Board portal
Board portals are evolutionary by nature. From on-site file storage in the early 2000s to the more recent integration of AI, board portals have undergone many iterations. Yet, their purpose remains: to streamline board management and aid in better decision-making.
The vast number of board portals on the market can make it challenging to understand what they are, what they are not and what organizations stand to gain by using them. To help clarify the board portal landscape, we will explain:
- The history of board portals
- Why board portals have become central to modern governance
- Key board portal features to look for
- How board portals are used
- Board portal use cases
- The risks of not having a board portal
- A step-by-step guide for implementing a board portal
- A complete buyers’ guide to board management software
The evolution of board portals
Nearly 65,000 companies worldwide use board portals today. That number represents a significant adoption rate since the technology’s advent in the early 2000s and the many ways providers have innovated to meet boards’ needs.
Before board portals
Pre-portal boards relied heavily on paper-based methods and traditional communication methods. Physical mail, fax and, eventually, email were the methods of distributing important documents and meeting materials. Paper board books were also essential; administrative teams would manually create, print, collate and distribute binders of board materials.
These systems were not only time-consuming but also raised security and accessibility concerns. What if a board book got lost in the mail or a director’s email account got hacked?
From the early 2000s to today
Boards first adopted early board portals to centralize file storage and sharing. These portals quickly transformed boards across industries by revolutionizing board management. These secure, centralized platforms enabled directors to access meeting materials, collaborate and make decisions from any device, anywhere. Boards with portals quickly became more efficient, transparent and compliant.
The future of board portals
Board portals are undergoing a new evolution: AI. Further advancements in AI-driven analytics, increased mobile functionality and deeper integrations with key issues like environmental, social and governance (ESG) will likely drive more innovation. At their core, though, all board portal updates seek to streamline common board processes while moving governance forward.
Why are board portals essential in modern governance?
There are countless cogs in the modern governance machine, all of which board portals help run smoothly. This streamlined approach to board operations leads to:
- Efficiency: Board portals simplify communication and document management, reducing time spent on administrative tasks and allowing boards to focus on strategic decision-making.
- Improved security: These platforms offer robust security features like encryption and access control, protecting sensitive information from the wrong hands.
- Accessibility and flexibility: Board members can access materials and documents from anywhere using any device, increasing their ability to participate and engage with the board regardless of their location.
- Compliance and governance support: Many board portals have built-in corporate governance and compliance features, like tracking meeting minutes and maintaining an audit trail, that reduce the compliance burden.
- Cost-effective: Modern boards are challenged to reduce expenses and maximize returns. Despite the initial investment, portals can lead to significant cost savings because they reduce administrative costs and the reliance on paper and shipping.
Key board portal features
Board of directors portals include features intended to simplify and centralize all aspects of board management. Different providers may offer different features, but most boards will need the following from their board portal.
1. Secure collaboration
- Document sharing: Board portal software allows authorized users to share and iterate board books and other key documents with each other and key stakeholders, like external counsel and auditors. Most software includes these features, but free solutions are often limited in scope.
- Version control: Directors can view updated documents and track changes, reducing the chances of errors or duplication of efforts. Retain notes and annotations even when board materials are updated so you have a paper trail for future reference.
- Access controls: Board portals have strict user permissions to protect data you share. This includes the level of permissions a user has and the ability to revert to prior versions of a document.
2. Meeting management
- Meeting minute creation: Board portals can automatically capture key data, such as date and time, to reduce manual minute-taking. Many solutions also have customizable templates that pull information directly from agendas to reduce formatting time and yield more effective meeting minutes.
- Review management: Iterate within a single meeting minutes document to eliminate errors during review. Board portals can also assign and notify specific reviewers, then upload the minutes to the board deck once they are approved.
- Agenda preparation: Creating meeting agendas is much easier using a portal because of features that allow multiple contributors to collaborate. Portals also features drag-and-drop functionality to quickly create, refresh and distribute board agendas.
3. Decision-making support
- Voting tools: Board portals allow participants to vote directly from the dashboard. This allows boards to collect and tally votes in real time, making it easier to act swiftly and decisively.
- Real-time notifications: Many board documents require sign-off. Secretaries can use a board portal to update documents and notify those who need to sign them so obtaining signatures is more efficient.
- Discussion: Some board portals have voting with comment boxes so directors can add narratives to explain their votes. This allows all voices to be heard, especially when conducting a virtual vote.
4. AI-powered reporting and analytics
- Environmental, social and governance (ESG) data: Board portals allow you to collect data and communicate progress on key ESG metrics, like carbon targets. You can also compare your performance against peer benchmarks to gauge where you stand in your industry.
- Investor communications: Board portals also bridge the gap between boards and investors by offering investors insight into aggregated company and peer group information. This includes benchmarks for sensitive topics like board composition and compensation.
- Risk management reporting: Boards can use a portal to collect insights from IT and cybersecurity teams and use that data to manage risk across the organization.
How are board portals used? Tips for making the most out of your board portal
| Before meeting | During meetings | After meetings | Tip | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair | Review and approve the agenda and ensure all materials are ready | Lead the meeting, track discussions, encourage participation | Review action items, monitor task completion | Utilize task management tools in the portal to streamline follow-ups |
| Board members | Review documents and materials, prepare questions | Access real-time documents and updates, participate in discussions | Review meeting outcomes, provide feedback | Use annotation and collaboration tools to make personal notes on meeting materials |
| Corporate secretary | Create and distribute meeting materials, ensure compliance in all record-keeping | Take minutes and record key decisions | Update minutes, archive documents, help board chair track follow-up | Leverage templates and compliance tools to simplify meeting minute creation |
| Exec management | Submit reports and presentations | Present key updates and answer questions | Implement board directives, monitor performanceImplement board directives, monitor performance | Use the portal to track performance in real-time against the board’s strategy |
| General Counsel | Ensure legal documents are included and review risks | Provide legal perspectives during discussions | Ensure compliance and update board on legal developments | Use integrated risk assessment tools to stay abreast of evolving legal risks |
| Legal counsel | Prepare legal briefs and risk assessments | Advise on legal issues | Ensure the board adheres to legal and regulatory requirements | Stay current on regulations with the board portal’s industry updates |
Common board portal use cases
Imagine the challenge of managing a vast network of healthcare institutions and professionals, all while ensuring data security and compliance — this is the task CRICO faces daily.
CRICO insures all Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates. With a network of 26 hospitals, 14,000 physicians and more than 300 other healthcare organizations to serve, CRICO has an immense amount of data to store, search and reference.
Yet, CRICO was weighed down by a legacy process that combined physical processes, encrypted PDFs and FTP sharing to compile and disseminate board books. These tools were not only disconnected, but they also fell short of evolving security and compliance expectations.
“While the board’s ten committee meetings are held in the States, the board director meetings are often international,” Compliance Program Manager Jermaine Joynes says. “Before Diligent, handling over binders to our directors meant there was a risk of the binders being misplaced or getting into the wrong hands.”
CRICO’s need for a centralized data repository, secure document sharing and a collaborative virtual environment is a frequent board portal use case.
“It’s actually made a simple collaborative space rather than drawing from shared drives and pulling attachments out of emails,” Joynes says. “It really has given a central location that allows us to immediately turn it over, present it to the necessary stakeholders and also have control over visibility.”
The company leverages features like:
- Organizing votes and capturing proxies
- Centralizing document storage and dissemination
- Searching the entire corporate records
- Creating a clear audit trail for improved governance and compliance
- Access to historical documents or specific language captured in archived documents or meeting minutes
Risks of not having a board portal
Investing in a board portal is as much about the benefits of having one as well as the risks of decentralizing board activities. A secure board portal insulates the organization from governance shortfalls and risk management missteps. As a result, not having a board portal can expose you to:
- Data breaches and leaks: Email is considered an insecure form of communication, and paper board books can too easily be left behind or paged through by bad actors. Managing information anywhere other than a board portal increases the likelihood of data breaches or accidental leaks that expose confidential information.
- Compliance violations: Board portals create a framework for operations that is compliant by design. Without it, organizations struggle to store importance documents, track activities and record all key decisions securly and compliantly.
- Communication breakdowns: Directors collaborating across timezones can cause delays, miscommunications and confusion. Board portals offer real-time updates and keep communications in one place, facilitating better decision-making.
- Lack of transparency: Audit trails are essential to compliance, but they are difficult to maintain manually. Without board portals, administrative teams may struggle to document all decisions, voting and minutes, which can result in confusing records that are non-compliant and fail to hold the board accountable.
- Environmental impact: Paper-based systems generate unnecessary waste and have negative environmental impacts, which is at odds with many organizations’ ESG goals. Digital solutions like board portals are better for the environment because they cut down on paper usage and shipping.
And this is merely the beginning. We haven't even touched on the risk of forfeiting legal privilege. For example, using external company email addresses for communications with counsel can risk sacrificing attorney-client privilege, as these emails may be monitored by third parties, as exemplified in the WeWork v. Softbank case.
Implementing a board portal
Adopting a board portal can significantly improve governance and efficiency. However, implementing the solution properly is essential. Below are the key steps to take to be successful:
- Assess your needs: What are your organization’s current board management best practices, and what are your paint points? This will help you determine the board portal features you need. For example, if you struggle to keep documents organized, you should look for a portal with robust document management.
- Choose the right platform: All board portals are not created equal, so you should select a provider carefully. Consider not only the features but also how easy the platform is to use, the overall cost and whether you’ll have customer support at onboarding and beyond.
- Engage stakeholders: Get buy-in from those who will need to use the portal, such as the board chair, corporate secretary and IT department. Recruit feedback from a variety of departments to ensure the board portal can meet all needs. Making the business case can also help get leaders on board.
- Develop a roll-out plan: Create a phase implementation plan to introduce the portal gradually. This can reduce friction for those used to manual processes. Include clear timelines and expectations for training, testing and deployment.
- Train users: Often offered by your board portal provider, training is essential to help all users make the most of the portal. Take time to create ongoing support and resources such as tutorials or a help desk to ensure users feel comfortable with the system.
- Migrate data: Transition both current and archived board documents and meeting materials into the board portal. Validate that everything is securely transferred and organized so users can access it easily.
- Test security features: Review the portal’s security features to ensure they meet your organization’s standards. Run security tests to check for vulnerabilities before fully going live.
- Launch and monitor usage: Officially release the portal for all board activities. Monitor usage consistently to make any adjustments that would improve users’ experiences.
- Evaluate and optimize: Regularly review the portal’s performance and gather user feedback to determine how it impacts board operations. Update the portal as needed to take advantage of any new features.
Find the right board portal to maximize your performance
Behind many modern boards, there is a board portal. Today’s boards are pulled between fostering transparency, safeguarding information against new security threats and keeping pace with global changes. Board portals are the secret to doing it all.
Yet, not all governance platforms can keep up with the pressure of modern board management. Download our guide to see the must-ask questions as you research board portals — including the features you shouldn’t purchase a board portal without.
FAQs
What is a board portal system?
A board portal is a digital governance platform that streamlines board of directors’ management and operations. It provides a centralized hub where board directors and other leaders can collaborate and make decisions.
How much does a board portal cost?
The cost of a board portal varies based on features, the size of the organization and the number of users. Pricing can range from $10,000 per year for smaller organizations and upwards of $50,000 per year for more robust solutions suited to large corporations.
Can a board portal integrate with other tools?
Yes, board portals can integrate with a number of third-party tools and systems to streamline workflows. This can include document management systems, video conferencing tools and email and calendar services.
Does the need for a board portal depend on organization size?
Organization size can influence the need for a board portal and its application. Smaller organizations may find features like document sharing and meeting management sufficient, while larger organizations may prioritize advanced tools like compliance tracking and collaboration. In either case, though, a board portal can lead to greater efficiency, transparency and communication.
Download the board portal buyers guide today.
