Philip Yates Family Holdings (PYFH), through Gentech Seeds Pty Limited in Australia and Genetic Technologies Limited in New Zealand, is the licensed producer-distributor of Pioneer Brand Products. The Board of PYFH has been using Convene since June 2017 for their meetings.
Jason Morris, Chief Financial Officer of Philip Yates Family Holdings, discussed their transition from heavy board packs to an easy and convenient electronic meeting solution.
“PYFH holds board meetings at least 10 times a year. Considering that every participant received a board pack around 200 pages long for every board meeting, this meant that PYFH used at least 22,000 pages for board packs annually. In a year, that’s 10 working days spent on preparing for board meetings alone,” he stated.
Jason further added that, “Convene is very simple and intuitive. Papers can be easily uploaded, published, updated and re-ordered. The use of Convene has simplified the administration of board meetings and reduced time and effort associated with same, along with a reduction in printing and paper use.”
Intuitive and User-Friendly
PYFH wanted a user-friendly solution given that it was their first time to adopt new technology for their board. Thus, they appreciated how they didn’t encounter any issues, challenges, or learning curves when they first tried Convene as their electronic meeting solution. They found Convene to be straightforward, simple, and self-intuitive, just like they hoped their chosen tool would be.
According to CFO Jason Morris, with Convene, “Papers can be easily uploaded, published, updated and re-ordered. They can also be easily downloaded and converted into sorted and referenced meeting packs.” He also mentioned that using Convene simplified the administration of board meetings, lessened time and effort associated with it, and reduced printing and paper use.
PYFH also considered Diligent BoardBooks as an electronic meeting solution, but eventually chose Convene for its lower price point and outstanding recommendations from various organizations in both Australia and New Zealand. They also liked Convene’s extensive security features, which were key considerations in PYFH’s selection process.
Streamlined Meetings
Board pack distribution had been a struggle for PYFH back when they did everything manually. As mentioned, it took them a whole day to get everything ready before using an electronic meeting solution. But with Convene, it takes only a few minutes and clicks to collate files, export them into one digital board pack, and distribute updated copies instantly. Their whole process is now streamlined – and directors don’t need to carry heavy board packs anymore.
Currently, PYFH uses Convene mostly for meeting preparation. Their board meetings are held in person, so there’s still no need for them to use the remote meeting functionality. However, Morris says that eventually the need may arise, so they’re already looking forward to exploring Convene’s other features as an electronic meeting solution in the future.