As CEO of Softball New Zealand, Rebecca Minkley had reached a point where the administrative burden of governance, was starting to compete with her strategic leadership.
“Our highly functioning board are committed and capable, but the systems supporting them were fragmented. It became clear that to uphold strong governance standards, we needed a more disciplined, centralised approach.”
The organisation also had to consider the additional requirements of the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022, taking the opportunity to review how it managed its governance responsibilities.
Fragmented approach to board management brings risk
Rather than a purpose-built governance platform, Softball New Zealand relied on general productivity tools to run board meetings and manage board tasks and activities.
Board meetings were managed through a combination of email, shared drives, Word documents, and manually-prepared board packs in PDF format. Agendas were built in Word, work plans in spreadsheets and board papers were sent out via email, with meeting minutes being stored in SharePoint folders. Action items were tracked separately, by the board members themselves or embedded in the minutes.
“It worked,” concedes Rebecca. “But it wasn’t functional, efficient, or good practice. From a governance integrity perspective, the fragmentation created unnecessary exposure and portfolio risk.”
The most time-consuming and frustrating task was the administration around board papers: chasing documentation, tidying up formats, locating missing papers, and stitching everything into a single, coherent pack. Board pack preparation alone could take a minimum of 8 hours per meeting, often with delays in finalising the packs.
On top of that, agendas and reports were forever changing, which made version control a headache and left people wondering which was the latest version. Tracking actions, apologies, and conflicts of interest across meetings added another layer of effort, and minutes still needed careful attention to ensure decisions were captured accurately.
Free trial and demo demonstrate the immediate value of BoardPro
Having used BoardPro while she was on another board, Rebecca felt quietly confident in using a board management software solution.
In reviewing several board management solutions, the board’s criteria were:
● Ease of use for board members
● Strong minute-taking and action tracking functionality
● Compliance support and audit trail capability
● New Zealand relevance and understanding of incorporated societies
● A centralised place for all documentation
The Softball NZ Board also took advantage of a demo and a free trial, allowing them to try the full suite of BoardPro features before committing to a purchase.
“The experience of a demo and trial was pivotal. Seeing a meeting agenda seamlessly convert into structured minutes, with actions automatically captured, immediately demonstrated the value.”
BoardPro stands out against competitors
Compared with other board management software solutions (aka board portals), BoardPro stood out for being functional, simple and intuitive to use, with a clear governance focus rather than just acting as another document storage tool. The BoardPro support team also made a real difference, educating the new board members on how to use the platform, and the alignment with New Zealand-based legislative frameworks gave her added confidence. By contrast, some of BoardPro’s competitors felt overly complex, and designed for much larger corporates.
It was the combination of features that set BoardPro screeds ahead of its competitors, including:
● The agenda-to-minutes workflow
● Integrated action tracking
● Electronic minute approval and signing
● Secure central document repository
● Director onboarding
● Flying Minutes functionality
“The combination of board requirements and the features BoardPro offered made the decision to purchase straightforward,” says Rebecca.
Responsive support and clear guidance lead to smooth implementation
Change management is essential to adopting and implementing new software, so having a plan in place is essential for success.
Rebecca and the Softball NZ Board approached the implementation of BoardPro quite deliberately. The platform was introduced at a board meeting. There, members were provided with login access, induction, and clear expectations, with the following meeting cycle being fully embedded the BoardPro platform.
“We treated BoardPro as a governance initiative, not just a software rollout,” says Rebecca. “As with any kind of change, there was a short adjustment period, but because the interface is intuitive, adoption was smooth. Board members quickly appreciated the clarity and consolidation BoardPro provides.”
The onboarding support gained an ‘excellent’ from Rebecca. “The BoardPro team provided responsive support and clear guidance, so implementation felt supported rather than transactional.”
BoardPro enables a single source of truth for boards
By using BoardPro, the board and the wider organisation now operate with significantly greater governance discipline and reduced risk, says Rebecca.
“Critical governance documents no longer live in work or private inboxes, shared drives, or informal messaging threads. There is a clear single source of truth.”
All governance documents — agendas, papers, minutes, actions and policies — are kept in one secure platform. There’s structured record-keeping with audit trails and automatic version control. Action tracking is automated rather than manually maintained, and there’s a clear record of decisions and resolutions.
Rebecca’s favourite features include the agenda builder that converts directly into minutes, the action-tracking dashboard, and electronic minute approval.
“BoardPro centralises everything, with consistent documentation aligned to governance best practice,” confirms Rebecca. “Meetings are more structured and focused. Directors come prepared because materials are easy to access. Discussions are strategic rather than administrative.”
BoardPro gives new board members immediate access to a ready-made governance library, including the constitution, policies, previous minutes and strategic plans. This helps accelerate onboarding, seamless transition, and supports stronger governance education from the outset.
ROI includes time back for more leadership and strategic work
The return on investment has exceeded Rebecca’s initial expectations.
“I now spend significantly less time managing logistics. Conservatively, I’ve regained 3-4 hours per meeting cycle. I invest that time in strategy, stakeholder engagement, and organisational development.”
Rebecca estimates that she’s reduced board pack preparation time by approximately 50% per meeting cycle. Drafting time for minutes has reduced by at least 30% due to structured formatting.
For the board and wider organisation, the value of BoardPro more than offsets its subscription cost.
“The greatest return is risk reduction combined with leadership time reclaimed. The subscription cost is minimal compared to the governance protection and executive capacity gained.”
Meeting requirements under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022
For Softball New Zealand and other incorporated societies across New Zealand, the legislative changes require greater clarity, record-keeping, and procedural discipline. While Rebecca and her team reviewed internal processes, BoardPro made implementing the new requirements straightforward.
“BoardPro has materially supported compliance, managing the new legislative requirements,” confirms Rebecca. “It provides structure to manage these changes efficiently and is the single source of truth. All governance tasks — agendas, minutes, policies, strategic plans, actions — are centralised.”
The BoardPro features that assist with managing the new Act requirements include:
● Clear documentation of resolutions
● Recorded conflicts of interest
● Formalised minute approvals
● Central storage of constitution updates
● More formal resolution tracking
● Clear recording of member-related decisions
● Improved documentation of policy approvals
For Softball New Zealand, Rebecca says the top three ways BoardPro enables them to meet the new requirements are the strengthened audit trail of decisions, improved documentation consistency, and centralised, secure governance record-keeping.
“Treat the Act as an opportunity to strengthen governance rather than a compliance burden,” suggests Rebecca. “Invest in systems that embed good process. Trying to manage legislative complexity through email and shared drives unnecessarily increases risk.”
Learn more about how BoardPro helps your board manage your requirements under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022.
Strong sports governance starts with a purpose-built board management solution
Rebecca’s advice to other sporting organisations is clear.
“Strong governance underpins sporting integrity. If you are serious about transparency, accountability, and reducing risk, a purpose-built governance platform is not a luxury — it is a necessity.”
Learn more about how organisations experience BoardPro in Customer Stories.
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