MEETINGS
...#61553; Report to the Chairperson on the numbers present. Read out the minutes of the previous meeting if the minutes have not been sent out in advance. Record the proceedings, ensuring that exact wording figures and names have been recorded. Ensure that all motions, with proposers and seconders, have been accurately recorded. Record the numbers who voted Record the names of those who have to take further action, and deadline dates for this action, where relevant. Collect copies of the Chairman’s and committee reports for filing. After the meeting After the meeting the secretary should: Write up theminutes of the meeting within seven days, and send them to the Chairperson for checking. Once the minutes have been checked, file a copy and send copies to the chairperson and executive committee where appropriate. Write all letters as directed by the Chairperson. Brief the Chairperson on matters that have to be followed up. Brief sub-committees and individuals if they undertook to do specific things, before the next meeting. (S)he should also remind them of deadline dates. Help the Chairperson prepare the agenda for the next meeting. Check that all rules in the constitution have been correctly followed. Duties of Treasurer A treasurer’s duty is to keep accurate accounts of all financial transactions. (S)he also has to run the bank account and prepare the accounts for annual auditing. Before a meeting (S)he should: Prepare appropriate financial statements for the meeting Ensure that the Chairperson and the secretary receive copies. The Secretary should place such statements in the minute book. Ensure that all figures on the agenda have been correctly recorded. During the meeting (S)he should: Read out the financial statement if appropriate Present the accounts for ratification Present the cheque list since the last meting for the group’s information. Answer any financial queries. Record any financial transactions that have to be completed after the meeting. Advise the meeting on all the financial matters. After the meeting (S)he should: Check with the Secretary that all financial transactions have been correctly recorded. Pay any accounts as directed by the meeting. Keep the books of account up to date. Report to the chairperson that accounts have been paid. Duties of any other officials Prepare any reports necessary Ensure that they attend all meetings Work closely with the chairperson Keep accurate records of all that they do Ensure that they do their duties according to the constitution. Minutes of Meetings Minutes are the official record of the proceedings of a meeting. They also record the exact wording of: Resolutions taken Decisions on finances Appointments to posts and terms of office Instructions Contracts Minutes are important documents for four major reasons: o They remind those who attended and those who did not about the business of the meeting. o They form part of the historical records of a company. o Once approved, they are the official legally binding records of a meeting. o They may be used as evidence in court. Minutes should therefore be very carefully and accurately written.They should be factual, unambiguous and to the point. Essential elements of minutes i. Name of the organization ii. Type of meeting iii. Place, date and time of meeting iv. The Chairperson’s name v. The secretary’s name vi. A record of the names of those who attended vii. Apologies for absence viii. Notice of meeting ix. Opening and welcome x. Minutes of previous meeting xi. Matters arising from the minutes xii. Correspondence xiii. Financial report xiv. New business xv. General xvi. Closure xvii. Chairperson’s signature and date xviii. Distribution list xix. ‘Action’ column on the right-hand side, with deadline dates where appropriate. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON MEETINGS Thou Shalt Always Know What Time It Is The clock is God in meetings. Meetings should never run over the time allotted. Especially regularly scheduled meetings. If the session gets bogged down in an issue, table it for another meeting. If the meeting must conclude by taking an action or decision, then schedule it accordingly. Tell all the participants before the meeting starts that it will go as long as necessary to reach the stated conclusion. Don't mislead people by minimizing the amount of work involved. Thou Shalt Not Forget the Main Reason for Meetings The only good reason to have meetings is to do something together that you can't do better alone. In business, meetings have three primary purposes: communicating, administering, and deciding. Of these, the first and last are most worthwhile. But the focus of all three kinds of meetings should be action. They should either be communicating the intention to take an action or the results of action that has been taken, administering a plan of action, or deciding among alternative actions. Thou Shalt Remember the Golden Rule of Meetings: Praise in Public, Criticize in Private Shut off public criticism when it arises. It's extremely destructive to morale and should be prevented. Help your vocally critical teammates by making it clear, in advance of each meeting, who is in charge, how long the meeting will last, and what the point of the meeting is. Then deal with attempts to take the meeting in other, more vicious directions as simple misunderstandings of the agreed-upon ground rules. Politely but firmly steer the meeting back to the right terrain. Thou Shalt Not Convene Meetings Outside of Normal Business Hours Of course there are times when this commandment must be broken, but they should be reserved for real emergencies. People who schedule meetings for evenings and weekends are merely advertising the embarrassing fact that they have no life - and they're expecting others to give up theirs. Surviving in the fast-moving, devil-take-the-hindmost business world of today requires good peripheral vision as well as keen understanding of the work involved. Thou Shalt Not Use Group Pressure to Logroll Conclusions It is simply wrong to use meetings to pressure people into agreeing to actions or ideas that they know to be immoral or illegal in order to promote the business of the corporation. Group pressure is a powerful force, especially where jobs are at stake.Your corporation has a set of values which should include adherence to a code of ethics and the rule of law. Thou Shalt Not Use Meetings to Destroy Others' Careers There is enough room in every meeting for a disagreement without making it personal or destructive. More than that, it's wrong – and politically unwise. Modern corporate life has become so ephemeral and its denizens so transient that your past is bound to come back and face you again, and sooner rather than later. Thou Shalt Keep the Personal and the Corporate Distinct A certain amount of socializing at the beginnings and endings of meetings is part of the grease that keeps the well-oiled corporate machine running smoothly. But the balance should be clearly kept on the side of business. Thou Shalt Remember that the Best Model for Meetings Is Democracy, Not Monarchy You need to lead by moral persuasion, not by virtue of your title. As a leader, you should always strive to understand the sense of the meeting. If you want to issue edicts, publish them in the media available to you. You don't need a meeting to announce a new course of proceeding that is not up for discussion. And watch out for other participants in the meeting trying to take control. Hijacking a meeting is a cherished corporate game, but a nasty one. It's your job as a leader to prevent that from happening. Thou Shalt Always Prepare a Clear Agenda and Circulate It Beforehand It is more than courtesy – it is good efficient business practice to think hard about the purpose, nature and structure of a meeting before it takes place. These thoughts should be codified in the form of an agenda and circulated to all participants well in advance of the meeting. Time enough, at any rate, for the participants to prepare whatever they need to in the way of reports, plans, proposals, or the like. Thou Shalt Terminate a Regularly Scheduled Meeting When Its Purpose for Being No Longer Exists Purposes change, and when the meeting has lost its reason for taking place, be the first one to put an end to it. All periodic meetings should have a stock-taking every few sessions to determine if the meeting still has a purpose. It's just one way to fight corporate bloat and bureaucratic encrustation. Goal-setting is important in meetings. Keep its timing, purpose, and tone in perspective. 1.Schedule the Meeting When scheduling your meeting, consider the information that must be covered, then allocate an appropriate amount of time. Being realistic is the best way to allocate an appropriate amount of time for a meeting. Don't get caught up on halves and wholes. Many people will automatically allocate either 30 minutes or a full hour when scheduling a meeting simply because these quantities of time are common and expected. Schedule a 40-minute meeting if that's the amount of time it takes to cover the subject. Don't feel pressured to fill an hour if you don't have an hour of issues to cover. Only invite those whose attendance is absolutely necessary 2. Create the Meeting Information When sending invitations to a meeting, ask attendees if they have any agenda item requests. Once the agenda items have been requested, the agenda must be created at least one day before the meeting is scheduled. This way, you can distribute the agenda to all of the attendees before the meeting begins. Creating an effective agenda is one of the most important elements for a productive meeting. Here are some reasons why the meeting agenda is so important. The Agenda communicates important information such as: 1. topics for discussion 2. presenter or discussion leader for each topic 3. time allotment for each topic provides an outline for the meeting (how long to spend on which topics) can be used as a checklist to ensure that all information is covered lets participants know what will be discussed if it's distributed before the meeting. This gives them an opportunity to come to the meeting prepared for the upcoming discussions or decisions. provides a focus for the meeting (the objective of the meeting must be clearly stated in the agenda) How to Create an Effective Agenda i. Communicate that there will be a meeting, the goal of the meeting as well as the administrative details such as when and where it will be. Ask those invited to accept or decline the meeting. Make it clear that once they have accepted the meeting, they are expected to attend. ii. Ask participants requesting an agenda item to contact you no within a particular timeframe before the meeting with their request and the amount of time they will need to present it. iii. Once all of the agenda requests have been submitted to you, summarize them in a table format with the headings Agenda Item, Presenter and Time. It's your responsibility to ensure that each agenda item is directly related to the goals of this particular meeting. If an inappropriate request is made, suggest that person send an e-mail or memo instead or recommend that this agenda item be discussed in another meeting. Also, you must be realistic in the amount of time you allocate to each presenter. iv. Send the agenda to all the meeting participants the day before the meeting with a reminder of the meeting goals, location, time and duration. At this time, ask the presenters if they are happy with the order in which they will be speaking and the amount of time they have been allocated. v. The most important part of creating an effective agenda is to follow it during the meeting. 3. Distribute the Meeting Information When participants have the agenda and access to background information before the meeting, it gives them sufficient time to prepare for any discussions or decisions that will occur during the meeting. This also saves time during the meeting 4. Lead the Meeting Start your meeting on time! Adhering to the schedule sends out a message that you're serious about the meeting and expect attendees to arrive on time. As the meeting begins, provide an overview of agenda items and introduce the overall objective of the meeting. This provides direction for the meeting and reinforces what needs to be accomplished during this time. Introduce each agenda item by mentioning who will speak next and what will be discussed. As the meeting leader, you're responsible for recording the meeting notes, whether it's on an interactive whiteboard, flipchart or in a notebook. This will free participants from the burden of note-taking and encourage richer, more in-depth discussions. It's also your responsibility to keep the meeting on track. This means steering the meeting discussion in a way that fulfills the meeting objectives. If you have difficult personalities in the room or opposing views, this can be challenging! Try using sentences such as, "That's a valid point, but doesn't directly apply to this discussion. Perhaps we should schedule a separate meeting to address it fully." Or, "It's obvious there are some opposing views surrounding this issue. Perhaps our time would be best spent working towards a compromise. Any suggestions?" Assign a part...