Outcome 4 - Meetings 1

Purpose of Meetings

Whenever individuals are required to work together, it is necessary for them to meet in order to provide an opportunity:

•for face-to-face discussions• for the exchange of information and views• for the delegation of tasks and responsibilities• for a shared approach to solving problems/making decisions• to produce better ideas, plans and decisions than individuals working on their own

A meeting may be required where:

• persuasion or encouragement is required• the exchange of ideas is required or a problem needs solved• there is a significant amount of information to be given to a number of people

An EFFECTIVE meeting must be WELL ORGANISED/WELL RUN

Outcome 4 - Meetings 2

Informal and Formal Meetings

INFORMAL MEETINGS

• Very common in business and ranges from staff talking at coffee break to weekly meeting of sales team

• Take place without any specified procedures or rules being followed

• Often lead by a GROUP LEADER

• Notes on discussions may not always be required

FORMAL MEETINGS

• Normally held for a specific purpose and at regular intervals eg Annual General Meeting

• Have to follow rules and regulations set out in a formal document … the CONSTITUTION

• Lead by a CHAIRPERSON who controls the meeting

• MINUTES of what was discussed and decided at the meeting will be taken by the Administrative Assistant (SECRETARY)

Outcome 4 - Meetings 3

Types of Meetings

• ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) … all public limited companies must, under regulations laid down by the Companies Act, hold an AGM to which all shareholders are invited … it gives them the opportunity to discuss the company’s performance during the past year, its future plans and to elect office bearers for the coming year.

• EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING (EGM) … a meeting open to all shareholders and normally called to discuss special business which cannot wait until the next AGM eg a takeover bid by a rival company.

• BOARD MEETING … limited companies are run by a Board of Directors and they use Board Meetings to discuss and determine company policy.

• COMMITTEE MEETING … the Board of Directors may delegate/appoint certain tasks to a Committee(s) … they would report back to the Board when the task is completed.

Outcome 4 - Meetings 4

Types of Committee

• EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE … a committee such as a Board of Directors … decisions taken by them are legally binding.

• ADVISORY COMMITTEE … created to look at certain issues and make recommendations to the Board of Directors eg whether to expand into new market or not.

• JOINT COMMITTEE … formed to coordinate the activities or 2+ committees eg Formal Dance/Year Book Committee.

• STANDING COMMITTEE … a permanent, on-going committee which is formed to deal with certain matters eg finance

• AD HOC COMMITTEE … a temporary committee formed to deal with a particular task eg Formal Dance.

• SUB-COMMITTEE … formed as part of another committee to look at a particular aspect eg to organise a fund-raising event … this type of committee can be either standing or ad-hoc.

Outcome 4 - Meetings 5

Meetings – Legal and Regulatory Requirements

To ensure that a meeting is valid/legal, it must comply with the legal requirements laid down by the Companies Act:

• it must be properly convened … relevant notice must be given to everyone entitled to attend

• it must be properly constituted … the CHAIRPERSON and a QUORUM must be present (minimum number of people allowed to attend

• it must be held in accordance with the rules and regulations set out in:

a company’s ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION a club’s CONSTITUTION a local authority’s STANDING ORDERS

Outcome 4 - Meetings 6

Roles and Responsibilities of Office Bearers - Chairperson

• Keeping order and taking charge in a competent, tactful, impartial, firm but fair manner in order to achieve objectives

• Be completely familiar with the organisation’s rules … its STANDING ORDERS … in case of a procedural dispute

• Liaise with SECRETARY before the meeting to ensure previous MINUTES have been prepared and checked

• Start the meeting punctually• Once all members present agree, must sign the previous Minutes

as a correct record of what happened• Work through AGENDA … explaining items being discussed• Give everyone the chance to speak and keep to the point• Keep order by making everyone speak through the Chair• End discussion and sum up conclusions in an unbiased way• Organise voting, declare results of voting and summarise decisions

clearly• Close or adjourn a meeting• Make decisions and act on behalf of Committee between meetings• Take any appropriate follow-up action• Liaise with Secretary in preparation of DRAFT Minutes/next Agenda

Outcome 4 - Meetings 7

Roles/Responsibilities of Office Bearers – Secretary before Meeting

• Book the venue and accommodation … internally or externally• Note date, time, place and nature of meeting in your diary• Open a file for the meeting for all relevant papers or notes• Draft a NOTICE OF MEETING and AGENDA for Chairperson’s

approval• Prepare and distribute approved Notice of Meeting and

Agenda to all entitled to attend• Prepare a newspaper press release if meeting is a public one• Make enough additional copies for all members attending• Note any apologies for absence• Organise a SEATING PLAN and prepare NAME CARDS• Organise refreshments, visual aids, car parking, special needs

requirements such as wheelchair access or special diets• Prepare the CHAIRPERSON’S AGENDA• Place copy of previous Minutes in the MINUTE BOOK ready for

Chairman to sign after approval by members• Prepare an ATTENDANCE REGISTER (SEDERUNT)• Organise pencils, paper, notebooks, relevant documents or

files

Outcome 4 - Meetings 8

Roles/Responsibilities of Office Bearers – Secretary before Meeting starts

• Remind Reception of meeting and provide them with Guest list

• Put up direction signs to meeting area• Place “Meeting in Progress” notice on door• Check heating, lighting, ventilation and organisation

of meeting room• Check water jugs, glasses, stationery and audiovisual

aids are in place• Confirm that refreshments will be provided at

appropriate time• Confirm parking arrangements• Arrange for switchboard to re-route calls or take

messages whilst meeting is in progress• Collect all necessary files and documents …

attendance register, spare copies of Agenda, Minutes of previous meeting

• Greet guests on arrival

Outcome 4 - Meetings 9

Roles/Responsibilities of Office Bearers – Secretary during Meeting

• Read previous Minutes, letters of apology, correspondence

• Have Chairperson sign previous Minutes and initial any amendments

• Distribute Agenda, files, papers for Chairperson• Summarise all proceedings for drafting Minutes• Note action to be taken, by whom and for what date if

ACTION MINUTES are required …these show action required, who is to carry out each task and the target date for the tasks to be completed and have the following benefits:

They provide proof of what was discussed Decisions made are recorded Any action required by members is highlighted They inform absentees about what took place at meeting• Make separate notes of actions to be taken by you and by

Chairperson• Check that everyone present signs Attendance Register

Outcome 4 - Meetings 10

Roles/Responsibilities of Office Bearers – Secretary after Meeting

• Remove “Meeting in Progress” and direction signs• Clear room and check that nothing has been left behind• Notify catering staff that they can clear room• Notify switchboard that meeting has finished• Draft Minutes of meeting and have them verified by

Chairperson• File Minutes ready for them to be sent out with the Notice of

Meeting and Agenda for the next meeting• Remind Chairperson and provide them with list of duties

he/she has agreed to undertake• Remind any other members of any action they have agreed

to undertake• Prepare any correspondence/thank-you notes that you have

agreed to undertake• Record date of next meeting in your own diary and the

diaries of relevant members• Make note to remind you when to send out Notice of Meeting

and Agenda and Minutes for the next meeting• Prepare file for Agenda for next meeting

Outcome 4 - Meetings 11

Notice of Meeting and Agenda

• The NOTICE OF MEETING explains the type of meeting to be held and where and when it is to be held• The AGENDA outlines what is to be discussed, in the order of discussion and gives those attending an opportunity to prepare for the meeting• The Notice and Agenda are normally issued together• Relevant documents eg previous Minutes are normally distributed with the Notice and Agenda•The following items appear in nearly every agenda:

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING3. MATTERS ARISING4. CORRESPONDENCE7. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS8. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

• Items in the middle of the Agenda are decided by the Chairperson and will depend on what is to be discussed and will be arranged in order of importance• The Agenda should clearly identify any speaker on a particular item

Outcome 4 - Meetings 12

The Chairperson’s Agenda

• Is spaced out in such a way that the Chairperson can write in information or make notes BEFORE and DURING the meeting in order to chair the meeting effectively

• Is arranged in 2 columns … AGENDA items and NOTES

CONSEQUENCES OF INADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR MEETINGo Quorum might not be reached and meeting have to be

postponed if all those entitled did not receive Notice of Meeting and Agenda

o Topics not covered or overrun if Agenda not planned carefullyo Poor decision making is Chairman not briefed properlyo Ill-informed decisions if essential information not availableo Members may feel that their time has been wasted if meeting

does not fulfil its purpose … in business, this is a waste of money

Outcome 4 - Meetings 13

Secretary – taking notes and preparing the Minutes of Meeting

NOTES: Before meeting, prepare an outline of the main Agenda items with space left

to record discussion and decisions Prepare a note of any items you wish to state at the meeting Prepare and tick off a list of those who will attend meeting Prepare a note of absentees and apologies for absence Write legibly in double-line spacing … can insert word/phrase Record important decisions but not every word said … asterisk or underline

important points or decisions Use TRIGGER words/phrases to jog memory Know everyone’s name and place their initials against what they say Note correct date of next meeting

MINUTES OF MEETING: Must include name of organisation, type of meeting and place, date and time

of meeting Must include name of Chairperson, names of members present in alphabetical

order and name of Secretary Each Agenda item must be included in the Minutes … any RESOLUTIONS must

contain the EXACT wording given at the meeting Must include the date and time of the next meeting Must allow space for Chairperson to sign and date the Minutes when approved

at next meeting

Outcome 4 - Meetings 14

Impact of Technology on conduct and organisation of meetings

E-MAIL … a quick, easy way to communicate or send documents … available worldwide, 24/7 … meetings can be set up quickly and e-mail addresses can be BATCHED

VIDEOPHONES … these allow a number of people to communicate with each other without meeting in one place … useful for those who do not have videoconferencing facilities

ELECTRONIC DIARY … a timesaving tool for setting up meetings by SEARCHING for appropriate date and making AUTOMATIC ENTRIES into the relevant diaries … can be easily edited

NETWORKS … LANs, WANs and the INTERNET allow members to keep in contact, send documents, leave comments or messages without ever meeting face-to-face … PASSWORDS are normally used for security

VIDEOCONFERENCING …. this is where web cameras and microphones allow meetings to take place without need for travel … very cost effective as saves working and travel time … effective as members can see one another

COLLABORATIVE WHITEBOARDING … used for discussion, lecturing or brainstorming … electronic whiteboard is connected to a network of PCs … one PC is host for application eg Powerpoint and others view the same application

AUDIOCONFERENCING … where loudspeakers are used to allow everyone to be heard where they do not require a face-to-face meeting

ONLINE APPLICATION SHARING … using a secure network, members can view, revise or edit a common document