No wifi needed- Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are a critical part of organizational decision-making, but they can often be fraught with logistical challenges—especially when it comes to managing voting.
- Whether you’re an event planner, a corporate professional, or part of a nonprofit organization, finding ways to streamline the AGM process while maintaining accuracy and engagement is key.
- One powerful solution is using an Audience Response System (ARS). In this post, we’ll explore how using CLiKAPAD, an ARS, can make your AGM faster, more accurate, and more interactive, all while improving the overall participant experience.
What is an Audience Response System (ARS)?
- An Audience Response System (ARS) is a technology that allows participants to respond to questions, polls, and votes in real-time, typically via devices like smartphones or handheld clickers.
- CLiKAPAD is an intuitive ARS that makes it easy to collect and analyze responses instantly, which is perfect for managing AGMs with large groups of participants.
The Challenges of Traditional AGM Voting:
- Time-Consuming: Traditional voting methods—whether via paper ballots, voice votes, or a show of hands—are slow and can delay meeting progress.
- Prone to Errors: Manual vote counting is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. This can lead to discrepancies in vote totals and undermine the trust of your attendees.
- Delayed Results: With traditional methods, attendees often have to wait for results to be counted and verified, which creates unnecessary pauses in the meeting.
How ARS Can Improve AGM Voting – Speed & Accuracy
Speed:
- Using CLiKAPAD allows participants to vote instantly, with results being captured and displayed within seconds.
- This immediate feedback helps keep your AGM running smoothly without the delays that typically occur when tallying votes manually. Whether you’re voting on resolutions, electing new board members, or gauging opinion on various issues, you’ll receive real-time results.
Accuracy:
- One of the greatest advantages of CLiKAPAD is its ability to capture votes with pinpoint accuracy. Unlike paper ballots or manual counting, every vote is logged electronically, eliminating the risk of human error.
- Automated result tallying ensures that the data is processed quickly and accurately, saving you the headache of cross-checking votes and reducing the chances of discrepancies.
The Importance of the “Abstain” Option
- An often overlooked feature of electronic voting systems is the ability for participants to abstain from voting. It’s essential to provide this option in AGMs, especially when votes involve complex decisions where attendees may prefer not to take a stance.
- Why is this important?
- Fair Representation: When participants abstain from voting, their decision shouldn’t affect the outcome or distort the voting percentages. CLiKAPAD handles abstentions properly by excluding them from the final tally of votes, so they don’t skew the results.
- Accurate Percentages: In traditional voting systems, abstentions can sometimes be counted as a third voting option or excluded from the total count, which can impact the percentages of approval or rejection. With CLiKAPAD, the abstention option is clearly tracked, and the percentages are calculated based on Yes/No votes only, ensuring that results are accurate and reflective of those who chose to participate.
- Streamlined Reporting:
- After the AGM, CLiKAPAD generates detailed reports automatically. You won’t have to spend hours compiling results—CLiKAPAD offers easy-to-read data that you can export and use for post-meeting assessments.
How to Integrate CLiKAPAD into Your AGM:
- Choose the Right Plan: CLiKAPAD offer short-term and long-term hire options as well as the option to purchase the system.
- Pick the voting method: Votes can be cast using CLiKAPAD keypads, internet enabled devices such as smartphones or a mixture of both. If all voters will be in the same room, the voting keypads offer the easiest solution for the attendees. Where some voters will be remote, the virtual voting via devices will be required. That uses a browser based app, so no installation is required.
- Design your slides: Each motion is shown on a PowerPoint slide, so can be designed to your liking. The voting result is shown on that slide as a graph as soon as the vote is closed.
- Rehearse: Ensure that you allow enough time in the lead up to your meeting to test the system and build your confidence with using it.
If you’re planning an AGM and want to ensure a more efficient, transparent, and engaging experience for your attendees, CLiKAPAD is the perfect solution to elevate your event. Say goodbye to the headaches of manual voting and embrace the future of seamless, digital voting today.