Can a digital AGM or meeting be as good as a physical one?

We are at a position where physical AGM cannot be held even if you want to.

So, we must find new ways to conduct all of the meetings, conferences, and all other important events.

Times like this event can shed their leaves or change their course structure. However, this is not applicable to all kinds of events such as the Annual General Meeting which is known as AGM is one of the most significant events of a company. It is very important for shareholders, investors, and the board of directors to be present in the meeting and discuss the growth, progress, and the current position of the company. Also, clear any kind of concern that shareholders and investors might have.

This is the reason why AGM cannot be postponed or delayed. It has to be held on the same date. That is why companies have adapted the way of conducting the AGM digitally,  Which is virtual AGM.

A physical AGM is a traditional way of how AGMs are conducted. But due to unavoidable circumstances, the traditional way of conducting these meetings had to change.

Usually, all shareholders were not able to attend the AGM before but after the AGMs have been shifted to digital. It has been noticed that the number of attendance and participants has increased by a significant amount.

 The question is,  Can a digital AGM be as good as a physical one?

Let’s take a look at the benefits and the disadvantages of a virtual AGM.

A virtual AGM will have the same structure as a physical AGM but it will be carried out digitally. By digitally we mean the AGM will take place on a digital platform through an internet connection. The virtual AGM will be conducted as the same as a physical one. In that virtual meeting, there will be all the features that a physical AGM would have.

One of the most important and beneficial features of virtual AGM is that it reduces the cost of a company by a significant amount.

In a physical AGM, it requires a lot of factors such as increased travel costs for shareholders in order to attend the AGM. There are also costs involved in booking the venue and preparing for the AGM. Let’s also not forget the extra hassle of post clean up of the AGM.  A virtual AGM helps to solve all of these problems.

However, it’s understandable how many companies are still a bit hesitant to conduct virtual AGMs; this usually shows a lack of confidence in the technology available.

The companies usually think about the factors like

• Will a virtual meeting fail?
• Will there be any kind of technical difficulties?
• Will there be a proper Tech team to help?
• Will, there be any kind of unplanned interruptions and will they be prepared for those issues?
• Will virtual AGM be more costly than a physical AGM?
• Will this fulfill all the requirements for physical AGM?

If the virtual AGM fails it will be quite embarrassing for a company, Which was seeking to avoid a physical meeting for the shareholders.

These are the few skeptical ideas the companies would think about before switching to virtual AGM. The recent companies usually see the benefit of utilizing the technology but for more established companies any shift towards digital like virtual meetings is sudden and different for them.

As they truly care a lot about the experience of their shareholders during the AGM.

That is the reason why companies are extra cautious in terms of choosing the best virtual AGM solution for the company, As it would represent their brand and it would create an impression on their shareholders.

The companies are extra careful when it comes to satisfying the shareholders. If the AGM is done successfully then the shareholders are usually more content and give better feedback for the company.

One of the problems of conducting a physical AGM is that usually there is a low number of attendance as it becomes a huge hassle for the investors. Sometimes the shareholders can be out of the country, sometimes they might have a lot of personal priorities and other factors that would not allow them to attend the meeting. With the help of virtual AGM platforms, shareholders can get access to the AGM regardless of where they are and get access to the meeting from any device. This is how virtual AGM makes it convenient for all of its participants to attend the AGM.

After the companies have switched to digital they have seen a significant amount of increase in the number of attendance. As it has now become more accessible to the majority of the shareholders.

Advice for the companies

In order to test the waters companies usually could adopt a different approach that would involve conducting a hybrid AGM. A hybrid meeting is when the meeting is online but there is also a physical place where everyone can come and sit face to face. And the other regular factor which is the voting and asking questions could be done through hybrid AGM.

Hybrid meetings would be an effective way of of of slowly curbing the way for shareholders to understand how the text or how to use the technology if the hybrid meeting was well-received this would make the version using a little easier to implement and it would bring more confidence to the company in order to conduct their AGM only digital.

As we have seen the advantages of using virtual AGM solutions.

But virtual AGM may not be quite right for all organizations. There are some challenges that companies could consider technological failure leading to rotational damage.

Shareholders who have tech phobia might not be able to engage in the meeting or might find it difficult to operate or give their feedback.

Increased amounts of questions and feedback might confuse the board members and they might find it difficult to Cherry-pick the questions to answer or to ignore.

Shareholders are not able to act collectively. A lot of shareholders might want to have a face to face engagement rather than virtual AGM.

There are a few cons of a virtual AGM solution. However, it all comes down to which AGM solution you are choosing for your organization.

Planning is the key

There are a few things to consider when you are looking for a virtual AGM platform.

• Make sure the solution is providing a proper way for the members to engage with each other.
• To make sure the feature of voting gives instant and accurate results.
• Making sure the solution has proper Global Security measures.
• To ensure that the usual requirements on the contents of the meeting notice and deliver a display of documents are divided

By following these points. Companies will be able to take the right decision when it comes to picking and using virtual AGM platforms.