by Baldev S. Gill, Chief Executive Officer
Today’s eMemo contains the following update:
- Next Triple M (Morning Member Meeting) on January 21, 9:30 to 11 am
Hope you all had a great and restful Christmas, New Year, and holiday season.
As we get right back to business, FVREB is pleased to let you know that we will be hosting our next Triple M on January 21 from 9:30 to 11 am.
We are always striving to improve the member experience on which we welcome member feedback, and following our last Triple M on December 10, we wanted to let you know that we have made technological and other improvements to enhance the member experience at our Triple M’s.
As you know, given the pandemic, our annual member breakfast meetings have been replaced by virtual meetings. Most importantly, we strongly encourage you to sign-up for our Triple M’s as these meetings act as a dress rehearsal and prep session for the upcoming AGM on March 11, 2021.
So, please join us from 9:30 to 11 am, where you will get a chance to hear from Board President Chris Shields and I, whilst also engaging in a Q&A discussion on proposed governance concepts for member feedback for the upcoming AGM.
While we will have to forgo in-person networking, we will once again, give you the opportunity to participate in non-binding remote online voting, ahead of the AGM.
Please note: voting at the Triple M’s, while non-binding, serves two purposes – first, it allows us to gauge member appetite on proposed governance concepts ahead of drafting proposed By-Laws; and secondly, it gives you an opportunity to get more familiar with our FVREB Portal and the Simply Voting feature ahead of the AGM on March 11, at which time, voting will be binding.
Please ensure you RSVP for the Triple M in the TLC calendar, and on the day of the event and encourage other fellow members to do the same.
Also, in order for you to be able to participate in remote voting, please ensure you register BEFORE 9:30 am at portal.fvreb.bc.ca. Members who register AFTER 9:30 am, will not be able to participate in voting.
Here are important FAQs which are also posted on our Morning Member Meetings page on REALTOR Link®. They are also included at the end of this eMemo. Please be sure to review them in advance of the meetings.
“See” you soon!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q: Why must I register using FVREB’s custom Portal?
Unlike many other real estate boards, at the FVREB we have a few different classes of membership including probationary members who are unable to participate in our By-Law voting process. This makes our Board unique compared to many other Boards, provincially as well as nationally, including making us different from REBGV. As such, we need to be able to verify who our members are to ensure that only those who are eligible to vote, are actually able to do so.
Q: I see, but doesn’t Zoom work for all FVREB’s needs?
While on the surface, it may appear that we could simply use Zoom, the fact of the matter is that we must be compliant with our By-Laws period. This is paramount.
Accordingly, we need to use our custom-built proprietary FVREB Portal which is a fully integrated solution that allows for streaming, member authentication, management, and support, as well as incorporating Simply Voting.
Furthermore, in addition to the issue of compliance, which is imperative, while Zoom Meetings can host up to 1,000 people with add-ons (normally, this is set to 300 participants), the additional challenges for us at FVREB are fourfold.
First, as mentioned is the sanctity and integrity of compliance.
Secondly, while our Triple M’s may not draw numbers close to 1,000, our AGM is something members look forward to and are engaged in attending (2019’s AGM had 930 attendees – in-person and online combined). As such, we would never want to hit a limit and have to turn a member away.
Third, even if we were able to use the audio function in Zoom Meetings, (video for all would eat up too much bandwidth), and/or we allowed participants the opportunity to raise their hand, in effect, we would make the meetings unwieldly and unmanageable.
Finally, using Zoom Video Webinars, (which would need to replace Zoom Meetings due to the latter’s size restriction set at 1,000 attendees) offers features on par with the current IBM Video platform already integrated into the FVREB Portal, without any of the benefits of the aforementioned integration.
Q: Ah, but the user experience at your first Triple M on December 10, 2020, wasn’t the best so, won’t the experience be the same issue on January 21, 2021?
It’s true we had some hiccups at our first Triple M. However, we took some key learnings away from that session, and accordingly, we have made a few improvements within the FVREB Portal at portal.fvreb.bc.ca to enhance the experience for our members and simplify the interface and voting process.
We look forward to using our refined approach on January 21. As a reminder, while you need to register for the Triple M through the TLC calendar, you can access the FVREB Portal via REALTOR Link® or directly at portal.fvreb.bc.ca.
And as a reminder, our FVREB Portal was used at our 2020 AGM, so members are familiar with it already. And for those of you who are not familiar with the FVREB Portal, we are organizing two training sessions on January 20 – check the TLC calendar, for more details.
Q: On December 10, it was also challenging to get to the link to ask questions – what have you done to improve that process?
That was one of the key pieces of feedback we received, and on this, we have enhanced the user experience by integrating that functionality directly into the FVREB Portal. You will now see four tabs on your screen – for voting, asking questions, requesting support, and for accessing a FAQ.
Q: Also, can you clarify for me – are we practicing voting or polling at the Triple M’s and the AGM? I am confused…
Yes, we know this can get to be quite confusing! Simply, we are only practising voting. The votes on the proposed governance concepts at the Triple M will be non-binding, while the voting undertaken on By-law resolutions at the AGM will be binding.
For the first Triple M meeting on December 10th, we used the Polling feature built into the IBM Video component which is integrated into the FVREB Portal, and we referred to it as Voting. That caused some confusion.
Going forward, we will be using the Voting feature based on Simply Voting and integrated into the FVREB Portal. This was the same voting feature that was used for the 2020 AGM, which will be used again for the 2021 AGM.
And as another reminder, during the Triple M’s, you will be voting on proposed governance concepts in a non-binding way. Votes on proposed By-law resolutions at the AGM will be binding.