Quote:
Posted By RobertR1 on 04/02/2010 4:32 AM
E Gads
Scope Creep!
We , it would serve ALL boards well to establish a e-mail protocal for their Board and have it veted by their lawyer, and probably make it part of their documents.
Best advice on thread.
We cannot require that board members have access to or force them to use email.
Our bylaws do NOT make that a requirement of being a board member.
Over the years we have had several board members who do not have email or do not have access to a computer.
For those members, another board member volunteers to print out the emails once or twice a week and drop them off to him (hmmm.....it's usually been a "him" -- wonder why? Oh yea, most of the women on the board have always been working women. Most of the men have been retirees.)
Anyway, once your board decides to use email as a form of communication, it is in your personal and your board's general best interest to craft a very precise protocol regarding email. It should include everything from
what language you use (people can be somewhat "informal" in email and be less than charitable when referring to residents or other board members. I can promise you that will come back to bite your board in the ass at some point);
what topics you discuss (if you are just chatting personal information with a board member or two, the subject line should clearly acknowledge NOT BOARD BUSINESS and be very careful not to let board issues leech into the personal emaild; in addition, if it IS "board business;" as a general rule, all our association business emails start with the initials of our association: "TBHOA: subject;" also, be sure that ALL members are copied and that the business discussed in the email does NOT entail formal voting (unless your state allows for that);
what private information regarding residents is included {remember, email is generally not a "secure" communication);
the frequency of communications and the expected turn-around for replies (trust me, you will always get at least one board member who wants to flash email 3 or 4 times a day over every little thought that hits the brain. This can be disruptive, as we all know. Then there is inevitably the board member who NEVER replies or acknowledges ANY email receipt.
Your policy should address the requirement to at a minimum acknowledge receipt);
the policy for BCC: of all board members in regards to individual board member contact with vendors or residents (our board president is the conduit to the attorney -- any direct email communications with the attorney are bcc'd to the board; if a resident contacts the board via email, one board member is designated as the contact point, any email communication with the resident is bcc'd to the entire board, etc);
and there is much much more that you may want to cover.
There are plenty of resources online that can provide generic email best practices. I would recommend incorporating some of those into your email policy as well.
