Minutes of the Meeting

Meetings are a required part and a regular occurrence in any organization . A

meeting can be loosely defined as two or more persons coming to gather for a specific
purpose of discussing a definite topic or topics that are of common interest to the parties
involved. A meeting as defined by businessdictionary.com is a formal or informal
deliberative assembly of individuals called to debate certain issues and problems, and
to take decisions. There are different kinds of meetings that serve different purposes.
Formal meetings are held at definite times, at a definite place, and usually for a definite
duration to follow an agreed upon agenda. They can either be organizational meetings
which are normally regular meetings involving stockholders and management, such as
a board meeting and annual general meeting (AGM); or operational meetings which are
regular or ad hoc meetings involving management and employees, such as a committee
meeting, planning meeting, and sales meeting.

Why have meetings?

Meetings play vital roles in business management. It serves as a dynamic tool

for communication. In the modern world, meetings are conducted in almost every
organization. Meetings can be conducted to deliver new knowledge and business
information or discuss important projects and crucial issues in the business operation .
A meeting is a powerful business weapon as it keeps an organization on track, and it
helps a team arrive at a consensus. It is also a way of allowing the individuals in an
organization to keep each other updated with work matters . A Meeting keeps staff very
productive and helps to boost their morale. it helps to improve problem solving skills in
staff members of the organization. One of the major important benefits of meetings is
that through meetings an organization can achieve targets and objectives . It is also a
way of keeping track of individual and team work progress through discussion .
Meetings also help facilitate employee brainstorming, and it increases the staff's
efficiency.

The importance the minutes of the meeting

To fully utilize the potential of a meeting, the events that occurred during the
meeting should be recorded. It is important to have a person that can accurately and
efficiently take notes of the meeting to capture the issues, discussions, and resolutions
that transpired throughout the meeting. A typical meeting can go through many topics
that may require decision making and action plans, and simply remembering the results
mentally is not enough. The record of what transpired during the meeting is called the
minutes of the meeting or the meeting notes. Meeting minutes are the written or
recorded documentation that is used to inform attendees and non-attendees about what
was discussed and what happened during a meeting. The meeting minutes are
generally taken or recorded during the meeting so that participants have a record of
what happened during the meeting. Minutes are a tangible record of the meeting for its
participants and a source of information for members who were unable to attend . In
some cases, meeting minutes can act as a reference point, for example: when a
meeting's outcomes impact other collaborative activities or projects within the
organization minutes can serve to notify (or remind) individuals of tasks assigned to
them and/or timelines. It is imperative that the notetaker or the one who makes the
minutes of the meeting should possess the necessary skills to create efficient and
organized meeting notes.
The notetaker

There are people in the company who find themselves in the position of taking
minutes of meetings without a clue of how to go about it . In the usual company setup,
the notetaker of a meeting is often assigned to the company secretary: The secretary
makes sure that all the essential elements are noted, such as type of meeting, name of
the organization, date and time, name of the chair or facilitator, main topics and the time
of adjournment. For formal and corporate meetings, the secretary includes the approval
of previous minutes, and all resolutions. He or she also prepares an outline based on
the agenda ahead of time, and leave plenty of white space for notes . By having the
topics already written down, the notetaker can jump right on to a new topic without
pause. Prepare a list of expected attendees and check off the names as people enter
the room. Or, the notetaker can pass around an attendance sheet for everyone to sign
as the meeting starts. To be sure about who said what, the secretary makes a map of
the seating arrangement, and makes sure to ask for introductions of unfamiliar people.
He or she does not make the mistake of recording every single comment, but
concentrates on getting the gist of the discussion and taking enough notes to
summarize it later. The rule is to remember that the minutes are the official record of
what happened, not what was said, at a meeting.

The notetaker has access to a device most familiar to him or her like a notepad,
a laptop computer, a tape recorder, a steno pad, and shorthand . Many people routinely
record important meetings as a backup to their notes. He or she studies the issues
beforehand to be discussed and ask a lot of questions ahead of time . If the notetaker
must fumble for understanding while the notetaker are making the notes, they won't
make any sense to the notetaker later. The notetaker must not wait too long to type up
the minutes, and makes sure to have them approved by the chair or facilitator before
distributing them to the attendees. The notetaker may be called upon many times to
take minutes of meetings, and the ability to produce concise, coherent minutes is widely
admired and valued. The notetaker shouldn't be intimidated by the term "minutes" since
it's a little misleading. After all, the committee or Board does not want or need a record
of its meeting proceedings minute by minute! But it is important to capture the essence
of the meeting, including details such as: decisions made (motions made, votes, etc .)
next steps planned identification and tracking of action items. There are requirements
in order to be an effective notetaker during the meeting. The secretary must record
accurately the decisions, commitments and major discussion points made at a meeting .
He or she should record the action items that meeting members committed to doing
along with the due date that members committed to making. The notetaker should also
review the major decisions and the assignments or voluntary commitments and action
items at the end of the meeting so participants can review and agree on happenings
and commitments before leaving the meeting. The secretary should also distribute a
copy of the meeting minutes within 24 hours of the adjournment of the meeting .

The process of making meeting minutes

There are essentially five steps involved with meeting minutes: pre-planning,
record taking, transcribing , distributing, and filing. Pre-planning is important. A well-
planned meeting helps ensure effective meeting minutes . If the chairman and the
secretary or notetaker work together to ensure the agenda and meeting are well thought
out, it makes minute taking much easier. Depending on the meeting structure and the
tools the notetaker use, the notetaker could work with the chairman to create a
document format that works as an agenda and minutes outline as well. It is important to
get a copy of the meeting agenda and use it as a guide or outline for taking notes and
preparing the minutes with the order and numbering of items on the minutes
matching those of the agenda.

In addition, the agenda and/or meeting notice also provides information that will
need to be included in the minutes, such as: the names of all the meeting attendees,
including guests or speakers documents that are sent out with the agenda or handed
out in the meeting. Copies of handouts should be stored with the meeting minutes for
future reference and for sharing with those who were unable to attend the meeting . The
secretary must first ask the Chair of the committee or Board what their expectations are
of the notetakers role during the meeting, as well as the type of detail he or she expects
in the minutes. If the Board or committee will be dealing with motions, or voting on
items/issues, the notetaker must be clear on whether or not there is a need to offer
names of those making motions, and seconding.

The second step is record taking. Before the notetaker start taking notes, it is
important to understand the type of information the notetaker needs to record at the
meeting. The organization may have required content and a specific format that needs
to be followed, but generally, meeting minutes usually include the following: date and
time of the meeting; names of the meeting participants and those unable to attend;
acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes; decisions made
about each agenda item; actions taken or agreed to be taken; voting outcomes; and
next meeting date and time. There are many tips that the secretary can use to take
meeting notes. Create an outline - as discussed earlier, having an outline (or template)
based on the agenda makes it easy for the notetaker to simply jot down notes and
decisions under each item as he or she goes along. If the notetaker is taking notes by
hand, he or she should consider including some space below each item on the outline
for hand-written notes, then print these out and use this to capture minutes .

The secretary must check-off attendees as they enter the room. If the notetaker
knows the meeting attendees, the notetaker can check them off as they arrive, if not
have folks introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or circulate an attendance
list they can checkoff themselves. The notetaker must record decisions or notes on
action items in the outline as soon as they occur to be sure they are recorded
accurately. The notetaker must also ask for clarification if necessary. If the group
moves on without deciding or an obvious conclusion, the notetaker should ask for
clarification of the decision and/or next steps involved . The secretary should avoid the
pitfall of trying to capture all the small details of the meeting. The notetaker cant keep
up if he or she tries to write down the conversation verbatim, so he or she makes sure
to simply (and clearly) write (or type) just the decisions, assignments, and action steps .
If the notetaker is concerned about being able to keep up with note taking, he or she
can consider recording the meeting (e g., on a smart phone, iPad, recording device)
provided that he or she informs the participants that they are being recording. While it is
not necessary to have a word-for-word transcript of the meeting, the recording can
come in handy if the notetaker needs clarification.

Once the meeting is over, it is time for the secretary to pull together his or her
notes and transcribe or write the minutes. The notetaker tries to write the minutes as
soon after the meeting as possible while everything is still fresh in his or her mind. He or
she reviews the outline and if necessary, add additional notes or clarify points raised
and check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are clearly noted . The details in
the meeting minutes include a short statement of each action taken by the board and a
brief explanation of the rationale for the decision when there is extensive deliberation .
Before passing a motion, the notetaker summarizes the major arguments and edits to
ensure brevity and clarity, so the minutes are easy to read . The meeting minutes are
written in the same tense throughout the document. The secretary should also void
using peoples names except for motions or seconds. The minutes of the meeting is a
business document, not about who said what. The secretary should also avoid
inflammatory or personal observations. The fewer adjectives or adverbs the notetaker
use, the better. If he or she needs to refer to other documents, the notetaker should
attach them in an appendix or indicate where they may be found . Dont rewrite their
intent or try to summarize them. Want to see sample Board meeting minutes?

The next step is distributing or sharing the meeting minutes. The secretarys
role may include dissemination of the minutes. However, before the notetaker share
these, he or she must be sure that the Chair has reviewed and either revised and/or
approved the minutes for circulation. The method of sharing or distribution will depend
on the tools used by the notetaker and the organization . Since minutes and other
documentation can create a pile of paper, it is great if the notetaker can use a paperless
sharing process. For example, if the notetaker are using a word processing tool (e .g.,
Microsoft Word) that doesnt offer online sharing, the notetaker might want to create a
PDF of the document and send this and the other attachments or meeting
documentation via email. Alternately, if the secretary is using Google docs - for meeting
invitations, agenda and additional document sharing he or she can simply share the
document with that group once it has been finalized.

If the company is using a cloud-based membership management system, the

notetaker can publish the minutes as a web page and give access only to the committee
or Board members, depending on needs of the organization . Through members-only
webpages, the notetaker can create a secure online Intranet for the Board and
committees. Tools Specifically For Meeting Minutes: There are many tools available for
the notetaker to use specifically for meeting minutes. Google Docs supports
collaborative note taking. There are sample templates for minutes in Google docs . If
the notetaker sends out a meeting request using Google Calendar, the notetaker can
attach a Google doc agenda outline. Once minutes are crafted using the outline, the
notetaker can simply share the document with the group . Microsoft OneNote is a very
fast program that allows for organization of notes. It also supports audio recording with
corresponding note time-stamping. Agreedo: supports creation of meeting minutes and
tracking the results.

Most committees and Boards review and either approve or amend the minutes at
the beginning of the subsequent meeting. Once the secretary have made any required
revisions, the minutes will then need to be filed and stored for future reference. Some
organizations may store these online (e.g., in Google docs or SkyDrive) and also back
these up on an external hard drive. The notetaker may also need to print and store
hard copies as well or provide these to a staff member or Chair for filing.

Sample meeting minutes

Franze Co. Monthly Board Meeting

13 February 2013
Meeting called to order at 12:00 p.m. by CEO Taylor Cooper

Members present:
Taylor Cooper, CEO
Logan Shafter, CFO
Morgan Ely, Senior Vice President, Marketing
Elyse Chan, Senior Vice President, Engineering
Joyce Comer, Senior Vice President, Consulting
Lindsay Rogan, Communication Strategist
Mark Epstein, Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Shane Hale, Engineering Specialist
Nick Mitchell, International Consulting Representative
Ryan Marke, Senior Vice President, Recruiting

Members absent:
(none)

Approval of minutes:

Motion: Approve minutes from 14 January 2013 board meeting

Vote: Motion carried
Resolved: Minutes from the meeting on 14 January 2013 approved without
modification

Business:
Motion from Morgan Ely to submit the latest issue of company newsletter, The
Newswire, for national award
Vote: 10 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstained
Resolved: Motion carried

Motion from Shane Hale to attain 10% more engineering materials for company
Vote: 4 in favor, 6 opposed
Resolved: Motion failed

Motion from Mark Epstein to hire 5 interviewed candidates to fill vacant positions at the
company
Vote: 6 in favor, 4 opposed
Resolved: Motion carried

Meeting adjourned at 1:14 p.m. by CEO Taylor Cooper

Conclusion

Meetings are part and parcel of the lifecycle of an organization . Meeting minutes
are important because they capture the essential information of a meeting and provides
a tangible progress report to the actions discussed in the meeting. But taking and
preparing minutes does not have to be a daunting task . There are many tips and
techniques that a secretary can use in creating effective meeting minutes for the
organization. It is necessary that the secretary should have adequate and polished
skills of notetaking to filter out the unimportant words and focus only on the gist of the
meeting to provide concise, objective, and unbiased meeting minutes that are useful for
decision making.

References

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/meeting.html

https://www.wildapricot.com/articles/how-to-write-effective-meeting-minutes

https://www.thebalance.com/what-are-meeting-minutes-and-who-records-them-
1918733

http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Board-Meeting-Minutes