In 2009, the UK government adjusted the Companies Act 2006 with the Shareholder Rights Regulations 2009, allowing businesses to hold virtual board and shareholder meetings. The rule, section 360A of the Act, applies to all UK-incorporated companies, whether public or private. This goes beyond the remit of the EU directive that prompted the change, which only applies to companies whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market.

Board members often experience loss of focus during meetings, which can affect decision-making, productivity and creative thinking. Three aspects that are generally vital during board meetings. Studies have shown that board members do not maintain constant levels of attention during meetings. A meeting slump is very common among board members.

Are you ready for the holidays? The day after Christmas we will hold a dinner party, so we’ve been busy preparing for the last week.  I enjoy the holidays but it can get quite hectic.  Thus even at home I prefer to have a systematic approach.

Has your employer already fully embraced ‘The New Way of Working’? In organisations that have adopted the New Way of Working really seriously, you work when and where you want. It might be from your home office, from the office of a client or in a café, early in the morning or late at night – it really doesn’t matter. There are no problems as long as employees deliver their work as agreed. The result is that increasingly more offices are being laid out with a maximum number of fixed workstations. The rest of them are flexible workstations. 

Just because you work in a hospital, doesn't mean you're surrounded by patients all day. Of course doctors, medical specialists and management assistants in this sector also have administrative tasks and obligations to confer, resulting in long working days. This often needs to be evening work, as daytimes are filled with patient consultations, tests and operations. Unfortunately, meetings have become increasingly complex in recent years; the extensive co-operations/partnerships within the healthcare system are leading to a lack of transparency in decision-making processes. Want to be fit at the end of a long working day? Take advantage of these 5 tips to give your meetings a health check.

Have you ever won a sports competition? Then you know that focus is essential in sports. You have to have a goal and go for it. This weekend around 15,000 runners will experience that during the Rotterdam Marathon.

Good focus is also essential in meetings. Did you know that the average maximum attention span is only 45 minutes? All the more reason to make speed a top priority, also in meetings! Luckily, when it comes to meetings, we can learn from runners!

There's no better source of advice than an expert in the field.

With that philosophy in mind, we interviewed Nicola Reynolds, Board Secretary at Turn2Us, a national charity in the UK that provides financial support to help people who have fallen on hard times get back on track.

We talked about what she has learned during her time as a board secretary, how she handles some of the more challenging aspects of the job, and much more.