Boardeffect

About BoardEffect

BoardEffect is an Australian board portal developed in 2009. In 2016, BoardEffect became a Diligent brand following its acquisition by Diligent Corporation.

Today, BoardEffect operates worldwide, enabling board management features for 40,000 boards in the education, healthcare, and banking industries. It helps organizations centralize board-related information and meeting materials on one secure site. This software allows executives and secretaries to create and distribute board materials, hold meetings, and vote on critical decisions.

What is BoardEffect best for?

BoardEffect’s modern governance tools make board directors more agile in their decisions and help them optimize the following processes.

Meeting management

BoardEffect allows for easy management of board meetings, saving time on the commute and paperwork thanks to the following features:

• Meeting calendar. Create meeting events, assign attendees, and attach agendas. You can manage attendees from the invite list and see all committee meetings in the calendar section.
• Agenda builder. Add meeting sections, descriptions, and files in the interactive agenda builder. You can also use saved meeting templates for new events.
• Minutes manager. Create meeting minutes using a dedicated tool. Assign actions, add new sections, and edit your meeting minutes at any time.
• Board book viewer. Board members can view PDF board books using an in-built browser. You can switch between board book sections in the clickable table of contents. 

Document management

Board directors can go entirely paperless thanks to the BoardEffect portal’s document management features:

• Board information upload. You can upload up to ten files in PDF, MS Word, Excel, and other formats at once using the drag-n-drop feature. You can also rename files upon upload.
• Content organization. The system ensures truly easy management of board resources. Create, delete, rename, and rearrange folders within your resource library and move files to new locations.
• Board book editor. You can edit PDF board books on the platform, enabling sticky notes, comments, and free-hand drawing. Both original and annotated board books are available for download.
• Content search and display. You can sort files by name and date modified. To locate specific files, enter the file name and description in the search bar.

Collaboration efficiency

Government entities and organizations develop strategic plans faster and communicate in one site thanks to the following BoardEffect board management tools:

• Emails. Board members can contact each other on the platform directly. You can browse user contact details and send messages with attachments.
• Surveys and polls. Manage configurable surveys and polls with different types of questions. Board members can preview completed surveys and edit their responses.
• Tasks. You can add tasks to meeting events and track their completion. Receive reminders and notifications about current and upcoming tasks.
• Meeting scheduling tool. You can create specific polls to schedule meetings. Assign responders, receive feedback notifications, and leave comments.

Security management

BoardEffect provides the following security features:

• Permission-based access. Control what users can see and do in the boardroom based on their duties. Administrators can render selected folders invisible to everyone else by assigning authorized collaborators.
• Reliable security measures. Use single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication, and password settings to protect your data. Beyond that, data backups allow you to recover board materials on any device.
• Boardroom activity reports. Get reports on system logins, meeting attendance, permissions, and user profiles. You can also create custom report fields and track individual user activity.

Features Overview

Use cases by industries

The BoardEffect platform proves useful for boardrooms in several industries, including but not limited to government, banking, education, and healthcare. 

Credit union organizations

BoardEffect has been powering community banks and credit union institutions since 2009, helping them combine security, transparency, and compliance. 

Efficient scaling is another way banks use BoardEffect. Unlimited storage space, boardroom reporting, and communication tools help financial institutions keep up with their growing needs.

Educational institutions

Many higher education institutions rely on BoardEffect to ensure secure communications and boost organisational performance. It includes approving strategic goals and annual budgets, incorporating fundraising programs, and adapting to new challenges.

Most importantly, university boards can rest assured that strategies and financial records remain confidential.

Healthcare systems

BoardEffect helps healthcare systems establish better communications across multiple governing bodies and save time preparing the board books.

Community healthcare systems use BoardEffect mainly to replace cumbersome applications with a seamless management platform.

How to start using BoardEffect?

You need to contact BoardEffect’s customer service department to start using the board portal. You can also request a free demo of BoardEffect features.

Besides, you can subscribe to a free trial and access a fully-functional board portal via web browser or Android and iPad app.

Lastly, the BoardEffect team provides extensive training options, including whitepapers, how-to guides for administrators, and personalized webinars. 

Many BoardEffect customers say they get accustomed to the platform’s functionality in a few sessions thanks to a super helpful onboarding support team.

Pros and cons

BoardEffect customers choose this platform because it turns cumbersome paperwork into a few clicks of a button. But based on user reviews, this boardroom software delivers a few more advantages.

Pros

BoardEffect users point out the following advantages of the app:

• Video collaboration. Board members appreciate that they can hold remote video meetings thanks to seamless integration with Zoom.
• User-friendly interface. BoardEffect customers say they do all critically important work on this board portal with minimal guidance or support.
• Mobile-friendly app. BoardEffect is available on Android, iPad, and Amazon Kindle, helping customers make decisions on the go and view files offline.
• Full contact directory. It’s easy to communicate with each other thanks to members’ head shots and contact details in a dedicated contact directory.
• Responsible developers. BoardEffect improves its board portal based on customer feedback.

Cons

Some customers mention a few difficulties while dealing with this board portal:

• Limited agenda customization options. A few users say BoardEffect lacks agenda customization options compared to similar apps.
• Clunky website. Some users say this company could fit BoardEffect product descriptions into fewer pages.
• Limited permission levels. It would be excellent if BoardEffect developers introduced more administrator permission levels.
• Narrow non-board functionality. Some organizations need more app integrations and non-board features.
• Third-party advertising. Some BoardEffect customers don’t like third-party cookies collected on this platform.

FAQ

Is Boardeffect Board Portal safe?

Yes, Boardeffect is ISO-27001, SOC-1, and SOC-2 certified, as well as being compliant with HIPAA standards. The portal deploys a range of security functions that include encryption, user controls, remote shredding, and multiple-factor authentication to ensure sensitive documents are kept safe.

How to protect documents on Boardeffect?

Boardeffect board admins can assign or remove user access permissions, keeping good security hygiene on sensitive documents and folders.