A well-written agenda for board meetings can ensure an engaging and productive discussion and will discuss the most important issues of the company. Whatever the format of your meetings are held in person or online the use of a well-planned agenda will allow participants to be active throughout the duration.
An effective agenda begins with a clear call to order which signals the beginning of the meeting and any related proceedings. This could include the name of the chairperson as well as an explanation of the purpose of the meeting.
The next board meeting agenda should include a brief report or presentation by the executive director or CEO on the current performance of the business and major initiatives. You can also include a section with the reports from the nominating, finance and governance committees.
If your organization hosts guest presentations or open forum discussion, allocate time for those. You should also include space for announcements of any kind or felicitatory remarks. You should also leave room for any future business issues that need to be discussed or followed up on.
Distractions from topics for discussion is a typical issue that can hinder the pace of your meeting. Make sure you include parking space at the end of your agenda so that you can push ideas that are new for discussion. Also, include a rough estimation of the time each topic will require to discuss. This will help you avoid overrunning the timeframe for board meetings. If you aren't able to come to a conclusion on a topic, you can move it to the next board meeting to keep the agenda on the right track.