What is the Board Calendar?
A board calendar, often referred to as the board work plan, is an annual plan of items that demand the board's attention. It serves as a roadmap for agenda planning, committee work, and ensuring that your board dedicates time to crucial fiduciary, strategic, board development and evaluation activities throughout the governance year.
The board calendar is a dynamic document that adapts to the specific needs of your organisation. It varies based on your industry, governance model, organisation size, and level of corporate maturity. And it's not set in stone; it evolves to meet changing priorities and demands as the year progresses.
Here's why early planning makes a significant difference:
Efficient Meeting Scheduling: Getting your board and committee meetings on the calendar before Directors and Executive’s schedules fill up, ensures that you can choose dates and times that are most convenient for all participants. This optimisation results in more productive and focused meetings leading to logical, well-timed discussions, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of Board Meetings.
Proactive Preparation: Scheduling time for meeting preparation allows for adequate time to prepare, collate, and distribute materials and board packs, making the meeting discussions more meaningful and decision-making more informed. It also ensures that your meeting time is utilised more effectively.
Improved Attendee Engagement: When meetings are well-scheduled in advance, it enhances participation and engagement from all board members. A structured board workplan encourages and inspires Directors to act with a degree of care, skill and diligence that may be expected from a Director. They can plan their commitments around these critical dates.
Strategic Direction: With a well-crafted board plan in place, you're not only planning meetings but charting a strategic course for the year and establishing an environment in which your Chair, Board and committees can work in harmony. This ensures that your focus is aligned with crucial reporting and compliance deadlines, reducing the chances of missing important milestones.
As we approach 2024, let us adopt a proactive mindset and initiate the development of our board plan early. If you require any assistance in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are dedicated to helping businesses navigate the intricacies of Board and Meeting management, and together, we can ensure that 2024 becomes a year characterised by proactive governance and strategic success.
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