How Portal Software Improves Communication Between Board Members

Published on: 13 June 2018 Last Updated on: 04 September 2024

Managing the board of a corporation or not-for-profit, no matter how large or small always comes with a number of challenges. Board members, who may be based in several different cities, need to be able to communicate easily and openly with each other, but they also need to be mindful of security issues. Because board members tend to be quite busy people, finding time for preliminary discussions is as important as it is difficult.

As anyone with board management experience knows, the key to running an efficient board meeting lies in the planning and preparation that takes place in the days and weeks leading up to the meeting itself. Ideally, board members should always have all of the factual information they need before the meeting starts and be ready to discuss higher-level questions, which is why making sure there is a secure forum for board members to discuss the information and clarify any questions they might have beforehand is vital for ensuring that meeting time is used as efficiently as possible. One of the most common complaints about board meetings is that valuable time gets wasted making sure everyone is up-to-date on the issues being discussed that could have been spent debating motions and planning for the organization’s future.

At the same time, some of the most popular electronic communications tools, such as Jook SMS and Gmail, are notoriously susceptible to hacking. This makes them a risky way to hold discussions ahead of a board meeting and often leads board managers into a double-bind: the tools that their members are most comfortable with and most likely to use in preliminary discussions also pose serious threats to the organization’s security. So how can boards strike a balance between facilitating good conversation while also maintaining security?

One of the most popular solutions to both of these problems is board portal software. Companies like Vancouver’s Aprio have developed software that allows board members to share and discuss information through a secure electronic portal that they can access from their mobile device or desktop computer. Portal software not only makes it easy for the board manager to deliver all of the necessary documentation to board members before the meeting begins, it also provides the members with an intuitive, easy-to-navigate way of accessing the documents from anywhere in the world.

The portal software also streamlines governance by making everything that board members need available in a single place. Instead of having to scroll through email threads to find the right documents, and potentially getting into inefficient discussions about which version of the document is most up-to-date, with portal software members literally have all the information they need at their fingertips.

Board portal software can play a major role in helping boards communicate more effectively, and by giving board members a chance to do more of their work in advance they can drastically improve the efficiency of board meetings. With better communication comes better decision-making, and it is no surprise that some of the most innovative businesses in North America have turned to board portal software to create stronger, more networked leadership and improve board governance.

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The Value of Business Systems

Creating a business is always exciting. The challenge of building an organization from the ground up is more than exhilarating. Running the company, however, is another story. It can be a chore (and sometimes, even a big bore), especially when foolproof systems are not in place. So if you're looking to improve your business performance and spend more time outside the office, you need to recognize the value of business systems. What are Business Systems? Business systems are a series of procedures that help employees implement a specific type of service consistently. These systems usually come with business processes, which many know as standard operating procedures. With this series of checklists, the team can follow a work step even without undergoing training. Why Companies Need Business Systems and Processes It goes without saying that these help you effectively manage day-to-day operations. Without this, your company will crumble. Just think of it this way: it's like losing a vital piece of the puzzle when one management worker resigns or calls in sick. That said, the value of these systems are summarized into these five benefits: A Business System Provides Consistency Zak Frazer once said: "The key to success is consistency." With systems and processes, you deliver consistent services to your customers. After all, these procedures and checklists keep your efforts aligned. When you have happy customers, they will keep coming back to your business. You generate the revenue you need because they keep spending money on your services over and over again. Business Systems Improve Service Efficiency Some companies fail to be consistent because they don't have systems and processes to follow. The employees do one thing, while the management does another. So if you don't want to sow some business discord, you need to have a system in place. That way, everybody meets the objective because everyone follows the same written process. Business Systems and Processes are Indispensable Assets Say you want to sell your company's stakes in the future. You have a bigger chance of getting investors if you have a business system in place. It's your way of telling them that you have an established work process, a solid customer base, and a steady stream of sales. Businesses With Systems Scale Faster When you have a system in place, you can focus on other things. You're no longer bound to implementing any one program. Since the business process offers the support you need, you get to work on other strategies instead. So if you want unprecedented business growth, you need to have system resources in place. That way, you can develop other products and services that appeal to other customers. A Business System Can Bring Down Labor Costs While no software can replace the human touch, there are some business operations that systems can efficiently complete. Many of them are mundane and repetitive, which is a waste of money on your part. By giving these non-essential processes to business systems, you can make the most out of your team. For example, you can install software that helps them answer generic queries. That way, your workers can spend more time creating marketing strategies instead. The Different Business Systems You Need to Have in Place As mentioned, systems offer many benefits to businesses. So if you want to be as successful as every other owner, here are the four essential systems you need to have in place: Marketing System Marketing is all about promoting your products. It allows you to have a good flow of leads. With this, you can market your items without putting in a lot of effort. Think of it as a passive way of generating customers for your business. Sales System With marketing systems bringing in leads, it's up to the sales system to nurture them. Such programs make customer follow-up easier. Your employees could work on another strategy since the business systems can do this repetitive thing for them. Fulfillment Systems Now that you have sold your products, you have to make sure that the delivery process is seamless. You can please your customer with fulfillment programs that do everything for you. All you just need to do is wait for them to pick up the parcels at your place! Administration Systems If you've managed several workers, you know how stressful it is to do clerical activities. With administration systems, however, you don't have to worry about this aspect of your business. Such programs can help you with human resource management, customer accounts, and reception. Now, all you need to do is focus on business growth, just like other business owners do! As you see in this article, quality business systems will benefit your organization and help you scale to greater heights. Grow your business right now by setting up these processes as soon as you can. Read Also: Insurance Business: What Startups Need To Know What Are the Alternatives for Small Business Startup Loans? Startup Business Management: How to Effectively Incorporate Use of SEO

3 Ways to Boost Employee Engagement in Your Business

Whatever stage your business is at, employee engagement and general satisfaction should always be at the forefront of your mind. No business can run without its employees and at the heart of good business, the operation is making sure that your labor force is produced. There have been countless studies into the effects of high employee satisfaction on company-wide efficiency, all of which indicate that happy employees are productive ones. Employee engagement is an extension of this satisfaction. Happy employees are more likely to care about the company’s mission and goals, aligning their own success with the businesses. This is the core concept of employee engagement; staff who innovate and work hard because they care about what they do and see the value in the organization that they work for. Boosting employee engagement promotes business growth and employee retention. the question is how can you, as an employer, improve engagement levels? Here are three ideas that we have put together with that question in mind. Team Building Events: Whilst team building is often viewed with skepticism, the truth is that it can have a drastic impact on how productive your employees are. Team building offers multiple benefits from an employee engagement perspective, here are some examples: The most obvious benefit is that a good team building activity is fun. Enjoyable events breaking up working life are always appreciated by staff and as we have discussed, happy employees are engaged ones. This morale boost from enjoying something fun has a ripple effect around your organization, with this positive mindset remaining effective for a very long time. Another benefit, which is much more underestimated, is the learning opportunities available. Team building activities aren’t designed to solely be fun, they are meant to have a learning outcome. Team building is almost a fun form of training, where staff practice skills that will benefit them at work and in turn, benefit your business. These are just two examples of the benefits. With a little research, you will be able to discover what a well-placed team building event can really do. Rewards and Recognition: Implementing an effective rewards system is another great way of improving employee engagement. Positive reinforcement is an incredibly strong force, which is why publicly rewarding your best employees is so powerful. Not only does this encourage your hardest workers to continue putting the effort in, but it also pushes the rest of the staff to match their level and try to achieve the same recognition. There are countless ways to reward employees, ranging from simple thank you to fully paid lunches. The key to successfully rewarding employees in a constructive manner is to make rewards both attainable and equal in value to the achievement they are associated with. Don’t give a salesman a box of chocolates for making the company millions, that will seem a little lackluster for what they have done. Information Availability: As a final, less concrete point, ensuring that your employees know the businesses goals and moral ethics is extremely important. To encourage your employees to align themselves with your business you require multiple ingredients. Firstly, they need to be happy. Secondly, they need to enjoy working for you and care about the company’s success. Finally, they need to be aware of the company’s goals and mission. Many organizations struggle with this third and final point. These companies have incredible cultures where everyone loves coming to work but nobody is aware of where the company wants to be and what their vision is for the future. Without this information, employees can never reach total engagement because they don’t know what they should be targeting. Making your organization’s vision and mission statements visible is absolutely essential towards improving employee engagement. These goals should be at the core of everything that the company does, embedding them into the workforce and uniting every employee in targeting the same goals. This is how true engagement is achieved. There is much more to employee engagement than just these three points. People are extremely complicated, and every organization is unique, which is why you have to tailor your approach to your specific business. Try different techniques and see what works, just keep in mind that happy, staff are engaged and engaged staff are productive, which is exactly what you need to grow your business. Read Also: 7 Ways To Hire Seasonal Staff For Your Business Is Your Company Offering Enough To Potential Employees? 7 Ways To Boost Employee Productivity And Create A Positive Culture Choosing The Right B2B E-Commerce Platforms To Sell Your Used Machinery Why Every Business Holder Should Start Using The Drip Marketing Campaign Victor Mitchell, Serial Entrepreneur On How To Retain Your Top Employees While Growing Your Business

How to Create an Effective Company Training Program

There are different ways of investing in your company, and providing a Training Program for your employees is one of them. You could be training new or existing employees on new trends, but all this works when you have a strategic program. Effective training is more than just sharing information. This is an opportunity to expand the knowledge of your employees on certain matters. Leading companies in Dubai know that allowing employees to go for courses might delay projects; however, training is beneficial to both the organization and individuals. Why Training Programs are Beneficial for Your Company: Although these programs are costly, for instance, taking the employees from the office, the benefits outweigh the costs. Below are some of the reasons why you should consider a training program. Training increases your employees’ productivity and adherence to the quality standard of work in the departments. Trained workers are effective, and they rarely make common mistakes, they are consistent in their work, therefore, increasing productivity. These programs help the employees to improve their skills and eliminate problems before they escalate. It also helps the team to stay competitive. Corporate training in Dubai will help your staff to stay innovative; this boosts their creativity and helps the company to stay ahead of the competitors. Tips for Creating an Effective Training Program: The best way to create an effective training program is to start by developing a plan. The following steps will ensure that your training program is useful to your staff and company. Define the Goals and Measures of Success: Before starting the training, you ought to define the base of your program, for instance, the goals and how you will measure the outcome. First, you need to identify the departments or the staff that needs training. Developing a detailed plan for the employees helps you to create an effective program that suits their schedule and needs. After identifying the staff that needs training, you can go on to establish your business goals. You can include all the team-building activities for various departments. Create the Outline of your Program: After establishing your goals and team-building activities, the next step is to decide how to approach the content. Start with the outline and concentrate on the subject you want to address in the program. A simple way to choose a topic is by selecting the topic that suits the employees. Focus on the training goals and objectives. Decide on how you are going to present the training to the employees. Confirm that the audio, visual, and multimedia slideshows work. Create the Plan: To create an effective program, you need to define the learners’ objectives and focus on strengthening their weaknesses. The topic should include a significant area and how the program can help to solve or improve the problem. Choose appropriate team-building activities that help the staff to learn and improve their skills. Decide whether you want to use online resources for individuals or onsite; this depends on your budget. Engage the Audience: The program will only be successful if the learners are engaged. Ensure that your audience can understand and grasp each concept of the program. Confirm that each of them feels comfortable and confident in what they do. Divide the content into smaller parts for better understanding. This helps to avoid confusion and misinterpretation among the audience. Ensure that the learners understand that team-building activities are as important as the rest of the content. Conduct a Test: Before the program, you ought to conduct a pilot test to establish what works and what needs improvement. It is easier to fix the content at this stage rather than when the program is underway. You can even ask the participants to take a survey comment on what they think worked and suggest any improvements. Measure the Success of Your Program: The significance of measuring the success of your program is that it will help you to improve your current and future programs. Once the program is underway, you can start monitoring the engagement and the effectiveness of your program. Ensure that the team-building activities deliver the intended results. Translate the outcome into improvements that can benefit your program and the participants. Measuring the success of the program is as important as training. Conducting surveys and interviewing the workers and their supervisors help you find out whether the desired results were achieved. Ask the employees if they notice any changes after the program. Whether you are a startup or an established company, an effective training program is important for the company and the employees. Training enables the workers to remain innovative and confident in their departments. Remember to conduct a pilot test to improve weak areas and to update the program. Don’t forget to measure the success of your program; this helps to improve your future training. Read Also: Doing Business In The UAE: Pros And Cons Planning The Perfect Event Charter In Dubai 3 Ways To Boost Employee Engagement In Your Business

How Portal Software Improves Communication Between Board Members

6 Things You Should Know Before Starting A Business

Relocating Your Business To Downtown Toronto? Read This First

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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The Value of Business Systems

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How Portal Software Improves Communication Between Board Members

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6 Things You Should Know Before Starting A Business

Relocating Your Business To Downtown Toronto? Read This First

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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