Taking Meeting Minutes
The minutes of a meeting – short notes detailing its proceedings – are taken by the meeting’s secretary as a written record of what was discussed. If you are responsible for taking minutes, ensure that they are accurate and clear
Point to Remember:
1. Minutes should be brief, and can be written in note form.
2. Prompt delivery of minutes encourages prompt action on issues raised.
3. If a meeting’s secretary is unclear about an issue, he or she should discuss it with the chairperson.
4. Minutes should be entirely understandable to absentees.
Writing Clear Minutes:
In the minutes you should record the time and place of the meeting, the names of attendees (where appropriate), all items presented, but not necessarily details of the discussions involved, and all decisions, agreements, or appointments made. During the course of a meeting, make notes from which to write the minutes in full later. Make sure the minutes are unbiased, written in a clear, concise style, and accurate. Accuracy is essential, particularly where minutes may be used as evidence in the case of a later dispute.
Remember: When writing minutes, make sure they are brief, exact, and laid out in a legible format. Number each new point to make it obvious where one point ends and the next one begins. If the minutes are particularly lengthy, index them.
The Role of the Secretary:
Coordinating the minutes is the job of the secretary of a meeting. The role of secretary is an important one. The same individual can perform the role at each meeting, or the role can be handled by different people (with the exception of the chairperson, to whom the secretary is directly answerable). If you are asked to take on this role, you can delegate the administrative tasks of composing and typing.
Thing to Do:
1. Make sure the chairperson approves the minutes.
2. Distribute minutes within a day or two of a meeting.
3. Follow up between meetings on issues requiring action.
4. Use the minutes to compile a status report on ongoing issues. Circulate it with the agenda for the next meeting.
5. At each meeting, approve the minutes of the previous meeting, and verify their accuracy with the attendees.
Distributing and Following Up Minutes
Once the minutes are complete, make sure that they are distributed quickly to all the relevant people. Compiling the minutes is a meaningless task if the action agreed on at the meeting is not duly followed up. Minutes should indicate clearly the deadlines agreed on for any projects, and who is responsible for the implementation. After a suitable period but before the next meeting, follow up on the progress of any projects or tasks noted in the minutes, and update the chairperson o their status. If necessary, see that these items are included in the agenda for the next meeting.
Conclusion:
1. Ensure that the order of minutes follows the order of the agenda.
2. Write up the minutes straight after a meeting using notes taken in the meeting.
3. When writing up minutes, keep sentences short and to the point.
(Source: Refer DK Book Essential Manager's Manual)
Best regards to you all,
John