Prepare for virtual meetings, as pandemic looks to last awhile

• Published date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31171
• Date: 01 October 2020

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI: 10.1002/ban

Editor: Nicholas King

Supplement

Prepare for virtual meetings,

as pandemic looks to last awhile

As the COVID-19 pandemic spurs cities and

states to keep social distancing guidelines in place,

nonprofits and their boards must adapt to this

new operating landscape by going digital wherever

possible—including with their board meetings.

According to Dottie Schindlinger, executive

director of the Diligent Institute—the research

arm of board management software firm Diligent

Corp.—the existing playbooks nonprofits have

for conducting business during times of crisis

may not be sufficient to weather the COVID-19

lockdowns.

“You can’t just rest on your laurels right now,”

she said. “You really have to be nimble. You have

to be able to pivot quickly.”

Among other things, that means having a level

of technological competence that might have been

“optional” for board members in days passed.

“We all really now are forced to be able to op-

erate basic tools” like virtual meeting platforms,

webcams, headsets and mobile devices that some

have done without up until now, she said. But no

longer.

“This is the new normal,” she said. “And frankly

there’s a lot of conversation happening about

whether we ever go back to the way things were

before this crisis.”

For board members, this means getting famil-

iar with all of the office electronics and software

available for doing business over the computer—

even if that entails spending money and invest-

ing in equipment, software and possibly even

training that they otherwise might not have a

need for.

Schindlinger gave a primer on some of the vari-

ous equipment boards will need to use for virtual

meetings. This may include:

• Video and web conferencing software.

Two of the most popular right now are Zoom and

GoToMeeting, but there are others out there.

Based on her 15-plus years of experience, Schin-

dlinger said, they’re all pretty similar. Some have

different features than others, some have more

stability than others, but they all do basically the

same stuff. One consideration, though, would

be their compatibility with other software that

the board uses—like, for example, any board

management software that helps facilitate com-

munications, file sharing and more among board

members and organizational leadership.

• Necessary hardware. Will board members

log in using computers, tablets or cell phones? Do

they need a webcam on their device? Should they

use speakers or headsets? Each have pros and

cons, Schindlinger said. However, she suggests

devices with a webcam built in, which can be

turned on and off easily as needed, and a headset

instead of speakers.

• Webcam backdrops and settings. If board

members will be using webcams, they should

be mindful of what their backgrounds look like,

she said. Board members should take a look at

the space behind them, from the perspective of

the camera, to get an eye for what others will

see, and tidy up/reorganize as needed so that

the board member is the focus, not his unkempt

bookshelves or laundry basket.

October 2020 Vol. 37, No. 2

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