Learn how EKF chose Directors Desk Board Portal to Streamline Their Board Practice

When managing multiple board meetings a year, looking for a solution to streamline the process isn't always an easy endeavor.  We recently spoke with our client, Iben Tjelum, Associate Director / Executive assistant, Secretariat at EKF, Denmark’s official export credit agency, to learn firsthand how she and her team made the transition to a board portal solution:

What was most important to you and your board when choosing a board portal?

Security and efficiency

We wanted to ensure that whatever solution we were using was safe when storing our confidential board materials. We also wanted a solution that would allow our board members to receive the latest board materials as soon as they were available.

What advice would you offer an organization who is considering a board portal solution?

Examine the readiness of your board. 

Ensure that your board is ready to transition to a paperless board meeting. This means involving them in the process by showing them the solution, offering cost benefit analysis, and offering training, if needed.  There are organizations that can easily function without a board portal solution, but it is up to the Corporate Secretary to challenge their board.

Look at functionality and ease of use.

Make sure you have the vendor walk you through the entire product. Let them know what your pain points are and how the solution solves these. Prior to implementing Directors Desk, board book assembly was a major pain point but after walking through the solution with the Product Specialist, I realized that I would be saving time, money and energy. For your board, make sure that the solution is turn-key and requires little to no training. Our board members are busy and often manage multiple boards, so choosing an intuitive solution is the best answer.

Mobility.

With busy board members travelling multiple times a year, it is essential that the solution have mobile applications. Boards are becoming much more tech savvy and require instant accessibility no matter where they are located. The Directors Desk application provides this and also gives board members the flexibility to attend meetings virtually.

What are three Directors Desk features that save you and your board time?

1.  The iPad application – it allows our board members to stay on top of important matters while on the go.
2. Document Center – our boards can easily access documents the minute they are made available.
3. Survey Tool – it provides the flexibility to create surveys and launch them at no additional cost.

To read the full EKF Case Study, please click here.