Meeting Support
We support your meeting, whether it’s an AGM, board meeting, town hall, or another important co-op gathering, so you can focus on what matters most: your co-op.
How We Help
Our team of hosts, technical support consultants, and election specialists can help with the details that keep your meeting running smoothly.
Looking for more flexible options for holding your co-op meetings? Need support or tools to have an effective online meeting? We can help with virtual board meetings, general meetings (including hybrid meetings), town halls, and more.
We also have tips and recommendations about best practices and how to prepare for various kinds of meetings.
Virtual Meetings
We offer a range of fee-based virtual (and hybrid) meeting services. Since May 2020, CHF BC has supported co-ops with virtual and hybrid meetings, including AGMs, general meetings, board meetings, town halls, elections, and other important gatherings.
Our Meeting Support Services will work with you to understand what support is needed and help create a meeting experience that is clear, accessible, and well-organized.
Member Feedback
“CHF did a great job with this meeting.”
“The facilitation, technical support and behind the scenes assistance were excellent.”
“We were so pleased with the way CHF BC handled our budget meeting online that we’d like to get on the calendar again for a GM in October and our AGM in December.”
If you have used our service and have suggestions or comments
Meeting Support Services: Roles
Apart from a robust digital platform with rich features (like Zoom or GoToMeeting), a successful virtual meeting needs people.
A successful virtual or hybrid meeting needs more than a meeting link. It needs the right people in place to support the chair, manage the technology, and help members participate with confidence.
CHF BC uses Zoom as our main platform for virtual and hybrid meetings.
Depending on the size and needs of your meeting, our trained consultants can support one or more of the following roles:
- Host
- Technical Support People
- Election Support People
Your meeting may need one or more of these depending on the nature of your event. CHF BC has trained consultants capable of acting in each of these roles.
Small virtual meetings may only require a Host or a Technical Support Person.
Larger meetings generally require both for smooth functioning, particularly during the registration and troubleshooting phase, before the scheduled start time.
Meeting Roles
Host
There are a lot of practical elements to a virtual meeting that have to be settled before the meeting actually takes place.
A Host gathers information and ensures the right virtual meeting platform is selected to meet the needs of the co-op.
The Host will:
- Support the chair in ensuring all necessary items (e.g., meeting notice, draft agenda, etc.) are received by the chair from the co-op
- Create and advance a presentation
- Set up a practice run for presenters (and other interested directors!) to ensure agreement on how voting, meeting agreements, speakers lists, and general meeting flow will work
- Answer technical questions
On the day of the meeting, the Host can:
- provide assistance with registration and technical issues.
Hosts:
- Provide opening remarks on the use of the selected platform so members can participate with confidence and clarity
- Advance (and edit) the presentation
- Manage a speakers list and when participants may be heard (with guidance form the Chair)
- Moderate the chat box
- Monitors and notes quorum throughout the meeting
- Can manage break-out rooms
- Can prepare and launch polls
Chair
CHF BC is here to help you with independing, professional chairpeople. With each chairing consultation, meeting chairs share important information and advice on meeting process. Reach out to us to learn more!
A meeting chair is one of several people supporting co-ops in practising the principle of democratic member control.
Ideally, this person has the qualities of impartiality, respectful, patient, trustworthy and demonstrate ability to be a firm leader.
The chair’s responsibilities include:
Before a meeting:
- confirms that the Notice of Meeting complies with the co-op’s Rules,
- will confirm meeting requirements like quorum as well as nomination process for an AGM, for example, and,
- works with the board to make sure the meeting agenda is manageable and compliant with any requirements set out in the co-op Rules
During the meeting:
- calls the meeting to order,
- ensures voting on motions is done properly,
- adjourns or ends the meeting if agenda is completed,
- …and more!
Technical Support Person
A lot of what makes a good meeting is invisible, but background technical support is critical.
Before a scheduled meeting starts formally, participants often need time to sign in, test their connections, ask technical questions, and get support with any issues. During the meeting, the Technical Support Person also helps monitor the chat, manage muting and unmuting, and support participant audio and video.
Tech Support Consultants assist with:
- tracking participants as they register for a meeting,
- addressing technical issues, monitor chats,
- bringing forward comments to Hosts and Chairs,
- serving as backup on presentations.
Election Support Person
Elections and secret ballot votes need a process that members can understand and trust. CHF BC uses a dedicated election platform called ElectionRunner.
The Election Support Person launches and manages the voting process so it is clear and confidential.
Election Support Consultants
- Prepare the digital voting platform
- Confirm the voter list
- Update the ballot in real time
- Launch and monitor the vote
- Support members with voter access
- Answer process questions
- Accommodate members joining by phone
- Support scrutineers
- Share the results with the chair and scrutineers
- Set up another round of voting, if needed
- Ensure voting records are handled appropriately (destroyed or kept as decided by members)
Member Services and Fees
Take a look at our service offerings and find the right option for your upcoming meeting.
Intake Form
Ready to book your meeting with us? Fill out our intake form.
Questions?
Let’s talk through your co-op needs together.