Is Your Board Portal the One?
With Matt Maxwell and Andrew Sompels
Traditional Approaches to Board Management Fail
Each board is at a different point in its digital transformation journey. Many boards are still employing inefficient methods like paper materials, PDFs, or homegrown portals. These solutions lead to chaos. Instead, organizations need a single source of truth for everything related to board management.
Ease of Use is Key to Adoption
Your chosen board portal must be intuitive and easy to use. Otherwise, it won’t be used. Administrative staff can quickly get up to speed with OnBoard, and board directors (no matter how seasoned) can easily find what they’re searching within a few clicks.
OnBoard is Dedicated to Your Success
Every board is different, and a one-size-fits-all approach to board management isn’t effective. OnBoard takes the time to understand your unique needs and challenges. Then, we develop a customized launch plan to ensure you’re set up for success and ready to get the most from your investment.
Webinar Recap: OnBoard’s Matt Maxwell, senior consultant, and Andrew Sompels, customer education manager, challenge viewers to reconsider their approach to board management.
A board of directors plays a key role in the success of the organization it serves. This group is responsible for engaging in discussions and making decisions that ensure the organization is set up for success.
But often, boards find themselves relying on PDFs, printed board books, and outdated, feature-heavy platforms that over-promise and under-deliver. These approaches to board management leave directors spending far too much time on administrative management – and far too little time engaging in thoughtful deliberation.
Recently, OnBoard’s Matt Maxwell, senior consultant, and Andrew Sompels, customer education manager, teamed up to discuss why it’s time to trade the chaos of legacy board platforms, PDFs, and Word documents for true board intelligence – and how organizations can ease the transition.
During the webinar, Maxwell and Sompels discussed topics including:
Here, we share some of the top takeaways.
Every Board is at a Different Place in Its Journey
No two boards are alike. Each has different challenges, and each takes a different approach to board management.
“Every board is so different,” said Maxwell. “We’re worked with so many different institutions, and no two do it quite the same.”
Each board is also at a different point on its digital transformation journey. No matter where you are, you’re not alone.
“We’ve seen everything. From paper, email, Sharepoint, third-party portals, legacy portals,” said Maxwell. “Everyone’s on a different part of the journey.”
A Board Portal is Your Single Source of Truth
Proper board management involves a number of moving pieces. Managing these moving pieces via outdated methods like paper, emailed PDFs, shared drives, and homegrown portals isn’t effective. Documents become outdated quickly, and it can be challenging to sift through large email threads to find what you’re looking for.
“You could have the best documents and strategic plan in the world, but if [board directors] can’t find it, it has little to no value,” said Maxwell.
With OnBoard, boards can easily find everything they need – all in one location.
“Everything you need is in one place, and everything is customized to the user,” explained Maxwell. “A digital solution should be the single point of truth for everything board-related. If you don’t feel like you have that, that’s where the conversation starts.”
Sompels also stressed the importance of having one solution for everything related to board management. “It’s the peace of mind that you have one source of truth, whether you’re an admin or just an attendee. It’ll always be the most up-to-date version in OnBoard.”
User Experience is Key to Adoption
Though change is necessary, it can feel overwhelming. As Maxwell explained, “The No. 1 fear I hear from staff and board professionals is, ‘is this going to be easy? Will my board members even use it?’”
This is especially true for boards with seasoned directors who aren’t tech-savvy. “Board members need to get in, get what they need effectively, and get out,” said Maxwell.
OnBoard is intuitive, making it easy for both staff and board members to learn and use.
“In most cases, OnBoard is intuitive enough and easy to use that it doesn’t require training,” said Sompels. “We make sure that our No. 1 priority during training, implementation, and your entire relationship with OnBoard is that your members, directors, and trustees are engaged in the platform, and our goal is to make that as easy as possible.”
A Customized Launch Plan Sets You up for Success
As mentioned earlier, no two boards operate the same. As such, using a one-size-fits-all approach to launching OnBoard isn’t effective.
Instead, every OnBoard customer is assigned a dedicated implementation team and goes through a customized, four-step launch plan. The first step is the kickoff call.
“Every organization is different,” said Sompels. “The kickoff call helps us understand how you build and run your meetings. Then, we can customize our plan to fit how you run your meetings and how you like to learn.”
The remaining three steps are:
“We’re going to make this process customized to you,” said Sompels. “We want to make sure you get the most out of the platform. We’re going to make sure your process with OnBoard is as smooth as possible and catered to your specific needs.”
Ongoing Learning Ensures You Get the Most from OnBoard
OnBoard is extremely easy to use. However, all customers get access to robust tools and resources to ensure they’re making the most of their investment.
One such resource is OnBoard Academy, which is accessible for every customer. After logging on to OnBoard Academy, customers are served customized courses based on their specific plans. There are courses available for administrators and directors. There’s even an opportunity to get certified in OnBoard.
“You can start learning right away and learn at your own pace,” said Sompels.
Other resources available to OnBoard customers include:
Each customer also has an assigned Customer Success Manager (CSM) throughout their relationship with OnBoard. This person is focused on ensuring everyone is up and running with OnBoard and is making the most of the platform.
Take a Crawl-Walk-Run Approach
OnBoard incorporates a number of innovative features and benefits. But using all these features and benefits can seem overwhelming – especially for organizations new to digital board management. Remember: it’s OK to start small.
“Start with the basics,” advised Maxwell. “You don’t have to roll out all the bells and whistles right away. We’re going to be here along the journey.”
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can build from there. The OnBoard team is always available to ensure your success.
“You may have questions six months down the road about a feature,” said Sompels. “You can always reach out to your CSM. We’re always here for you.”
OnBoard is Dedicated to Continuous Innovation
At OnBoard, everything is created with the customer in mind. However, we understand that the business world is constantly evolving and needs are always changing. That’s why OnBoard is always innovating based on customer feedback.
“We’re always making improvements,” said Sompels. “In the future, we’re going to make it even easier for board members to access their materials.”
When you partner with OnBoard, you’re working with a vendor that’s committed to your ongoing success.
“It’s hard to find the one, but having worked with boards for 10-plus years, you’re in the right place with OnBoard,” concluded Maxwell. “It’s our job to make things easier for you.”
Start your journey and unlock unparalleled security, insights, and efficiency with OnBoard.
