetings can provide convenience and cost savings, but they often lack the personal connections that are made during face-to-face gathers. Meeting in-person helps to create healthy discussions, spontaneity and fuels brainstorming.
Virtual meetings do have their place, and can be especially effective for quick updates, but more in depth board meetings and strategy sessions are better conducted in person.
How We Can Help
While there are a huge number of benefits to being part of a professional membership associations management committee, it’s important to realise that there are heavy responsibilities. Many tasks can seem quite daunting or time consuming, which is why it’s important to work alongside a reliable administration management team.
At Cygnul we work in partnership with our clients and are seen as trusted advisors to the Board. We can undertake the full range of membership, secretarial and bookkeeping services as well as offering advice and support to associations around the UK. If you want to explore how these services could help your organisation, please get in touch with us.