Corporate Secretary and BoardBookit reported the results of an online survey of 114 corporate governance professionals and other respondents worldwide (76% US) conducted in July and August 2020 about COVID-19-prompted changes to select board and committee meetings practices.
Key findings include:
- Meeting format: 90% of all respondents used videoconference calls for board and committee meetings this year compared to just 18% using that format in 2019. Use of telephone conference call meetings in 2020 is generally on par with 2019, as shown here:
- Meeting frequency: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the majority of all respondents (52%) indicated that the number of board and committee meetings has stayed the same; however, 45% say the number has increased. Looking at variations by company size, more than half of large-caps (but not mega-caps) said the number of meetings had increased.
- Board portals: Use of board portal meeting platforms for board and committee meetings varies by company size, with smaller companies less likely to use these platforms (e.g., 65% of small-caps vs. 93% of mega-caps). Not surprisingly, of those that use board portals, certain features such as eSignature, voting, and remote meeting capabilities, have moved up in priority since the onset of COVID-19.
See our prior report: "Quick Survey: COVID-19 Impacts: Board/Committee Meetings." This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!