Introducing Loomio to your board
Loomio can become the online place where your board or committee meet, discuss, decide and build an auditable record for your organization.
However Loomio will be of little value if only some of your board participate. Information and communication will likely remain scattered over multiple tools, lost in email inboxes and the confusion will waste everyone's time.
Consider the problem you are trying to solve by using Loomio, say to improve and track communication or build institutional memory. Then commit as a board to move your work into Loomio, and encourage everyone to make a genuine effort.
As administrator your primary objective is to set up Loomio effectively for your board.
Aim to encourage directors to join and participate. They should be easily able to:
- Sign in to Loomio
- Read and comment on threads
- Vote in polls
- See how your governance practices work in Loomio
Send this 6 minute video to members to help them sign in, comment and vote.
Check technical proficiency
Board members will need a computer or smartphone connected to the internet. They must be capable of sending and receiving email, browsing the web, reading digital documents, viewing and hearing videos.
Check that members have all of the following:
- an up-to-date device—a computer, tablet or smart phone with email and a modern internet browser
- internet service via WIFI, ethernet cable or mobile data plan (3G or above)
- capability to send and receive email, browse the internet, download documents and play videos.
Loomio works with all standard internet browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Apple Safari. Old out-of-date browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer may not work.
If you have a problem using Loomio on your device, Contact Loomio support.
Configure your group
Group Description
The group description is the first place people see when they arrive into your Loomio group. Write it to help new members understand the purpose of the group and the work you will do together. Provide any other information that orients people and encourages them to participate.
For example, welcome people and let them know that this is there online space for communication and governance of your organization:
- Remind members of the purpose of the board or committee.
- Outline how you intend to use Loomio; prepare for meetings, progress discussions, make decisions and stay in context between meetings.
- Be clear who has access to the group, can read and participate.
- Attach or link any background or governance documents.
Check privacy and permission settings
Loomio groups are Secret by default, which means only the people you specifically invite to the group know of its existence.
See member permissions, and set to suit the proficiency of members in your group. It may help to remove some permissions to avoid confusion as you are starting out. You can always restore permissions and everyone becomes more familiar with Loomio.
Category tags
Add category tags to suit your organization. Setting these in advance will help everyone use tags and find the threads and info they are looking for.
Set up your personal profile
Your personal profile will help members of your group easily identify you, and have confidence that the messages they receive from you actually come from you.
Manage group membership
Make sure all the members of your board or committee have been invited to the group, and accepted their invitation.
Start with baby steps
Before you launch into new work on Loomio, you might want to check that everyone can read threads, write a comment and vote in a poll.
Start a thread asking just that: "Please reply to my first thread on Loomio" Maybe add a question like: "What device do you use most frequently to access the internet?"
Then start an Opt-in poll: "I know how to vote in a Loomio poll" Invite members to leave a reason describing their experience.
When your members know how to sign in, write a comment and vote in a poll, they have can participate effectively in your Loomio group.