For a Well- Deserved Successful Third- Year Review With a Unanimous Vote

Posted: 12.21.2021

We've all heard the cliche of boards of directors sitting around a tabular array saying "yea" or "nay," just the reality of board voting is much more than complex than that.

From fundraising strategies to plan developments, the decisions that a lath makes take major impacts on its organization'due south futurity. This grouping is responsible for establishing the arrangement'southward strategic direction and creating policies that will fulfill its vision. Typically, those decisions are made through a democratic process determined by majority dominion. With so much riding on these decisions, lath voting procedures and practices need to exist foolproof.

Anybody—especially your board leadership—needs crystal clear directions on what proposals they're voting on and what procedures they should follow to ensure their voices are heard. Motions need to be worded advisedly and so that nothing can be misconstrued, and lath votes demand to exist bandage in an orderly style to maximize efficiency.

At Boardable, nosotros've worked with thousands of professionals to evangelize an exceptional board member experience. Nosotros've witnessed a wide variety of lath voting procedures, and nosotros accept a solid understanding of what an effective process looks like for a wide range of organizations. Using this knowledge, nosotros've created this guide to assistance your board improve its voting procedures, have more productive conversations, and arrive at decisions much quicker. Here's what nosotros'll cover:

• Board Voting Q&A
• Basic Nonprofit Board Voting Procedures
• Best Practices for More Productive Board Voting

Lath voting is a core responsibleness at any organization. There'southward no room for error or unethical practices, especially when the entire organization'southward success is on the line. Permit'due south dive into what effective lath voting looks like, then your team can go more knowledgeable on the right procedures and increase its affect.

But wait! In that location's one more thing before we get started. Effective voting is just one piece of the governance puzzle. Earlier diving into this guide, catch your free governance guide, created by Boardable'south expert board leaders. Y'all'll gain sectional tips for improving activities like voting, strengthening role descriptions, and maximizing certificate efficiency. Download your re-create, then come up back to this guide to flesh out your lath voting processes farther.

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Board Voting Q&A

If yous want to refine your approach to lath voting, you'll demand to take whatsoever lingering questions answered first. Allow'southward look at a few mutual questions that executive directors and other board leaders often have about lath voting.

This knowledge will empower yous to motion forward with conviction when implementing new procedures. Plus, you'll be able to answer whatever questions that new board members have!

What should boards vote on?

Board approval isn't needed for every unmarried action the organization takes, especially those that involve staff members' mean solar day-to-24-hour interval tasks and operational procedures. As a dominion of pollex, exist sure to acquire board approval for any decision that involves significant financial, legal, or program-related matters.

More specifically, hither are some matters that typically need to be brought to and decided upon lath members:

• Setting strategic plans
• Hiring and firing fundamental employees, like the executive director
• Removing a board fellow member from the executive committee or removing a board director altogether
• Leasing, purchasing, or selling existent estate for the organization
• Setting executive compensation
• Blessing a budget, either for the year or a specific entrada or event
• Handling the organization'southward other fundraising matters, such every bit grant outreach
• Assigning committee chairs and members of the executive committee
• Amending the articles of incorporation or bylaws

Exist sure to check your bylaws to run across if in that location are any references to what the board must vote on. For instance, many member-based organizations also take the lath regularly vote on membership tiers, dues, and special perks. Outside of the core voting responsibilities listed above, what your board votes on is entirely up to your arrangement, its bylaws, and the level of oversight needed to operate responsibly.

Exercise all board members have voting rights?

Each board member has one vote on any matter presented to the board. This includes the presiding chair. While some organizations crave that the board chair not vote, this is considered bad practice by others. They should vote, only they should get concluding in club to avert disproportionately influencing a vote.

Some organizations have non-voting participants chosen honorary members. Any person who attends board meetings simply does non have the right to vote is non considered an official board member. Withal, this exercise is not recommended considering these individuals tin be held liable for the board's decisions. Instead, these people should serve as committee members.

At nigh organizations, staff members like the executive director exercise not vote. Having your staff vote is considered a conflict of interest since boards ofttimes vote on matters similar staff cuts and functioning evaluation results. However, there may be specific circumstances when it is admissible. Check your bylaws and local regulations when determining if there are matters your staff should vote on.

Can a lath member vote by phone?

In nearly cases, all board members who are present—either by phone or other electronic means—should be entitled to vote as if they were physically nowadays at the meeting. Some organizations likewise permit lath members to vote past email.

Earlier discussing voting procedures with your board members, check if they're permitted to vote remotely by your organisation'southward governance rules and local regulations beginning. Then, ensure quorum is met and use engineering science that is equipped to handle remote voting.

Instead of having the board member say their determination aloud, leverage virtual voting engineering science that everyone can access from their personal devices. That way, you tin can enable anonymous voting and tally votes for in-person and remote attendees chop-chop.

How do you lot record board votes in meeting minutes?

How you record board votes depends on your organization's governance procedures. Be sure to review whatsoever legal requirements in your state. If there aren't any specific guidelines regarding how you should record board votes, you can take your own approach. Accept these options for example:

• Clearly land whether the motion passed or failed. For case, y'all can write, "The move passed." You could also say, "The motion passed every bit amended," or, "The motion passed unanimously."

• Practise a roll call board vote. In this case, the secretary will read through the scroll, and each board fellow member will cast their vote aloud. Each individual's vote should be written alongside their name.

• Say how many votes were in favor and against the motility. For case, your minutes could say something along the lines of "The motility failed with 2 votes in favor, 6 against, and 1 avoidance."

To simplify the process, many organizations follow the reputable and widely-accustomed Robert's Rules of Social club. These procedures say that when ballots are used, yous should tape the total number of board votes for each side instead of just recording whether the vote passed or failed. When board votes are cast aloud, each member'due south proper noun should be attached to their vote in the minutes.

RELATED: Looking to learn more about recording your meetings? Take a look at our consummate lath meeting minutes guide to make sure you're structuring your minutes in the best manner possible.

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Basic Nonprofit Board Voting Procedures

Now that you sympathise the basics, you're probably asking yourself, "How practise board votes work?"

While board voting procedures vary betwixt organizations, all follow the same structural foundation. Regardless of your board'south exact voting procedures, your system should structure board meetings to help maintain order in the boardroom and make it at decisions in a timely manner.

Let's walk through the general protocol step-by-step and so you can visualize how board voting will await for your own organization. Here's the typical rundown that virtually organizations follow:

Board Voting Pace i) A motion is fabricated.

To put a motion on the floor, a board director must offering a argument that proposes action. For example, they might say, "I move to corroborate the proposed budget for the organization'southward annual gala."

One time a board member makes a motion, another member must second it before the lath can movement forward. When seconding a motion, a board manager isn't necessarily saying they hold with the move; they're merely stating that they hold that the topic is worthy of give-and-take. If it'due south not seconded, the motility dies.

Board Voting Step 2) The board chair opens the floor for discussion.

As soon every bit the motion is seconded, lath members will be permitted to talk about the proposition. They'll have the chance to ask questions, consider all sides, and offer their perspectives.

To keep the discussion orderly, board directors must asking permission to take the flooring to speak, and they must accost their comments to the chair to avert creating a hostile environment.

Lath Voting Stride 3) Amendments are proposed.

When a more circuitous motion is made, there's potential for ambiguity. Board directors should word these types of motions carefully and concisely. Otherwise, it may be unclear to board members what they're voting on.

When word takes place, a lath member may move to better the move for clarity. If the wording of the original motion is completely articulate, you can skip this step birthday.

Board Voting Step 4) The chair determines if the motion will be voted on, amended, or withdrawn.

Later the conversation dies downwardly, the chair will close discussions. If they want to movement forwards, they'll call for a vote. Each board member volition vote one of three ways:

• Yea. The board fellow member is comfortable moving frontwards with the proposed move or the amended version.

• Nay. The board member does not agree that the proposed motion is the best course of action for the organization.

• Abstain. Abstentions are when an attendee does non vote for or against the move, but they're counted as 'yep' in board voting. Board members might abstain from voting if they have a conflicting interest in the result of the vote, for case.

Make up one's mind what method your board will utilise to vote in advance, whether that's via paper ballots, board direction organization, curl call, or some other ways. For more than sensitive topics like board leadership elections, y'all may want to vote anonymously via your lath portal. Afterward the vote, the board secretary should tape the results in the minutes.

Takeaway: Board voting may seem intimidating at first glance, merely later a few rounds of practise, the procedure will become smoother and more than efficient. Be sure to lay down your organisation'due south specific procedures beforehand, so anybody will be on the same page. Then, the chat can focus on insightful give-and-take rather than navigating confusion. We'll discuss a few unproblematic ways to accomplish this below.

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All-time Practices for More Productive Lath Voting

In one case y'all accept a general idea of what your board voting procedures volition look like, you tin bound into refining the procedure. From implementing the right software to encouraging members to speak up, there are many easy steps you tin take. Allow'south take a closer look at some of your options!

i) Use software to ameliorate the lath voting experience.

Today's club is powered by technology, and that extends to board service. The correct organizational software can streamline many of your system's daily tasks, including lath voting. If your board meets virtually, digital voting is crucial for maintaining momentum and making quick decisions, especially in emergency situations when your organization needs input the nearly.

The board experts hither at Boardable have optimized the platform's virtual voting tools to help lath members stay agile and contribute to their organizations. When y'all invest in powerful board software, you'll be able to:

• Access helpful features that permit yous create polls either in accelerate or when motions are made during a meeting.

• Enable bearding voting for more sensitive issues so that anybody feels comfortable sharing their honest views.

• Empower anybody to view upcoming and by polls in a convenient dashboard. That style, they can come prepared with insightful discussion points or quickly reference by decisions.

Regardless of whether you're running virtual or in-person meetings (or a mix of the ii!), these tools are immensely helpful for both your in-person and remote attendees. Whether someone's out of town for work or unable to attend due to a family unit thing, they'll even so be able to actively participate.

Get started with Boardable!

two) Brand sure everyone understands the rules.

When implementing new board meeting procedures, brand sure your team is caught up on the about recent regulations. Also, bring your new board members up to speed as part of their training before their first official coming together. That way, everyone can bound in and participate.

In improver to the steps your board members create, at that place are organizational and local regulations you should exist certain to follow also. Hither are two primary resource you should check to motion forward with voting responsibly:

1. Your Organisation's Bylaws:To outline your lath voting procedures, showtime with your bylaws. What exercise they say about voting? Exercise your bylaws outline what constitutes a quorum? Who tin vote? How can your members vote? Understanding your bylaws volition help you lot understand the bones guidelines and legal parameters for board voting.
2. Local Regulations: All lath members should familiarize themselves with the requirements of the land in which the system operates. With the popularity of electronic voting, ensure anybody understands these regulations in-depth to operate inside state standards.

If you lot are operating remotely, yous should review these rules in even more depth. With both of these resources, not only should you double-check how members tin vote (e.one thousand. via email, telephone, board portal, etc.), but you should as well make sure they're able to vote remotely in the beginning identify. If they are, are there whatsoever additional considerations you should go along in mind? Going the extra mile to practice effective governance will prove invaluable in your board's decision-making.

iii) Encourage everyone to actively participate in discussions.

In nearly cases, your board members volunteer to serve your organization, not to sit back in board meetings and let a select few dominate the discussion. Each fellow member resides in a position of power because they bring valuable insights to the table. Encourage them to exercise their skills by actively participating in discussions before voting on of import decisions.

Created by Boardable'due south experienced board direction specialists, our guide to board engagement warns confronting lack of participation:

"When your team brainstorms ways to maximize organizational impact…poor participation levels can decrease productivity and negatively influence other attendees' enthusiasm."

Agile participation volition boost date and ensure all voices are heard. That way, everyone will ultimately have a say in every matter, making it less probable that someone will openly contest the end results.

RELATED: If participation has fallen by the wayside while operating remotely, take a look at our guide to virtual board meetings. You'll learn how to maintain momentum and reignite board members' passion in your meetings.

4) Be cautious about how board members vote on of import issues.

While remote voting is certainly beneficial, your lath leadership should exercise caution when deciding on important bug, like electing new lath leadership or selecting an executive managing director.

Everyone should participate in the discussion to hear all sides of the affair in these cases. Before the state of affairs ever occurs, exist sure to think through these questions for when a board fellow member tin can't participate and hear all sides:

• Should they exist required to vote on the measure afterward?
• Do they forfeit their vote?
• Where practise yous draw the line on being present at a lath meeting as a requirement to vote on motions?

If a lath allows remote voting, there should exist specific guidelines well-nigh when it is permissible. The bottom line is that your board should be cautious almost how board members vote so that the organisation stays on the right path moving forrard.

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Wrapping Up The Discussion on Board Voting

With your organization's success relying on the board'due south decisions, effective board voting procedures are not something your team should gloss over. Your organisation and all stakeholders who support your initiatives deserve the assurance that voting is effective and transparent.

Effective board voting starts with a sound structure and is refined through plenty of exercise. Remember, defended software similar Boardable's Polls + Virtual Voting characteristic can streamline the board voting procedure, so your team will spend less time navigating meeting procedures and more than time making impactful decisions.

At present that you sympathize the nuances of board voting, yous tin move frontwards with conviction! If yous're looking to acquire more near constructive board management, cheque out these slap-up resources to develop agile and motivated lath directors:

• How to Run a Board Meeting that's Engaging and Productive. Brand sure your meetings are highly productive, so your team can have enough time to talk over important matters that require an official board vote.

• Young Professionals Board: Does Your System Need One? Thinking about creating a young professionals board to handle some of your master lath'south work and enable the board of directors to focus on effective conclusion making? Bank check out this guide to find out what you need to know.

• Board Fellow member Recruitment: How to Build a High-Impact Lath. Struggling to detect the right lath members to put your organisation on the correct path? Cheque out our complete guide to lath recruitment, so yous can start edifice your lath with the best foundation possible.

Desire to make sure your governance practices are in top shape beyond strengthening your voting procedures? Don't forget to download your copy of The Nonprofit Board Governance Guide: Everything Y'all Need to Know. Share this due east-book with your leadership and so that your CEO and board can accomplish more than than always!

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Source: https://boardable.com/blog/board-voting/

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