Using Technology to Boost Member Participation

Man attends a virtual meeting.

There are at least two schools of thought when it comes to attendance and participation in annual and special meetings of credit union members. Some credit unions are comfortable with, or even prefer, low attendance while others get creative with ideas for increasing member attendance, from door prizes, to raffles, to entertainment, to cookouts, to YouTube videos.

For almost 20 years, some for-profit companies that want to increase shareholder meeting attendance have had the option to conduct either “virtual” or “hybrid” shareholder meetings. A “virtual” shareholder meeting is held exclusively via online technology without a corresponding in-person meeting. A “hybrid” meeting is an in-person meeting in which shareholders may participate online.