Virtual general meetings, powered by Assembly Voting Conference, has allowed Koda to create faster, more efficient meetings and increase member participation
Koda, an organization in Denmark that makes sure songwriters and composers get the payment they are entitled to when their music is performed and played publicly, have transformed the way they run annual and extraordinary general meetings over the last three years using a solution from Assembly Voting.
Koda is organized as a non-profit collective rights management society that administers Danish and international copyrights representing approximately 45,000 Danish composers, songwriters and music publishers. This is done by making licensing agreements with everyone, who uses and offers music as part of their business – that includes TV and radio, streaming services, cafés and restaurants, as well as shops, music festivals and fitness centers.
Until 2017, Koda held their annual general assemblies as conventional physical events where members had to travel and be present to make their voice heard and vote using paper ballots. Following changes in EU regulation, however, Koda was required to ensure broader participation via the introduction of the option to vote remotely. To ensure they were compliant with the new legislation Koda began searching for a solution capable of providing this to their members.
“Turnout at our general assemblies was low and even lower during extraordinary general meetings. In fact, at some events only a few people would show up. Faced with new legal requirements and a general desire to modernize, we began looking for a way to make them more accessible and easier to take part in,” says Sara Linell, Executive Board Consultant in Koda.
Koda spent quite some time researching the market for various solutions and found that some solutions were either too expensive and complex, having been originally targeted at larger stock exchange listed private companies, or too simple, providing inadequate levels of both security and functionality.
However, the Assembly Conference Voting solution, matched their requirements perfectly with its advanced security and optimized user experience. “We liked the fact that Assembly Voting has many years of experience running elections in membership based organizations very similar to ours and the solution itself is also solid from both a security, cost and usability point of view,” says Sara and continues:
“Based on three years of ongoing collaboration we only have positive feedback. The core solution works and has the functionality and flexibility we need. For example, in terms of handling elections where only some members are eligible to vote, or weighted voting is necessary. Also, when we need to resolve something, the response from Assembly Voting is always swift and efficient,” says Sara.
She has also received positive feedback from Kodas members who trust the system and like the new experience and user-friendly interface it provides.
“In the old days, paper votes had to be counted and then recounted. This was time consuming and led to interruptions in the overall event flow and experience. Nowadays this is history. Voting is done fast and results are available instantaneously. This saves time and provides more time for debate and valuable discussions.”
Even more important, the decision to provide members the opportunity to take part and vote digitally has increased participation manyfold.
“Everyone, regardless of whether they are based in Jutland or on the other side of the planet in Los Angeles, has access and can take part. Over recent years this has increased participation significantly and we are really excited about this. Making sure our members are heard and have the opportunity to influence our future direction is key,” says Sara.
Sara Linell, Executive Board Consultant, Koda
