Board Meetings

It always amazes me that people run for the Board and are not available for Board meetings or don’t respond to emails. Most of the time the email is asking for a date they may be available for a meeting or an interview of a prospective buyer. Common courtesy would dictate that they respond to emails after all they volunteered for the position! It seems that some buildings have problems scheduling meeting dates that everyone can attend.

Buildings handle meeting scheduling in different ways. Some have regularly scheduled meetings (third Thursday of each month let say) or some just call meetings when needed. Meetings work when there is a lot going on and the Board has to discuss issues at great length. There is always some absentia because people have commitments that pop up or just get stuck at work or in traffic. Usually there is a lot of chit chat at the beginning and it can be kind of a social gathering for some. Last week I was at a meeting and we waited 20 minutes for two members to arrive because they were delayed in transit. What a waste of every ones time! Once they arrived the meeting lasted 40 minutes. Several of our buildings have found a way to handle this – conference call meetings. It is surprising how efficient the meetings become. Each director is supplied with a conference calling number and a pass word. They call in at the designated time and presto, everyone is there. An agenda and all necessary documents, including minutes are e mailed out in advance. Those who need clarification on the agenda, call for an explanation in advance. Whoever is running the meeting goes down the agenda item by item, asks each director their opinion, if there is a vote it is taken and in a very short time the meeting is over. It eliminates cross talk and side conversations and makes for a very efficient meeting. It may not work for every building, but just think you could be driving home and be at the meeting, you could be sitting in the privacy of you own home in your underwear attending the meeting. The possibilities are staggering.