Independent Banker - December 2024 - 21

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pages, 11 times a year, for each of its
11 directors. This amounted to more
than 30,000 pages annually.
But with board software, relevant
materials can be dragged and dropped
into a folder and changed-even up
to the last minute if necessary. " Three
minutes before the board meeting,
we could make a major change and
everyone would get it, " says Dick.
JBT has also been using board
software for about 10 years, and
Peters loves how much paper the bank
saves. " It literally saves reams and
reams of paper and time compiling
this stuff to send out, " he says.
Ryan Gilkerson, president and chief
executive of Community Bankers of
West Virginia, likes the ability to send
the board's agenda online through
the state association's platform and
upload meeting notes as well as any
relevant documents. " It keeps us more
organized and more on task, " he says.
Communicating more clearly
MainStreet Bank uses the board
management platform to provide
relevant online reading material
directly to its directors. This can
include information on topics
related to the bank's business lines,
the economy and market-share
insights-materials that might be
difficult or cost-prohibitive to print
out in bulk, Dick says.
Directors can also make notes on
" [Board software] keeps
[my state association] more
organized and more on task. "
-RYAN GILKERSON, COMMUNITY BANKERS
OF WEST VIRGINIA
documents and share those notes
with other directors. No one else
can see the notes unless the person
shares them, Dick adds, noting that
the community bank also uses the
platform for some of its management
committees. It's all cloud-based, so
the bank doesn't have to worry if
there's a fire or another issue at its
offices, he says.
Gilkerson likes that the board
software platform his association uses
links directly to Zoom-a bonus for
meetings that not everyone can attend
in person, he says.
Even banks that have been using
board software for years may be able
to benefit from new functionality,
says Josh Palmer, head of content at
board software provider OnBoard.
He recommends community banks
ask their provider about new or
additional features that could
be helpful.
QUICK STAT
30K
The number of paper pages used
by MainStreet Bank annually before
switching to board software
OnBoard, for instance, has a
feature that allows digital voting for
loan committees. This allows loan
committees to approve or reject loans
in essentially real time without the
need to meet in person or digitally,
Palmer says.
The provider also recently
launched a secure AI feature. If a
board member has a question about
something in the packet, such as the
bank's financial goals for 2025, AI
helps answer the question, Palmer
says. He adds that, importantly, the
data isn't fed into an outside large
language model; it stays within each
customer's portal.
Addressing security concerns
With board software, it's easy to track
who has signed into the portal for
added security. Before switching to
board software, JBT had little control
over how board members stored or
disposed of bank-related materials
they were no longer using, despite
its best efforts to keep close tabs,
Peters says.
" We look at paper as one of the least
secure forms of storing information,
because it can get lost, it can get
mislaid and it can get compromised
or stolen, " he says. " It can also get
photocopied and disseminated. "
Banks can also set up rules related
to where the software can be used.
MainStreet Bank, for instance,
typically only allows directors to use it
on a bank-issued iPad.
In terms of cost, fees for board
software platforms can vary
depending on factors such as the
number of users and enabled features,
but bankers say it's worth the expense.
According to Dick, " It probably
saves us at least one full-time
equivalent employee. "
Cheryl Winokur Munk is a writer in
New Jersey.
independentbanker.org // 21
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - December 2024

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