Publications & Resources

September/October 2010
Deposits & Liquidity

 

WIB Service Corporation Report
Diligent Board Books – Innovative, Efficient & Cost Effective Solution for Your Board and Committees

By Anne K. Scully, WIB Service Corporation President

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”
George Patton

WIB Service Corporation seeks out products or services for endorsement that have a proven track record of generating revenue, reducing expenses or providing a competitive differentiator for our member banks. With this philosophy in mind, in 2009, WIB and WIB Service Corporation partnered with Diligent Board Member Services to offer WIB members Diligent Boardbooks – an Internet-based “board portal” specifically designed to simplify and centralize the management and delivery of board and committee meeting materials.  

Efficiency and Cost-Savings Tool

In today’s challenging economic environment and tightened budgets, Diligent’s board portal has proven to be an efficiency and cost-savings tool. Current WIB bank users have reported annual cost savings ranging from 50% to 300% using Diligent Boardbooks for their board and loan committee meetings. It has also increased executive and key staff efficiency, enabling them to focus efforts on other initiatives. 

Our current bank users have given Boardbooks excellent reviews. Most use it not only for board meetings but also for loan, audit and compensation committee meetings, where data and documents are often subject to last minute changes, requiring updates to previously provided materials. Technology features, such as key word search, enable directors to check on past discussions and review notes, etc. Other features, such as voting, notes, Blackberry access and Calendar, have made it easier for Board members to vote or approve certain matters between meetings or even conduct an emergency online meeting.

A “No-Brainer Decision” and Give-Back To The Community

In early 2010, WIB board member Dan Myers, President and CEO of Bridge Bank (Calif.), implemented Boardbooks at his bank. When asked to comment about the product at a recent WIB board meeting, he shared the following:

“This was a no-brainer decision. We [the bank] have already recouped our investment in Boardbooks three times over, just in terms of the costs saved in paper and postage alone. Using the board portal has also enabled us to “pay it forward” and give back to the community: Bridge Bank is now donating 50% of the paper that would otherwise have been used in preparation of our board and loan committee packages to the San Jose School System. Given the education budget cuts in California, many schools now lack funding to purchase even basic supplies. Bridge Bank has been able to help lessen the impact. Today, we are the largest supplier of paper to the school system.”

Other Bank Feedback

“As the administrator for the Diligent Board Books I have found this to be absolutly a dream come true. The board training was individual and very complete. We went from using paper copies to Diligent. It's like comparing cave drawings to going to computers over night. It's great!” Kelly Watson, AVP/Executive Assistant, Banner Bank, Walla Walla, WA

“Diligent has streamlined out process of preparing and distributing our board books each month. Instead of spending time photocopying the material, and relying on a delivery service to get the board packages to our directors, our board can safely and securely access the information according to their busy schedules – wherever they are. Whenever I have called Diligent for technical support I have been quite impressed with their assistance. Thanks Diligent for making my job easier!” Dana Dauser, Executive Assistant, Security Bank of California, Riverside, CA

The results to date have confirmed our selection of Diligent Boardbooks as the right one for community banks! Nearly 20 banks in WIB’s footprint are using Boardbooks for their board and committee meetings. Another four to five are in final contract negotiations.

Plus, WIB and WIB Service Corporation put our money on the table for this, too, and have started using Boardbooks for the WIB and WIB Service Corporation board meetings. In July, the WIB board held its first board meeting using Boardbooks. As part of WIB’s senior team, I can personally say that Boardbooks shortened the preparation time and streamlined and simplified the entire process of creating and delivering the WIB board books on a real-time basis. With Boardbooks, there was a considerable improvement in time management. There was no more waiting for all the pieces of the board book to be put together, duplicated and then mailed out. As pieces of the book were finished, they were uploaded to the secure website that WIB board members could access. Earlier distribution meant more lead-time for board members to review documents, digest information, leaving valuable meeting time for decision-making. More importantly, it removed much of the stress tied to the usual last minute frenzy of printing, collating, assembling and mailing paper board books! 

The Board’s decision to endorse Diligent Boardbooks was based on several factors:

  1. Boardbooks was designed to look like and respond like a book.  Its interface was simple, easy to use and would not leave any director behind.

  2. Flexible Online / Offline Viewing. Directors have 24/7 instant access to current and archived board materials online – anytime, anywhere. They can also download a secure encrypted database of the entire Boardbooks website. Or they can even print a copy of the materials!

  3. Secure and Technology Neutral Board Portal. Boardbooks provides an encrypted, secure board portal with 24/7/365 concierge level customer service and support.

  4. Regulatory Compliance. Boardbooks maintains and archives user information, providing an audit trail for improved accountability and documentation in accordance with regulatory compliance requirements.

  5. Resource and Cost Savings. Boardbooks had a proven record as a cost-effective solution to securing board information online while also providing additional tools to assist in board processes and workflows.

To see a recorded webinar outlining these features, visit the WIB website’s Value and Income Partner Programs landing page for Diligent under Products and Services tab on our home page.

WIB Member Benefit:  WIB members receive a 20% discount – that’s a minimum of $3,000 in savings. 

Contact:  Jeffrey Powell, EVP Sales, Diligent at (212) 741-8181 x331 or jpowell@boardbooks.com.

Unauthorized reproduction of all or part of this material without the express written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.