Despite the spread of COVID-19, people continue to attend governance meetings online. Although this can be an inconvenience for those who would prefer to be in person, it’s an excellent opportunity for the administration to show their flexibility and civic engagement.

The most important thing is to ensure that the appropriate technology is in place to allow participation in meetings, with video, voice and screen sharing as Data Classification key elements. Many organizations rely on emailing information packets with attachments or file-sharing software with folders that can be downloaded. However, these options don’t support the well-organized process and distribution of agenda items.

Another challenge is that it’s harder to have conversations with friends that are normally part of face-to-face gatherings. It is also an important way to build relationships and build trust. By introducing the meeting early, and allowing time for informal conversations, or using the chat function within your virtual meeting platform, you can help create the relationships that are essential to ensure a strong and efficient governance.

Governance meetings can be used to refine the roles and responsibilities in case new team members join and roles are changed or a new task is needed. This will help to ensure that these discussions don’t take over other meetings and help the team to be more effective and efficient.