5 Steps to Good Governance

Good governance is a cornerstone of businesses of all sizes operating all across the globe.

Yes, good governance is essential for the operation of the company. So, how to keep up with today’s fast-paced digital world? 

That’s exactly where board portal software jumps in to rescue you because it provides a secure space to corporations for effective and efficient collaboration. Here’s why good governance is imperative for corporations smooth working:

• It takes care of the compliance
• It helps in expanding your business
• It helps to manage risks
• It reduces the cost of capital

What is a board portal?

Board software is a cloud-based board of directors software platform that allows trustees, directors, and other members to collaborate, communicate, and share confidential data remotely and efficiently.

Also, board management software not only simplifies fiduciary but offers a complete suite of essential tools including board document management, board meeting management, voting tools, convenient search tools, and a lot more.

Board portal software is indeed a central portal that keeps everyone on the same page.

5 Steps to Good Governance

With growing busyness and changing atmosphere, managing board activity can be ineffective, slow, and dreary. So, how to go about it? To start with, follow these top 5 steps to improve governance:

1. Transparency: Key to Good Governance

It refers to the disclosure of information and data about the company’s systems and processes on time. Shareholders and investors regularly request such information from the directors of the board. When the board of directors can deliver that information, it shows they are efficient and knowledgeable.

Transparency ensures that every member of the board has verifiable and accurate insight into the ownership and profitability of the company.

How can board portal software help?

Board software acts as the centralized file repository, thanks to which internal and external auditors can easily access board material whenever and wherever they need to.

What’s more, every relevant record and data is available within the digital platform, so you can find it in a matter of a few minutes rather than spending hours rifling through paper-based documents.

Also, meeting minutes associated with any meeting can be archived that, in turn, help in evaluating whether the decisions, processes, and actions were above-board and proper.

2. Monitoring organizational performance

Monitoring a company’s performance is one of the crucial functions of the board and a vital component to ensure good governance. 

This is achieved by identifying the organization's KPI (key performance indicators) and setting measures to determine success and failure. It ensures that the business decisions are made in accordance with the organization’s strategy.

How can board of directors software help?

Since the board portal is a digital repository and features task-tracking tools, providing the board director with an overview of board decisions and the overall performance of the board members.

The board executives can review files and read comments annotated on reports made by any board member. It helps them have access to past meetings, audit reports, strategic plans, and policy manuals.

3. Supporting Equal Voices 

We cannot stress enough how important it is to keep the communication channel open for all. Yes, the board of directors should actively encourage other team members to participate equally in board meetings.

Effective collaboration not only helps in achieving the strategic goals of the company but creates a more productive and collegial environment.

How can a board portal help?

The board portal software caters to all your collaboration needs. It allows the board of directors and team members to stay connected through announcement panels, shareable annotations, and secure chat. Also, the solution comes with Q&A tools enabling members to raise their concerns, if any.

4. Having the Information You Need

Timely information leads to better decision-making. Information provided by senior management can enable good governance practices or disable them. Yes, there are times when they don’t have access to the information they need. So, meeting minutes, presentations, and briefing can provide the board directors with the required information.

How can board portal software help?

The board portal provides trustees and directors of the board with a secure and neutral digital space to access all essential board materials which is easily accessible from any device.

Now, company secretaries don’t have to spend hours on administrative tasks as digital board packs make distribution of board packs secure and instant.

With the board portal, the board of directors and team members can easily access essential board files in mere clicks without having to spend hours.

5. Security

The amount of data companies process and retain today is unprecedented. An accidental leak of confidential data is one of the biggest concerns for businesses of any size. Data breaches damage the reputation of the company.  

How can board software help?

The board portal comes in very handy, especially when seeking confidentiality and the safety of board documents and files. The digital solution comes with collaborative features such as messaging tools, secure chat, and other collaborative features.

Also, some of them offer advanced tools such as biometric authentication, regular backups, end-to-end encryption, granular file-permission settings for uploaded documents, etc.

Apart from that, the board of directors should have a good understanding of which skills it has and those it needs. That's because it will help them identify the gap and work towards a productive and collaborative team.

The Takeaway

To keep up with today’s business environment, it is worthwhile for the board of directors to opt for a digital solution such as board portal software to exhibit principles of good governance.  

The board software helps optimize meeting management, seamlessly streamlines the workflow, and offers tight protection.

Nonetheless, make sure you are investing in a solution that fits the needs of your business and has an intuitive interface since not everyone is tech-savvy.