Today, the corporate governance system is changing completely, and the role of the corporate secretary is evolving. The company secretary is an assistant to the entire management. So, what are the secretary’s responsibilities when organizing virtual board meetings?
The role of the company secretary in the preparation of online meetings
Conducting business meetings can be attributed to the daily activities of the company. Such collegial discussions of priority issues are necessary for making operational decisions and developing long-term strategies. The organization of the board meetings requires an accurate understanding of the goals and objectives of this meeting. Assistance in holding meetings is the direct responsibility of the secretary. Minute-taking, shorthand, preparation, and presentation of materials – all these skills will help a professional executive assistant to conduct a virtual board meeting effectively.
When organizing an online meeting, the company secretary should be guided by the following principles:
- A business meeting is necessary only to discuss issues that cannot be resolved in a working order;
- Specialists carry out the preparation of information in advance; The effectiveness of a meeting is generally inversely proportional to the number of participants;
- The purpose of the discussion is to get specific proposals from the speakers;
- The decision-making includes the indication of the performers, the determination of the deadlines for completion, and the work specification.
Most meetings are held in organizations according to a plan, which is mandatory for the secretary and makes it possible to think in advance of a set of measures for their preparation. If the leader is invited to a meeting with a higher-ranking leader, the secretary must prepare the necessary documents in advance, print the text of the report, and promptly remind the leader of the date, place, and hour of the meeting and its duration.
Tasks of the company secretary
To effectively conduct a business meeting, the manager will need the help of a secretary. At the same time, the assistant manager is responsible for most of the organizational and technical activities. There are some necessary tasks to make the meeting as productive as possible:
- Determine the goals of the meeting and decide on its necessity;
- Set the topic, form the agenda, and determine the range of issues under consideration;
- Establish the format of the protocol and agenda based on unified planning and reporting documents;
- Develop regulations or a memo for the meeting;
- Determine the composition of the participants;
- Notify employees about the upcoming event, time, place of its holding, planned duration, and agenda;
- Prepare and issue reports; develop a draft solution to the problem under discussion;
- Send proposals on the draft decision to the invitees in advance;
- Prepare the premises, demonstration materials, and necessary equipment;
- Choose the digital platform for arranging virtual collaboration.
So, today, most boards of directors implement board management software for organizing online meetings more productively. It is a secure portal based on a SaaS model designed for data sharing, real-time discussions, voting, and control of the activities of all members. See the board software pricing from best providers at the review websites. The modern It market offers many reliable solutions like Diligent, iDeals, BoardMaps, Govenda, and Convene with various functionality and pricing policy.