The Benefits of Holding a Virtual Board Meeting

Zoom isn’t the only one benefiting from virtually everyone holding online meetings these days. At Castle Group we recognize the advantages holding a virtual board meeting not only provides for our teammates, but for our communities as well.

A community isn’t just a place where a group of people live. Fundamentally, a community is a social unit centered around personal interaction. The quarantines and social distancing required as a result of the COVID pandemic may have unsettled our communities, but thanks to virtual meetings, this foundation was left intact. From the comfort and safety of our homes, online meetings allowed us to gather and communicate with one another. In fact, they allowed snowbirds and absentee owners to join in as well, when they might otherwise have been unable to.

This being said, our communities aren’t just social units. They are also condominium and homeowner associations – corporations that must be managed and operated. By holding virtual board meetings our associations didn’t skip a beat and business was taken care of despite COVID.

While we’ve toggled between the different re-opening phases of the response to this pandemic, we are hopeful that quarantines and social distancing requirements will eventually be put behind us once and for all. However, while in-person connections will always be valued and preferred, perhaps virtual board meetings will remain a viable alternative because of the numerous benefits they provide:

• Some associations have designated meeting rooms, but some don’t. With online meetings, these communities can save time and money finding, reserving, or setting up space.
• You have the ability to have as many people as you want to join virtual meetings, instead of worrying about whether the space is large enough or whether you have enough seating.
• Whether meetings are normally a few floors from your unit, a few blocks from your home, or at the library outside your gates, you can save everyone travel time by holding online meetings. As mentioned earlier, anyone across the globe can now participate.
• There are no distractions as owners join or leave online meetings.
• There is less chatter and more effective communication with virtual board meetings. Using the Question & Answer feature gives everyone the ability to speak in an organized fashion.
• You can poll the audience or take and record votes quickly and easily using online platforms.
• Documents can be shared on the screen for all to see clearly, saving on printing or eliminating the need for projector equipment, and making review and deliberation more productive.
• You have the ability to record meetings for those unable to attend, or for future reference.

Castle’s management philosophy is to combine the best people in the industry with excellent management systems and support both with cutting-edge technology. Holding a virtual board meeting is a prime example of the powerful combination of all three of these elements. As you can see, it’s virtually impossible not to find the benefits in holding a virtual board meeting.