User-Friendly Board Management Platform!
December 28, 2021

User-Friendly Board Management Platform!

Cassie Korando | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with OnBoard Board Management Software

OnBoard was my company's first venture into the world of online meeting management. We viewed several options and ultimately selected OnBoard because it was user-friendly and met our established needs. In the over 4 years we have utilized OnBoard, it has exceeded our expectations. Prior to OnBoard, all board and committee packets were paper. They were prepared in advance which sometimes required addenda when additions or revisions were made. We spent a lot of time preparing, mailing, and if needed, updating the packets. At the end of board meetings, the paper packets were typically left behind on the conference room table. Transitioning to OnBoard has saved a tremendous amount of time and effort, not to mention paper and postage. Some of our board members were initially hesitant to utilize an electronic platform. We have board members of varying ages and some have served for upwards of 15-20 years. They, in particular, were set in their paper ways. All have successfully transitioned to adeptly using OnBoard, including survey and electronic signature features. Our new board members are immediately introduced to OnBoard for onboarding components and rarely need assistance figuring it out because it's so user-friendly and easy to navigate.
  • Allows for easy additions or changes to the board packet.
  • Provides imbedded electronic signatures easily linked to appropriate agenda items.
  • Provides an easily downloadable copy of the packet and agenda.
  • Allows companies to upload documents of significance such as Bylaws into a centralized Resource Center which is securely accessible.
  • Customer support is excellent. You can always get a timely answer via phone or email. The follow-up on issues that can't be resolved immediately is very timely and thorough.
  • I'd like to see the electronic signature feature upgraded to allow signature box rotation. Sometimes documents are a combination of portrait and landscape and the current setup only recognizes one orientation when inserting signature boxes.
  • There is a syncing issue that occurs during seasonal time changes that sometimes prevents users from accessing OnBoard. Our IT department has needed to help board members resolve this and regain access.
  • There are several new features to OnBoard now, but they come at a cost. While it's nice to demo these features, it would be great to have some new features included in the already purchased package instead of at an additional cost.
  • The Zoom integration is nice but doesn't meet our needs. You do not have screen share or other Zoom features available while using it integrated within OnBoard. For remote meetings, we use Zoom and screen share OnBoard within its own browser.
  • Electronic signatures.
  • Downloadable agenda, attendance and packets.
  • Ability to modify agendas and packets easily and quickly.
  • It has saved us money on paper and postage.
  • It has streamlined annual processes for conflict of interest, confidentiality, and other routine processes via its electronic signature and survey functions.
  • The cost increases annually and if you want to add newly released features, so it could at some point become too expensive to maintain as our chosen platform.
While some evaluated competitors included the same features as OnBoard, they were complicated to use and navigate. Being adept with technology and having trouble with them in demo versions, I couldn't imagine presenting them to board members who work primarily with paper and are used to paper packets. OnBoard was substantially more user-friendly and intuitive to use. Other competitors evaluated didn't offer the integrated survey and electronic signature features that OnBoard does. These were must-have features for us when choosing a board management platform.

Do you think OnBoard Board Management Software delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with OnBoard Board Management Software's feature set?

Yes

Did OnBoard Board Management Software live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of OnBoard Board Management Software go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy OnBoard Board Management Software again?

Yes

OnBoard is an adaptable platform that could be used for most meetings. It works perfectly to build an agenda and packet for board and committee meetings. It allows for easy RSVP to ensure a quorum at meetings. All users are able to easily view the packet and can even make notations of points they want to discuss during the meeting. OnBoard doesn't work well for detailed documents such as spreadsheets. Our company has a strategic plan and we cannot use OnBoard for that committee meeting. The size of the spreadsheet simply doesn't function well within OnBoard and isn't easily navigable. The same is true of certain financial spreadsheets.

Using OnBoard Board Management Software

25 - Our board of directors uses OnBoard for monthly meetings as well as subcommittee meetings. Executive management including, but not limited to, the CEO, CFO, General Counsel, Compliance, Nursing, Process Improvement, and HR use OnBoard to navigate board and committee meetings. Executive management including the CFO, General Counsel and Compliance Director utilize OnBoard to create board agendas and meeting packets.
1 - General Counsel serves as the administrator for OnBoard. She adds and removes users, manages the archival of old meetings, updates the Resource Center, and manages the board of directors agendas and packets. OnBoard doesn't really require ongoing in-house support to function well. It just needs an assigned administrator who can navigate the features. In the event technical support is needed, OnBoard customer service is excellent and responds timely, usually with an immediate resolution.
  • Board Meetings
  • Board Subcommittee Meetings
  • Management of annual conflict of interest, confidentiality and annual review and signature requirements.
  • While OnBoard now has an add-on feature for it, we were able to use it for annual conflict of interest, confidentiality and similar board of directors requirements.
  • We implemented most new board member orientation/onboarding through OnBoard to streamline the process and keep the information available for future access if needed.
  • If we had access to more features without an additional cost, there may be additional utilizations for OnBoard.
OnBoard is user-friendly and meets all of our needs as an organization. It resolved the monthly struggle to prepare, print and mail board packets to up to 13 members. It resolved the issues presented when agenda and packets needed amendment prior to board meetings. We are now easily able to built a packet each month and modify it as necessary right up to the meeting time.

Evaluating OnBoard Board Management Software and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
The products features were what ultimately sold us along with the usability. The two went hand in hand. Management needed certain features such as easily built agendas and packets along with imbedded electronic signatures. Our board and some staff needed as easily used and navigated platform that wouldn't pose problems when transitioning from strictly paper packets to strictly electronic packets.
OnBoard was our first venture into board management software. Our initial evaluation of options was focused on what we needed, or thought we needed, along with how user-friendly the platform was. If we had to evaluate and select a new board management software, we would focus on many of the same features as before: electronic signature and survey capability, user-friendly platform and ability to easily make changes to agendas and packets. We would look at other things such as availability of additional features and associated cost along with how frequently said features are released.

OnBoard Board Management Software Implementation

Implementation was easy and I was able to do it alone without OnBoard customer support, although customer support assistance was offered and available. The platform is very user-friendly and doesn't require assistance to implement in my opinion. The biggest hurdle is getting invitees to access the invitation email and set up their login.
Change management was minimal - The biggest takeaway is ensuring everyone is aware of the change in advance and providing materials for advance review. I believe that eases some of the fear coming with a major change - for us from strictly paper to strictly electronic. After users were able to work within the platform, they easily adapted and were impressed with how easy it was to use.
  • Hesitance to use something new and solely electronic

OnBoard Board Management Software Support

I haven't needed to contact OnBoard customer support many times because it's user-friendly and functions as it's supposed to/sold. On the occasions I've contacted customer support, they have promptly answered the phone or my email. In one instance, a board member couldn't access OnBoard prior to a board meeting and customer support was able to resolve the issue in the 10 minutes prior to the meeting. In another instance, a board member wasn't able to get the system to recognize all answers to a completed survey which prevented a compilation of results. Customer support viewed the member's screen and ran an error log to figure out the issue.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
No, we did not purchase premium support for OnBoard. I'm not sure it was offered when we purchased OnBoard in 2017 and I'm not sure it's offered now. Regardless, I don't believe premium support would be needed as the regular customer support is excellent. They answer immediately and respond timely.
A board member once couldn't access OnBoard prior to a meeting. She reported the issue 10 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. Try as we might internally, we couldn't figure out the issue and resolve it. With about 5 minutes left before the meeting would start, I called OnBoard customer support for assistance. They answered immediately and were able to figure out the issue and get it resolved with a minute to spare.

Using OnBoard Board Management Software

OnBoard is extremely user-friendly. I believe many individuals could begin using it without instruction just by clicking and looking around. It is very intuitive and the setup makes sense. I have older members on my board and they can use OnBoard with no issue and no training beyond an initial overview. During the pandemic, I've had some new board members easily use it without instruction since we weren't able to meet in person for an overview.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Electronic signatures
  • Surveys
  • Zoom - although we don't use it because we need all Zoom features available integrated into OnBoard for our purposes.
  • Electronic signatures can be tricky if you have a document that flips between portrait and landscape orientation. The platform only recognizes one orientation, so some signature boxes are inserted in the wrong direction and you don't have the ability to rotate them.