Higher workloads mean many boards have been convening more often
The pandemic has created an array of challenges for boards and management, ranging from purely financial concerns to operational issues and human capital management. Understandably, this has created a lot of work and, as a result, many boards have been getting together more frequently.
On average, respondents say their company conducts 18 board meetings a year, including committee meetings. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, almost half (45 percent) of all respondents say the number of board meetings (including committee meetings) has increased. Just over half (52 percent) say that number has stayed constant and just 3 percent say there have been fewer meetings.
There is a fairly consistent pattern across companies of different size. Slightly more than half of respondents at small-cap, mid-cap and mega-cap companies say the number of board meetings has stayed the same since the pandemic emerged, while 43 percent, 43 percent and 44 percent, respectively, say that figure has increased.
Large-cap companies are more likely to have ramped up the frequency of meetings, with 52 percent of large-cap respondents citing an increased number of meetings. The figures for those seeing a decline in meeting numbers are tiny at just 3 percent of small caps, 4 percent of mid-caps and 5 percent of large caps. No mega-cap companies have seen a fall in meeting numbers since the outbreak of Covid-19.
