Holding Virtual and Hybrid Annual Member Meetings

The onset of the global pandemic has created much uncertainty for many businesses. Member clubs and associations have seen a decline in membership and revenue as operations halted and members cannot meet physically — bringing gloom into their performance.

Fortunately, digitalization has transpired before the pandemic, giving birth to virtual meetings and digital collaboration. Annual general meetings are essential in preserving member value by letting members interact with the board or committee about organizational matters.

To ensure seamless and successful virtual annual general meetings for clubs and associations, below are the best practices they can incorporate in their preparation.

Ensure Compliance with Laws and Regulations

It is essential for clubs and associations to observe the hierarchy of these governance documents in such order — state nonprofit corporation statutes, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and board-approved regulations. By checking all these documents, clubs and associations can ensure that holding virtual or hybrid annual meetings is legal and compliant.

In New York, legislation has been made in response to the COVID-19 emergency permanently allowing virtual membership meetings, unless prohibited by the corporation’s articles or bylaws. Similarly, associations or registered societies in Singapore can hold alternative arrangements for their annual general meetings as prescribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Apart from checking if electronic meetings are allowed by these legislations, it is necessary to take note of other requirements critical for ensuring the members’ rights, such as audiovisual broadcast, electronic voting, and real-time Q&A.

Utilize a Virtual AGM Solution

In choosing a virtual or hybrid format for annual member meetings, clubs and associations must consider adopting a virtual AGM solution to satisfy their virtual meeting needs. Using a virtual AGM platform, like ConveneAGM, streamlines the meeting preparation and back-end processes — making virtual and hybrid AGMs easier to manage.

In addition, the best AGM solutions can guarantee user-friendliness of the interface that can emulate the practicality of physical meetings. These are intuitive platforms that are supported on several devices and web browsers — making it easier for members with different digital fluency levels to navigate and exercise their rights.

Virtual meetings are often thought of as insecure and vulnerable to attacks. Using an electronic AGM platform, virtual and hybrid AGMs are secure at all times. Solutions like ConveneAGM employ robust security measures that prevent unwanted access and interference from third parties. These include strict user authentication, intrusion detection, a secure cloud environment, and access controls.

Read: Guide to Conducting AGMs with a Virtual Platform

Empower Member Engagement

Boosting member engagement is one of the problems that clubs and associations have been seeking to address, even in physical meetings. Now that meetings are more welcomed in the virtual format, a virtual AGM solution provides useful features that are crucial for the goals of annual member meetings.

Real-time Webcast of Annual Meetings

Broadcast delays contribute to the low attention and engagement of members during virtual meetings. ConveneAGM is the only solution that offers a sub-second-latency webcast for virtual and hybrid annual member meetings. This ensures that the presentation of reports from executive boards or committees is concurrent with the webcast, allowing members to focus on the meeting. Moreover, captions and audio translation are also generated in real-time — making the meeting equitable and inclusive for all members.

Live Voting

Voting is one of the critical activities in virtual or hybrid member meetings. Using electronic ballots from third-party apps is not sufficient as it has limited capacity and may pose data breaches for security issues the apps cannot cover.

A virtual AGM platform has a live voting feature that allows secure, seamless, and transparent voting. Its electronic voting system enables members to cast their votes conveniently on their screens. ConveneAGM permits members to change their votes within a period after hearing the discussions on resolutions and elections. Once the votes are final, results are instantly tabulated and shown to the members.

For associations that utilize cumulative voting on elections, ConveneAGM provides an interface for members who wish to distribute their votes on multiple nominees or cast all their accumulated votes on a single nominee.

Engaging Discussions and Q&A

The participation and response of the members are vital in keeping the annual member meetings engaging. Executive committees must facilitate open and two-way discussions between them and the members, or in some cases, among the members. Allowing question-and-answer segments in virtual or hybrid annual member meetings promotes transparency and accountability, which drives more engagement.

ConveneAGM offers the live Q&A feature allowing members to have real-time conversations in virtual annual member meetings. It offers two setups for members — asking through textual questions or video calls. This feature can also be used for addressing questions of the members before casting their votes.

In facilitating live discussions, the platform grants members the opportunity to raise their concerns towards the welfare of the association. It could also be an avenue for them to share ideas, opinions, and expertise that may further the association and the industry.

ConveneAGM is an end-to-end virtual AGM solution offering features that help associations and clubs successfully conduct annual member meetings that are compliant, seamless, and engaging in the virtual space. Read on Seletar Country Club’s experience and success in their virtual annual general meeting with ConveneAGM.