The Business Meeting - When Minutes Count

This series of tips for effective business meetings wouldn't be complete without a few comments on meeting minutes. Oh no, not the dreaded minutes. People feel almost as much antipathy about meeting minutes as they do meetings themselves. Why? My guess is they don't see the need for them. This seems especially true for those who repeatedly get assigned to take the minutes. And I can empathize with them, truly I can. Being a communications project manager always seemed to land me in the role of minute taker in my previous corporate life.

And in reality and for those poor souls' sake, I'll agree that not every meeting needs to be documented in minutes. However, for the ones that do, minutes can be an effective tool. Just like an agenda keeps an individual meeting on track, minutes can help to keep a team or a project on track.

So here are a few pointers for making the most of your meeting minutes.

Purpose of Minutes: They form a written record of what was discussed, what decisions were made, what items were tabled until more information could be obtained, what tasks were assigned, etc. The library of meeting minutes forms a resource to refer back to for all members of the related team or project.

When To Take Minutes: This is really up to the meeting leader but there are some situations that definitely call for meeting minutes, for example:

• Large projects such as systems implementations or process realignments because they keep everything moving forward
• Team meetings where task assignments are made and it's important for everyone to be aware of everyone else's assigned responsibilities so that there are no misunderstandings
• When reaching consensus on a major decision requires several meetings and you want to have a record of each hurdle as it is overcome to avoid backtracking
• Any instance where the topic, group or project involved could be subject to an audit or internal/external review because it ensures you have a clear history to show of the group's progress

What's the Difference Between Meeting Notes and Minutes: Most everyone takes notes at a meeting which reflect their specific tasks and their own individual perspective on what took place. Those notes remain with the individual. Minutes, on the otherhand, should provide a more objective and complete view of the meeting and they should always be approved and published out to the entire group.

Who's Responsible for the Minutes: The meeting leader is ultimately responsible for the success of the meeting but in this case, he or she should delegate the minute taking responsibility because it is impossible to facilitate an effective meeting and take minutes at the same time. So who then? There are no set rules although in many cases there is a person within the team or the project whose role naturally fits with that of a minute taker. If that isn't the case, you can always ask for a volunteer. And finally, to avoid minute fatigue from any one team member, you can rotate the responsibility for each meeting. This option can also help all of the team members to appreciate the minute taker role and to understand its importance.

Tips for Making Minute Taking Easy: Not everyone necessarily knows how to take minutes. The meeting leader should let the minute taker know the level of detail that is expected. At a minimum though, the minute taker should

• Record the date, time and topic of the meeting
• Using the agenda as a guide, capture the major points made on each topic, including key speakers, and in particular, note any deadlines set and/or tasks assigned
• Note any items that are being tabled until the next meeting to ensure they are placed on that meeting's agenda
• Note any items that are completed as closed to ensure you don't later duplicate work that has already reached closure

One last tip, having a laptop available during the meeting can help speed up and simplify the minute taking process. Stay tuned, there is much more to come on The WordSlingers Effective Meeting Series.

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The Meeting - The Necessary Business Evil
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The Business Meeting - Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?
The Business Meeting - The Best Weapon for Keeping Things on Track
The Business Meeting - Who Are You Dealing With?