The five keys to effective volunteer board meeting agendas

Madeline Gaunt recently stepped into the role of board president at her nonprofit, having served as a board member for several years. Concerned about high turnover, she identified the board’s unstructured monthly meetings as a key issue — members often brought ideas to discuss, but without a clear agenda, meetings ran long and rarely led to decisions, leaving participants frustrated and disengaged.

To address this, Gaunt researched effective meeting practices and introduced a formal agenda to bring structure and clarity. Her new approach outlines discussion topics, assigns speakers and designates time for final decisions and votes, aiming to make meetings more productive and retain committed board members.

What makes an effective board meeting?

Well-run board meetings start with effective agendas. Agendas provide structure to meetings. Without that structure, meetings can easily get off track and amount to discussions with no actions taken. Brainstorming sessions and active discussions are good things, but when that’s all they are, it feels like a waste of valuable time for many people. As a board president or board clerk, the last thing that you want is for board members to feel as if a meeting was a waste of time.

Productive meetings are well-planned events that begin with a board meeting agenda that’s built around key objectives and incorporates input from meeting attendees.

An agenda is a valuable meeting tool that helps keep meetings on track, so they start and stop on time while providing adequate time to address every item on the agenda. A solid agenda and a skilled meeting facilitator provide the framework for a productive and efficient meeting. Meeting planners and facilitators may also assign some type of meeting follow-up so that all attendees are prepared to make the next meeting just as productive.

Creating agendas that promote productive meetings requires some experience and skill. Some states and local governments have requirements about agenda formats. Getting it right is essential. But you don’t have to do it alone. Board management software like BoardEffect makes creating agendas and running board meetings manageable. Most importantly, board software helps board directors to fulfill their responsibilities to their organizations.

Five keys to an effective board meeting agenda

In planning an effective board meeting, it helps to break down the duties into five separate and important steps. Here are the five key steps to an effective board meeting agenda:

1. Pre-plan the meeting

Depending on the type of meeting and the wording of the bylaws, some meetings require advance notice. If so, you’ll need to post a proper notice with the proper information in the proper locations in accordance with the timeframe indicated in the bylaws.

You’ll also need to carefully think through the strategic flow of the meeting. Include items that were designated as unfinished business from the previous agenda and prioritize the agenda so that the board will address the most important issues first.

Put out the word to the attendees and ask if they have any items to add or suggestions for changes. This assures that the board will cover all the important topics and that board members will plan for the meeting. Give them time to get the meeting on their calendar and respond with feedback on the agenda.

Think through the strategic flow of the meeting. Add a note to each agenda item about who will speak and approximately how much time the board will spend addressing or discussing it.

2. Write a well-planned agenda

Start writing the agenda by deciding what the board needs to accomplish during the meeting. What are the goals and objectives they hope to achieve by the meeting’s end?

Most effective board meeting agendas have a similar format that includes

• A call to order
• Officer reports
• Staff reports
• Unfinished business
• New business
• Adjournment.

Add a list of attendees to the agenda so that everyone knows who will be attending ahead of time. Remind those who will be making presentations or announcements of where they appear on the agenda. They’ll be sure to come to the meeting prepared, and they’ll be ready to present at the proper time, which will enhance the flow of the meeting.

3. Ensure that the meeting has a good facilitator

The best-laid plans for an agenda are of little use when you don’t have a good meeting facilitator . A skilled board chair should be able to run the meeting according to the agenda and discourage board members from veering off topic. The board chair will be able to follow the time limits listed on the agenda, tabling the item, postponing the item or delegating it to a committee for further research and review.

Every attendee’s input is important at board meetings. The board chair should know how to draw out all perspectives on the issues and encourages full board engagement in discussions. Board chairs should be familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order, including the order and precedence of motions and how to handle them.

4. Invite the right people

It’s important to identify experts, guests or members of the organization who need to be present. Confirm that key decision-makers will be able to be attend.

5. Follow up and follow through

The end of one meeting sets the stage for how the next meeting begins. Some boards do a short debriefing after their meetings end. This carves out time for the board to talk about the issue of governance. It’s a chance for board members to discuss what worked well, what didn’t work so well, whether they accomplished what they’d hoped to and how well the meeting flowed. Suggestions for improvement may seek to improve the next board meeting even more.

As soon as possible after the meeting, ideally within 24 hours, meeting facilitators should prepare a list of meeting notes and action items to send out to all attendees and follow up to remind them of action items they agreed to address prior to the next meeting. These action items should be included in the next meeting’s agenda as unfinished business.

The board secretary should send out a copy of the meeting minutes as soon as possible after the meeting.

Common agenda mistakes

Poorly structured agendas can do as much harm as having no agenda. The following are mistakes to avoid in agenda creation:

• Overloading the agenda. Too many agenda items will bog down the meeting. Long meetings are difficult for board members and staff, and attention will be waning even among those with long attention spans.
• Not allocating enough time per item. Some topics will warrant longer discussions and deliberations than others. Allocating more time to more complex or controversial items will help board members not to feel rushed to make a decision.
• Placing priority items further down rather than at the top of the agenda. It’s best practice to have the board address items that need immediate attention. Less important items can be tabled or placed on the meeting’s agenda.
• Skipping follow-up actions. Some board deliberations require more information or action. If an individual, either board member or staff, is not assigned the responsibility of follow-up actions, no one will do it. The board will be spinning its wheels instead of getting things accomplished.

How BoardEffect helps board administrators easily create effective agendas

BoardEffect offers many features that can make agenda creation easier for staff and the board president. These features collectively help board secretaries and administrators create more effective, consistent and compliant agendas — while reducing stress and enabling them to focus on strategic priorities

The user-friendly drag-and-drop agenda builder allows board secretaries and others to quickly assemble and organize meeting agendas. The solution offers reusable agenda templates for recurring meetings, promoting consistency across agenda formats and saving significant time on preparation.

BoardEffect lets administrators quickly create, publish and share agendas and supporting documents electronically. Updates or additions can be made instantly and distributed to all participants, ensuring board members always have access to the latest information.

But don't take our word for it, here's what Ruth Shirley, Executive Administrator and Board Liaison, CUES has to say:

“I love the agenda management feature; it helps me create the book faster.”

The software helps ensure compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements by standardizing agenda creation and distribution. This automation reduces the risk of missing key topics or deadlines and makes transparency initiatives much easier.

By automating the repetitive and manual aspects of agenda creation and packet distribution, BoardEffect frees up valuable time for board secretaries and administrators. Users consistently report being able to prepare agendas and board books in a fraction of the time required by manual processes.

BoardEffect simplifies the entire agenda workflow, supporting more productive and impactful board meetings. Request a demo to find out how BoardEffect can help make your agendas and your board meetings even more efficient and effective.