How boards can best benefit from technology solutions
There are myriad challenges to be met, and boards must always be up to date in order to provide valuable input to management. Thanks to technological advances, boards now have many ways to access, view, query and analyse information.
The work of supervisory and administrative boards is currently more demanding than ever before: the time commitment for individual mandates has increased and a broader scope of responsibilities means that efficiency, comprehensive security, the right information at the right time and excellent organisation are required.
Where there are myriad challenges to be met, boards must always be up to date in order to reach valid conclusions and provide valuable input to management. Meetings are about precise preparation and being able to focus on the essentials in order to make decisions that the whole board can stand behind - and that point the company in the right direction.
Thanks to technological advances, boards now have many ways to access, view, query and analyse information. A sound overview proves to be elementary: the board must filter the information available to it, have essentials centrally available and use standardised information flows in order to work efficiently.
In this article, we show how supervisory boards benefit from technological solutions, why effective meeting management is so important and what Sherpany has to offer them.
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What technology solutions have to offer boards of directors
Technological solutions are designed to fully support supervisory and management boards and make their work more efficient - for more overview, better decisions and more security.
Here are some of the benefits that specialised solutions can bring:
Greater efficiency
In a demanding environment, with increased expectations and a greater time commitment to individual mandates, efficiency is a must: it is not only important to perform tasks in a satisfactory manner, but also to make the best possible use of the time available. If you calculate the meeting costs of a board, for example, it quickly becomes apparent that investing in a proven meeting management solution is worthwhile. Technological solutions can enable boards to work efficiently - and thus perform better while saving time.
Clearer overviews
Where boards often have very diverse backgrounds, all members need to have centralised access to information. Functional information flows are at the core of successful work and standardisation of tools is needed to ensure this. For a board to be able to act, its members should be able to access information as well as data at any time and without delay - securely and from any conceivable location. As a result, technological solutions are required to centralise, access and regulate information, including the status of tasks and decisions.
Consistent decisions
One thing is certain: Supervisory boards require a high level of judgement. This is the core value they bring to companies. Software solutions should support this and guide the way to good decisions. This leads via a secure space for collaborative work on - also sensitive - documents, an asynchronous exchange of ideas, targeted comments, centralised voting and digital decisions. The right board software supports supervisory boards by making information easily available at all times. This gives individual members more flexibility and allows them to focus on decision-making at all times - not just in meetings.
Data security and compliance
Security and compliance are core requirements that board meetings must meet. Those who deal with countless sensitive information and documents must protect them effectively. In addition, corporate compliance requirements should be met. Well-protected board software can do just that: it regulates access, guarantees confidentiality and protects against external attacks. It also ensures that resolutions are legally compliant and minutes are valid - in court.
How Sherpany optimises board meetings
Supervision and advice: The core of supervisory board work is already in the term itself. Boards must act in the best interests of the company concerned and its stakeholders. Success is based on providing the best possible support, acting as a unit and making the best possible decisions.
So what does a solution look like that meets the needs of boards - and does so as efficiently as possible? This is where holistic meeting management comes into play, which Sherpany offers specifically for the board sector: From the drafting of the agenda to the minutes and the follow-up of decisions, the demands are comprehensively covered.
In this way, our meeting management software works across all meeting phases:
Before meetings: Preparation
The first thing is to have all the necessary information available as a board: With Sherpany, this is done in a centralised and standardised way in an all-in-one solution - members can access the information from anywhere and at any time without the risk of unauthorised access.
Finally, the agenda can be created intuitively and quickly, with questions answered before the meeting. This is done by the participants working together asynchronously and communicating directly on the agenda with the help of targeted comments.
Through voting, approvals and digital signatures, important points can already be checked off before the actual meeting. This way, all participants are not only well prepared and have clarity, but also save time and can concentrate on the essentials.
During meetings: Focus
In this phase it is important that the participants can fully concentrate on the meeting and are on the same level: Thanks to the preparation in Sherpany, many formalities and questions can already be clarified, so that important discussions and decisions can be made quickly in the meeting. In the meeting, thanks to "presenter mode", everyone has the right information on the individual agenda items without having to search for the relevant points. At the same time, the software provides structure and directs the focus on outcomes, with so-called "nudges" ensuring that meetings run productively.
All these productivity gains lead to much more informed decisions and outcomes from a meeting.
After meetings: Accountability
After the meeting, it is a matter of securing results, taking legally binding minutes and obtaining feedback. It is crucial to be able to follow up on decisions and create transparency - also for future meetings. Minutes linked to the agenda quickly create legally binding records that are centrally and clearly documented. In addition, valid digital resolutions can be created effortlessly. In addition, feedback forms give participants the opportunity to assess the quality of the respective meetings, which in turn allows the meeting leadership (usually the board chair) to make targeted improvements.
Throughout all phases: Security
As security is a key criterion, Sherpany complies with the highest standards, for which military encryption, 2-factor authentication, restrictive assignment of rights, audit trail and a highly secure cloud solution, among other things. Various certifications such as FINMA or BaFin and passed tests prove this.
Thus, supervisory boards are effectively protected by the software from external attacks and security breaches, while confidentiality (secrecy of documents) and compliance - for example through GDPR conformity and non-application of the US CLOUD Act - can also be maintained.
We now no longer share confidential documents via email, but use Sherpany's library.
How supervisory boards achieve a high level of information
Supervisory boards need to be well informed at all times in order to make decisions that really move companies forward. Meetings are the lever that sets this in motion: For them to run ideally, a number of conditions must be met:
- Collaboration is optimised so that participants are informed from any location and at any time from all devices (even offline).
- Information is fully and centrally available.
- There is certainty that the information available is also up-to-date.
- The right topics are on the agenda.
- The exchange works effectively and in a targeted manner so that there are no misunderstandings and little need for clarification.
- There is a secure platform for the exchange of sensitive information.
- There is effective document management.
I can view agendas and documents on all my devices - online or offline - prepare for the meeting and read the various updates and comments.
These are all factors with which modern meeting management helps supervisory boards to work successfully - so they can support the management of a company in a targeted manner and maintain an overview at all times.
In short, Sherpany has the tools that boards need to work efficiently and make a real difference for companies. Not only do they save time, but they also consistently make better decisions.
Dedicated solutions unleash the full power of supervisory boards
Especially in today's challenging times, supervisory boards face clear and high performance expectations: They bear immense responsibilities for companies and make groundbreaking decisions in their interest. This requires the best possible level of information and optimised cooperation as a board.
Dedicated technological solutions effectively support them in acting efficiently, meeting high expectations and making fully informed decisions. For supervisory boards, a holistic meeting management solution covers the requirements excellently: all relevant information is available centrally, decisions are managed effectively and minutes as well as all meeting information are prepared in a clear, secure and legally compliant manner.
