{"id":11381,"date":"2021-07-01T16:57:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T16:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/?p=11381"},"modified":"2021-07-28T16:58:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T16:58:58","slug":"a-new-model-for-association-meetings-and-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/a-new-model-for-association-meetings-and-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Model for Association Meetings and Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent times have ushered in significant changes in the way associations conduct business. Gone are the days when work could only be done in the office, or meetings and conventions could only occur in person. New technologies have created new best practices, and organizations began implementing and adapting to them years ago.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic, of course, only accelerated the pace at which change and adaptation has taken place. As in-person meetings and events have been shelved, organizations have increasingly begun to conduct them virtually. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting and other software platforms have filled this gap, with generally positive results.<\/p>\n

But that alone isn\u2019t enough; per bylaws and other regulations, associations still have to conduct business and make key decisions regarding governance, operational strategy and more. They also have to ensure those decisions are made and processed properly, with discussion, secure balloting, vote counting, reporting and record-keeping.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, associations would handle these important decisions during in-person meetings, either through a paper balloting and manual counting process or some secure technology system. But none of those processes or systems integrate with virtual meeting platforms, and those platforms themselves do not have these capabilities. Put simply, old ways of voting and running meetings just don\u2019t work anymore.<\/p>\n

A New Way of Making Decisions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As a result of these challenges, associations have had to get pretty creative about how to hold meetings and conduct decisions. We\u2019ve seen all sorts of models in play, from snail mail to individual calls and online meetings. None have seemed to work particularly well.<\/p>\n

But software-as-a-service voting platforms solve the potential problems of large-group elections or group decisions made remotely. With a cloud-based voting tool, voting groups can conduct their business regardless of whether or not people are physically in the same place. They also move away from paper, in-person or other newer models of voting, which eliminates the human error and accidental discrepancies that could come into play with such methods.<\/p>\n

With an online system, administrators can take several easy actions through a dashboard:<\/p>\n