Breaking Into the Virtual Boardroom
Arcade Baptist Church

By RaeAnn Slaybaugh

Management team members are shown on this calendar when a meeting opens and closes that month.

Somewhere in Sacramento, five business executives go about their normal routines. One is trying a case in court all day; another is busy designing a skyscraper; and another is closing the deal on a home. And somewhere in this day, maybe between lunch and his next meeting, each finds time to help approve that $3.2 million church budget too.

This is the scene in Sacramento, CA, where five management team members (who've met in person only once--for training--in several months) run the business matters of 2,000-member Arcade Baptist Church. "My goal was never to see these guys again," says CFO/Business Administrator Tim Skillman. "So far, it's working really well."

All of this is made possible with a little computer know-how and a monthly investment that rivals the cost of doughnuts and coffee. Arcade has discovered the power of the virtual boardroom.

When Tim Skillman joined Arcade Baptist Church as CFO and Business Administrator seven years ago, he brought with him extensive experience in the brokerage and banking fields. Upon graduating from college, he immediately began working for First Affiliated Securities in Sacramento, CA, and also spent a few years working in several Wells Fargo Bank branches, helping them meet the goals this organization had for each. Skillman says he planned on working in this capacity for a long time--until the CFO/business administrator position opened up at Arcade, that is. His diverse experience, from investing to managing people, made him the ideal candidate for the job. "So I said 'Okay, let's see if this is where I should go," he says. Surprisingly, his duties at Arcade differed little from those he performed in the corporate sector. "At the bank, I sold loans and accounts and investments, and I managed the facility, the money and the people," he explains. "I had goals I had to reach." Today, Skillman says, "I still do all those things, but we don't sell accounts and loans here, we sell ideas. We sell the Lord Jesus Christ."

In as much as the jobs paralleled each other, Skillman admits he had some reservations about the way church business was typically transacted. "One thing that really bothered me about church government is that people come to meetings that sometimes don't accomplish anything," he explains. "You know, the very thing we're teaching in the church is to spend time with God, with your family and with your ministry. But when we ask these important people to come to a meeting, they're not doing any of these things." With this in mind, he began to seriously consider the prospect of intranet meetings.

While construction was underway on the church campus, building departments were scattered across Sacramento. Skillman required the approval of several of these departments--to obtain permits, for example. In response, each location logged onto an intranet site where they could view documents and projects using digital video cameras and open lines on the spot.

Buying time

Soon after, Skillman went in search of a software writer and full-service Web developer and software writer. He settled upon Main Street Enterprises, an Oklahoma City, OK, firm serving churches, organizations and corporations all over the country.

In less than a week, Arcade was up and running with a software package that runs on a Web site called an intranet, meaning the site is only accessible with a password. While a systems manager is on staff at the church, he handles the hardware only. This is adequate, however, since the intranet system required no software installation, little training and zero in-house visits from the software writer.

The five members of the management team (also the only people who have access to the site) may log on at any time from any computer anywhere in the world. Though infinite passwords may be assigned, in discretion, they are "taken out of service" as members rotate on and off the management team.

Skillman refers to the vision of software mogul Bill Gates in his book, "The Road Ahead" when he speaks of the virtual boardroom. "A number of years back, (he discussed) this very thing," he says. "When we all got television, that was a huge communication tool that impacted the world. Then, when we all got VCRs, that really changed things because now you could watch something that was communicated, but at your own leisure." According to Gates, what lies ahead is access, via computer, to any show ever broadcast, available at any time for viewing--in essence, a step past the VCR. This same evolution applies to the boardroom, Skillman explains. "We're not meeting at seven o'clock on a Wednesday night, not even on the computer," he explains. "While I have the ability to keep it open always, what I do now is open it for between seven and ten days." Since each member knows when the meeting opens and when it closes and the site is available 24 hours a day, the convenience involved translates to effective, straightforward communication, essentially eliminating the time factor.

Another important benefit of the intranet system is the ability to attract otherwise hesitant working professionals to the management team, as was the case almost immediately at Arcade Baptist, Skillman says. Today, the management team consists of partner in a law firm; the treasury manager of Sacramento County; the owner of a structural engineering firm; the owner of a real estate brokerage firm; and Skillman. "Normally, I wouldn't get these guys to be on board because they're too busy," he says. "When I introduced this to them, they said 'yes'. So I get quality people without messing up their lives."

For the first time in half a century, this new management team was formed in July of last year with the prerequisite of Internet access and computer know-how, a vastly different approach from the previous 49 years. The group met later that month in the church boardroom for training, and has yet to be assembled in the same room again. "None of these guys had been part of an intranet meeting before," Skillman says, "so I had to teach them the principles." Fortunately, this turned out to be a one-step process: a few hours in the church boardroom with Skillman and a large computer screen.

The efficiency at which business matters are transacted now also frees up the elder board--having been entrenched, unduly, in the administrative aspect for 49 years--to focus on their real jobs, prayer and teaching.

The board approved the annual budget almost instantaneously this year, a process that for 49 years took weeks and numerous meetings. Originally, the executive committee was formed in January for a new budget beginning in July. At least two meetings at two hours apiece were required and PowerPoint presentations and handouts were in abundance. The board would then meet again to discuss what they'd seen, and then assemble again to approve the budget. Skillman would then compile all necessary information, pass all budget worksheets and documents to every member, and then wait for all of these materials to make their way back to him. Today, however, this presentation is posted on the intranet site. It includes a series of cash flow projections based on giving trends, giving-per-person trends, giving units, attendance and attendance trends. All are posted in January along with Skillman's opinion about the projection and then left open for seven days. At the end of this window, each management team member has logged on, clicked the attendance button, reviewed the documents and posted his or her opinion. Skillman takes all of these comments in consideration, summarizes them, and takes the result to the elder board. This year, it took less than two minutes to get the approval of this group, he says.

However, the flip side of this new separation of duties left a sort of void, though mostly welcome, in the elder board members. For 49 years, they had been involved in administration and then suddenly had no part in it at all. In response, Skillman set up a management team summary intranet and assigned each elder board member a password. "They jump right on there and they're thrilled," Skillman says. "It keeps them informed about the decision-making process." Eventually, this concept will spread to Arcade's Internet site, where more than 2,000 passwords may be assigned to members of the church seeking the weekly calendar, bulletin or even the annual budget.

At what price efficiency?

At Arcade, sustaining the virtual boardroom costs less than a month's worth of copy paper and far less than the price of manpower involved in traditional management team meetings. Besides the initial investment in the software (less than $1,000), Arcade's server host costs just $25 per month. "Just compare the cost of my own time, my hourly wage, and factor in the meetings that take hours upon hours," he says. "Then couple that with the members' hourly wages! Now add that up!"