BSBTWK503 Learner Guide - V1.0
August 31, 2022 | Author: Anonymous | Category: N/A
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BSB50420 Diploma of Leadership and Management
Albright Learner’s Guide
BSBTWK503 Manage meetings meetings
Table of Contents About the Business Services Training Package Package 4 About this Unit of Competency Competency 6 6 Chapter 1: Prepare for Meetings Meetings 7 1.1 1.1 Develop Agenda According to Meeting Purpose ........................................................... ................................................................ ..... 8 1.2 Establish and Verify Meeting Requirements with Relevant Individuals ...................................... 14 1.3 Contact and Confirm Meeting with Participants According to Organisational Procedures .... 23 1.4 1.4 Provide Meeting Papers to Participants According to Task Requirements ............... 26 Activity 1 28 Activity 2 29 .......................................................................................................................... 32 Key Points: Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................ 33 Chapter 1 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz .........................................................................................................
Meetings 34 Chapter 2: Conduct Meetings 2.1 Chair Meetings According to Organisational Requirements, Agreed Conventions for Type of ......................................................................... 3 35 5 Meeting and Legal and Ethical Requirements .......................................................................... 2.2 Promote Participation, Discussion, Problem Solving and Resolution of Issues ........................... 50 2.3 Brief Minute-Taker on Method for Recording Meeting Notes ..................................................... 61 Activity 3 68 Activity 4 70 Key Points: Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 2 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz ......................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................ 74 74
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Chapter 3: Follow Up Meetings 75 3.1 Review Meeting Minutes and Edit, as Required ........................................................................... 76 3.2 Distribute and Store Minutes and Other Follow-Up Documentation Within Designated Timelines, and According to Organisational Requirements .................................................... 78 3.3 Report Outcomes of Meetings, as Required, Within Designated Timelines ................................ ............................... 84 84 Activity 5 86 Activity 6 87 Key Points: Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 3 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz ......................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................ 90 Summary
91
References
92
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About the Business Services Training Package
The BSB Business Services Training Package covers a diverse range of industries and occupations. Business Services covers a range of cross-industry functions and services supporting the commercial activities of all industries.
Defining Qualifications When units of competency are grouped gro uped into combinations that meet workplace roles, they are called qualifications. These qualifications are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). Each qualification will have ’packaging rules’ which establish the number of core units, number and source
of elective units and overall requirements for delivering the qualification.
Delivery and Assessment of Qualifications RTOs must have the qualifications (or specific units of competency) on their scope to deliver nationally recognised training and assessment. RTOs are governed by and must comply with the requirements established by applicable national frameworks and standards. RTOs must ensure that training and assessment complies with the relevant standards.
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Qualification Training Pathways A pathway is the route or course of action taken to get to a destination. A training pathway is the learning required to attain the competencies to achieve career goals. Everyone has different needs and goals, and therefore requires a personalised and individual training pathway.
Foundation Skills Foundation Skills are the non-technical skills that support the individ ual’s participation in the workplace, in the community and in education and training.
Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) This Assessment meets the five ACSF core skills as described in the Foundation Skills mapping.
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About this Unit of Competency
BSBTWK503 - Manage meetings This unit standard BSBTWK503 Manage Meetings covers the skills and knowledge required to manage a range of meetings including overseeing the meeting preparation processes, chairing meetings, organising the minutes and reporting meeting outcomes. The unit applies to individuals employed in a range of work environments who are required to organise and manage meetings within their workplace. These individuals may work as senior administrative staff or may be individuals with responsibility for conducting and chairing meetings in the workplace. This Learner Resource is broken up into three elements. These include:
1. Prepare for meetings 2. Conduct meetings 3. Follow up meetings At the end of this training, you will be asked to complete an assessment pack for this unit of competency. You will need to access a supervisor, a manager, or your assessor who can observe you perform project or workplace tasks and verify your competency or performance. On competent completion of the assessment, you must have demonstrated skills and knowledge required to manage meetings.
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Chapter 1: Prepare for Meetings
Meetings can be useful or a complete waste of time. They can be quick and achieve goals, or they can c an simply cause issues and conflict. Basically, they can be the best or the worst experiences for managers and staff. This unit of competency is about conducting better meetings so that the outcomes are achieved through the best practice, and teams are stronger and more cohesive through effective communication. Meetings are held for many reasons, including making decisions, generating ideas, making plans, communicating information, and giving and receiving information. The real trick is in the planning. Like any other business, meetings involve a process. Even the short and spontaneous meetings between two people will be more consultative and productive if a few minutes of thought is undertaken prior to the topic discussion. The thought should begin by establishing what it is that you want to achieve. In the circumstance of a spontaneous meeting, it may be obvious to both participants what the topic is. But if there are more participants or decisions of greater gr eater magnitude must be undertaken, an agenda is the first step in the planning process.
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1.1 Develop Agenda According to Meeting Purpose The most important tool for managing meetings is the agenda. Designing an organised, efficient agenda is essential to holding a meeting that achieves results. Use meetings to achieve outcomes o utcomes and generate action items. If there is nothing to decide and nothing to communicate, cancel the meeting. The agenda should focus on two things: what needs to be communicated and what needs to be decided and acted upon. It takes time to create effective agendas. These should be well-thought-out and planned. Agendas are not descriptive; rather, they are concise, listing events. If well-prepared, a good agenda will influence the expectations of the meeting participants long before they actually sit at the table. The format of an agenda may be determined by law, as in the case of shareholder annual general meetings of public companies but generally, there is a ‘standard’ format which is basically the same used by any organisation holding meetings. Agendas may be brief, featuring only the areas of discussion, or they may be longer and more informative. Regardless, they are designed to assist participants in preparing for the meeting and to follow the order of business. Space can also be included for note-taking. In the planning, consider the order in which you place the items; also, consider the importance or amount of discussion that should be required. This way, you can include effective eff ective timelines which will please participants. The amount of time includes considering if the item needs to simply be announced (such as previous minutes, or the receipt of an expected cheque) or is a discussion required? Items which are controversial or require in-depth consideration will take more time than an announcement. The placement of items on the agenda involves considering which items are most important and placing these first, regardless of the anticipated discussion time. This is crucial c rucial when there are precise start and finish times for meetings to ensure that the essential items are dealt with first. To save time, you may choose to use a Consent Agenda. This is where routine business items are taken care of in one action. These items would typically include standard, non-controversial, and/or selfexplanatory ones that can be consolidated and approved with one motion and vote. Reports, confirmation of actions committee meeting minutes and that sort of thing could be appropriate to group together on the Consent Agenda. Not all items actually require discussion, and often, many items have been previously discussed, and further discussion is unnecessary. The time saved by using a scheduled Consent Agenda is considerable. If you choose to apply this method, ensure that the agenda and any information is distributed to all participants well in advance of the scheduled meeting date to allow time for participants to examine before casting their vote. If there is a single item that is discovered to require discussion, it may be removed from the group during the actual meeting and discussed separately before the vote is taken.
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1.1.1 Increasing Agenda Efficiency To increase the efficiency of the agenda, a genda, decide the overall outcome desired to be achieved as a result of the meeting and then state this in the agenda. Then, work out what needs to be done to achieve that result and ensure that these items are included early in the agenda. This kind of detail also keeps people focussed and reduces digression. Often, the meeting experience can include great discussion on two entirely separate views – although each group believes they are on track. At some point, the participants misunderstood the purpose of the meeting. You can take it one step further by noting the type of o f action needed for each item beside it on the agenda. Actions could include a decision, vote, and an assigned person. You can also add recommended times for each item. However, do not get caught in the trap of over organising the agenda. Other people may have different ideas on how much discussion should be permitted or what level of importance each item should have. Remember to be flexible to allow input and demonstrate the value of the opinions and input of others.
1.1.2 Agenda Items Typically, an agenda will include the following items:
Correspondence
Date, time, and location of the meeting
Date of next meeting
General business
Major agenda items
Matters or business arising from the t he minutes
Minutes of the previous meeting
Reports
Statement of the meeting’s purpose
Welcome.
The purpose of the meeting will dictate the items for inclusion. Think carefully and be realistic about the timing before despatching the Agenda. Your organisation may have specific requirements for standard meetings. Check to see if there is such information and if so, closely follow the guidelines.
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Once you have set your agenda, there are more points for consideration and action if you intend to hold an effective meeting. These include:
The circumstances, mood, atmosphere/background, etc
The implications and needs of the business or project or organisation
The needs of the team or o r the meeting
Your role, confidence, experience, and your personal aims, etc
Your position and relationship with the team.
1.1.3 Business There are two types of business that can be covered as agenda items for your meeting. These include the following:
Adjourned Business
General Business
Adjourned business is the business on the agenda that did not begin or was completed at the meeting. Adjourned business takes precedence over all other business at the following meeting. General business, on the other hand, refers to matters or questions raised by the committee. It is often flagged by a ‘motion on notice’.
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Below is an example of a general business agenda item:
Recruitment of a coordinator The chairperson reported as convenor of the selection panel for the coordinator. He tabled a draft job description and advertisement. These were discussed by the committee and changes made (a revised version is attached to these minutes). ‘That the revised version of the position description and advertisement be endorsed , and
recruitment of the coordinator proceed along the lines agreed at the last meeting, and that the National Office is forwarded a copy of the advertisement and position description for final approval and thanked for the funding assistance.’
Moved: Partick Grills Seconded: Fred Bell
1.1.4 Tasks Your workplace tasks can also be used as agenda items for your meetings. To provide a better idea of what a meeting agenda with workplace items would typically look like, read the case study below.
Case Study 1.1.4 Your supervisor has recently chaired a meeting with the treasurer and the minute-taker in order to discuss workplace tasks that needed to be done within the week. Detailed in the meeting agenda below are the tasks specific to your supervisor, the treasurer, and the minute-taker. Treasurer: Pay Ozemail account Chairperson: Proceed with recruitment of coordinator Minute-taker: Write to the Department of State & Regional Development acknowledging and accepting funding for coordinator The chairperson declared the meeting closed at 8.45 pm. The next meeting is to be held on Wednesday 9 July 1999 from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm Confirmed:
(Chairperson) Date:
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1.1.5 Sample Formal Agenda How your formal agenda should look will be determined by your organi sation’s policies and procedures for writing meeting agendas. However, to give you an idea of how a formal agenda is typically formatted, a sample formal agenda is provided below. Name of organisation: Date: Time: (start and finish) Location: Chairperson opens meeting
Apologies
Minutes of previous meeting and confirmation confirmatio n of minutes
Business arising from minutes
Corresponden Corres pondence ce - inward and outward Endorsed by committee
Business arising from correspondence
Coordinator's report (continued in next page)
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Coordinator's report Equipment upgrade
Future venues for meetings
Sponsorship
Treasurer's report
Report from sub-committees Chook Raffle
Handover Arrangements
Adjourned business Appointment of new Chairperson
General business New membership drive
Date of next meeting
Chairperson closes meeting
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1.2 Establish and Verify Meeting Requirements with Relevant Individuals Before conducting the meeting, you must first establish your meeting requirements. Meeting requirements refer to items that are needed in a meeting in order for it to be effective and successful. Some meeting requirements, such as specific agenda items, will vary depending on the style and structure of your meeting, along with your organisation’s policies and procedures regarding meetings.
Meetings generally have the following requirements:
Style
Style typically refers to how you intend to conduct the meeting. These can include face-to-face meetings, online meetings, and virtual meetings.
Structure
The structure of your meeting refers to how your information is organised to achieve the purpose of your meeting. For instance, when conducting an online meeting, you may want to present your information in a PowerPoint presentation format to ensure that all participants are able to follow your discussion points.
Agenda
This refers to the list of items that you intend to discuss to your meeting participants. Your agenda would typically depend on the type of meeting you wish to conduct. For instance, an emergency meeting’s agenda would include items that are concerned co ncerned with a problem relevant to your organisation. On the other hand, a seminar’s agenda would include items about a specific subject matter and activities meant to help participants understand a subject matter better.
Participants
This refers to the personnel that must be present in your meeting. These are the people whom you intend to discuss a certain topic to in order to provide them with sufficient information about a task, an issue, or to help them gain new knowledge and skills.
Arrangements
Arrangements refer to items that must be taken into account before a meeting takes place in order to make sure that the meeting can happen. These include budget, venue, and pre-meeting documentation.
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To establish your meeting requirements, you must consider a number of factors. These factors are typically found in your meeting agenda and include the following:
Priorities
Results
Timing
Participants
Date and time
Sequence
Place
When considering these factors, ask the following questions below. These questions will help you determine the information you need according acco rding to your meeting requirements:
Priorities
o
What must be covered in the meeting?
Results
o
What do you need to accomplish at the meeting?
Participants
o
Who must attend the meeting in order for the meeting to be successful?
Sequence
o
In what order will you cover the agenda items?
Timing
o
How much time will you spend discussing each agenda item?
Date and time
o
When will the meeting take place?
Place
o
Where will the meeting be held?
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Aside from establishing meeting requirements, you must also verify these requirements with relevant individuals. Verification, in this context, refers to the confirmation that these requirements are correct and needed in the meeting. Given that definition, you must check with relevant individuals if your meeting has the correct requirements. The relevant individuals you must communicate with will depend on the meeting you intend to conduct. For instance, if your meeting’s purpose is to discuss your team’s project progress, you will need to verify with your team members and supervisor the agenda items of your meeting. When verifying meeting requirements, there are a number of questions that you must take into consideration. These questions also follow the factors you must consider when establishing meeting requirements, which include:
Priorities
o
Is this topic appropriate for your meeting?
o
Are there other topics that you must cover in your meeting?
Results
Do you have sufficient agenda items to ensure that you will achieve your desired
o
results for your meeting?
Participants
o
Are these individuals required to attend your meeting?
Sequence
o
Is the sequence of your agenda items clear and easy to follow?
Timing
o
Are these timeframes sufficient for each agenda item?
Date and time
Is the date and time of your meeting ideal for all participants?
o
Place
o
Is the location of your meeting accessible to all participants?
With these questions in mind, you can then verify the meeting requirements with relevant individuals through the following methods:
Email correspondences
Online consultations
Office memos
Face-to-face discussions
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1.2.1 Meeting Style and Structure These days, the technologies exist to allow most meetings to be held virtually. From conference calls to web conferencing, and lately even video conferencing, there are many different options to choose from in determining what type of meeting to run. In addition to saving time, online meetings are also more environmentally friendly due to the reduction in the carbon footprint f ootprint resulting from less travelling to and from meetings. However, there are times when face-to-face meetings are vastly preferable to remote meetings and vice versa. Sometimes, the two can be used in parallel. Virtual meetings (also referred to as online meetings or remote meetings) are an excellent option when distances between participants are very great. These meetings can be more timeefficient because travel time is significantly reduced. These meetings can enhance productivity in your business. In support of online meetings, software can be effectively utilised. The conference login details may be entered into the location field of the meeting invite so that all participants are aware of how to access the meeting and can find this information quickly. However, there are some situations where online meetings simply will not cut it. In particular, sensitive meetings relating to human resource matters such as grievances, disciplinary action, or one-to-one meetings with employees should almost always be held face to face, especially if they involve the sharing of difficult decisions. In addition, if a meeting involves a presentation or demonstration of any kind, or brainstorming using a physical whiteboard, inviting some participants to a conference call will not work either. These callers will get lost lo st when they cannot see the props that the other attendees are referring to. In this case, only an in-person meeting (or at the very minimum, a video conference) will suffice. Body language tells us a lot about what others are thinking. It is a key component of communication. There may be situations where it is important to gauge what a person is thinking through body language. In these situations, anything other than a face-to-face meeting may be inadequate. Even if you have an effectively operating distributed team and run your organisation exclusively with remote meetings, an occasional in-person meeting is highly recommended. It will foster team spirit, and online interaction is easier after you have met a person face to face.
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Advantages of Online Meetings
Usually relatively cheap to run.
Increase in productivity by saving on travel tr avel time to the meeting, if people are not in the
same location
Allow for immediate decisions to be made across vast geographical distances
Advantages of Face-to-Face Meetings
Allow easier understanding of a person’s message in instances where what they say
goes against what their body language shows
Help to provide sensitive feedback or bad news to individuals on a one-to-one basis.
Avoid people multitasking, e.g. working on the computer while attending the meeting
– there is a better chance of gettin g attendees’ full attention.
Whether remote or in-person, the meeting format must be decided during the meeting planning phase of the process. Knowing how the meeting is going to be held in advance helps the participants plan their attendance, arrange their transportation to the meeting, and ensure that they have the right tools (web, video, etc.) set up to be able to attend. Another consideration is the reason for the meeting. The reason for your meeting will determine the style of the meeting. If you choose a less appropriate structure, then the meeting may be less successful. Some reasons for conducting a meeting include:
Customer or Client Management:
This meeting could be for a sales presentation, reporting, and negotiations.
Staff Management
Weekly staff meetings are often held to inform of work progress and upcoming jobs, OH&S issues, and to give and receive feedback.
Project Management
Meetings are held to plan and measure progress, solve problems, and align activities.
Decision Management
Groups and committees hold meetings to share information info rmation and planning, all combined with decision-making and generation of ideas.
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The various types of meetings include:
Topical Meeting
Standing Meeting
Presentations
Conference
Emergency Meeting
Seminar
Topical Meeting
One specific topic is discussed. The topic discussed can include a work issue or a project task. The participants and format of the meeting depend on the topic being discussed.
Standing Meeting
Standing meetings are regularly scheduled with established agendas. These meetings are easier to manage, with similar formats and agendas. These meetings are usually conducted on the same date and time and can be rescheduled if needed. Examples of standing meetings include weekly check-ins with employees and monthly project meetings.
Presentations
These are highly structured meetings held to inform an audience. In presentations, your audience may ask questions but are not actively encouraged to participate. Presentations usually include a moderator and one or more participants.
Conference
A conference refers to a highly structured and moderated meeting. Your audience may ask questions but are not actively encouraged to participate. Conferences typically take place over the course of a day and can continue for weeks. These are often formal and must be planned in advance.
Emergency Meeting
Emergency meetings address a crisis and are arranged with very little notice. Attendance to these meetings is mandatory and takes precedence over all else. Emergency meetings can be used to discuss both the internal and external problems of the organisation. An example of an internal problem is a theft in the building, while external problems, on the other hand, can include natural disasters.
Seminar
Seminars are educational and led by people with expertise in the subject matter. Participants in the seminar are expected to gain new knowledge or skills at the end of the seminar.
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1.2.2 Who Should Participate? This will be determined by what is intended to be achieved in the meeting. Too many people could slow and confuse the decision-making, and too few could result in inadequate representation. Discuss this with other people who need to be involved and restrict invitations to those who add value. Ask their opinions. Consider the cost – all participants who ‘down tools’ is a cost to their organisation. Even when meetings are held out of hours, family and recreational time are lost. Avoid participants who traditionally do not participate. partic ipate. A copy of the minutes sent to them will help keep them informed. Just as important, do not hold meetings to simply communicate information – an email or memo will suffice. Planning can be done by committees rather than using the whole number of participants and should include a combination of big picture pic ture concept type of participants and the detail people. This needs to be considered to keep committee meetings effective. Guests providing expertise or vested interests from other departments may also be considered as participants. They could bring new information and ideas, and it could cement relationships between units. Try and avoid senior officials unless necessary for decision-making because they may unintentionally intimidate other participants, restricting their input. The relevant personnel you may want to invite to your meetings can include the following:
Your supervisor/s
Your colleagues
Clients
Suppliers
As mentioned above, this will be determined by the results you want from your meeting. However, there are other factors that you must consider in determining which personnel in the workplace are relevant to your meeting. Personnel is relevant when they:
Have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the topics to be discussed
Have the power to make a decision regarding the topics to be discussed
Are able to implement a decision or take a project to its next stage
Are representatives of a group that will be affected by the decisions made at your
meeting
Have time to participate in your meeting
Are open to the perspectives and opinions of other participants
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1.2.3 Meeting Arrangements Having established the purpose and structure of your meeting, you must now either make or confirm the arrangements to ensure that it flows smoothly and that the participants are wellprepared. First, determine your budget, and then you can complete the other arrangements with confidence.
Venue:
If possible, hold meetings in the place where your participants have already made
reservations or secured lodging (i.e. a hotel). If the set venue does not offer lodging or its lodging is too expensive for participants, arrange for cheaper alternative accommodation nearby.
If possible, get access to audio-visual facilities (in-house or from an outside contractor).
Set up a reception area if appropriate to facilitate registrations.
Catering (in-house or outside contractor)
Space for speakers’ audio-visual preparation if appropriate
Secure a venue contact for assistance before and/or during the meeting
Adequate security for the meeting
Pre-meeting Documentation:
What do participants need to read and consider before the meeting?
What is the timeframe for despatch? This may be able to be sent with the agenda.
Do note that some of the items listed above will not be necessary for smaller meetings.
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1.3 Contact and Confirm Meeting with Participants According to Organisational Procedures
Your organisation may have standard procedures for notices of meetings. If so, always follow the methods. If these are not available, remember to allow plenty of time for participants to plan their time and consider the pre-reading.
Email the Meeting Invitation, the Purpose, and the Location and Time
Request invited participants to accept or decline and make sure that they are aware that if they accept, they are expected to attend.
Agenda Items
Request that all agenda items be submitted no less than two days before the meeting and estimate the amount of time they will need to present it.
Summarise All Agenda Items
Once all agenda items are received, create a table with headings ‘Agenda Item’, ‘Presenter’, and ‘Time’. Check that each is directly related to the purpose of the meeting. If an inappropriate request is made, recommend that this agenda item waits until another meeting. m eeting. Be realistic regarding the time you allocate to each presenter. People expect to start and finish on time and tend to get uneasy when
they run over.
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Send Agenda Before the Meeting
This will act as a reminder of the meeting goals, location, time, and duration. The amount of time before the meeting will be determined by the amount of pre-reading despatched with the agenda. After identifying and contacting your meeting participants, you must then confirm your meeting with them. Confirming your meeting allows you to be sure that both you and your participants are clear on the arrangements of your meeting. This also allows both you and your participants to sufficiently prepare for the meeting so that it can be conducted effectively and successfully. There are a number of methods that you can use to confirm your meeting arrangements. These methods often depend on your organisation’s requirements. Be sure to check your organisation’s
policies and procedures for requirements regarding contacting meeting participants and confirming meetings with them. There are, however, three common methods of confirming meetings. These common methods of confirming meetings include:
Face-to-face confirmation
This method of confirmation refers to simply confirming the meeting attendance of your participants in person. This method of confirmation is often used for informal meetings, and due to its oral nature, is often followed up by documentation. Documentation can include attendance confirmation spreadsheets, attendance confirmation checklists, etc.
Meeting confirmation emails
This method of confirmation refers to using email correspondences to confirm meetings with participants. These confirmation emails are often short, straightforward, and require a reply from participants so that your attendance is confirmed. These confirmation emails typically contain information on what the meeting is about, who will conduct the meeting, when and where the meeting will be held, and any documents you are required to bring to the meeting.
Meeting confirmation letters
This method of confirmation is similar to meeting confirmation emails, but instead of being electronic, you provide a physical document to each of your participants. Meeting confirmation letters typically contain the same information found within a meeting confirmation email. Reply letters from your participants are not required but highly recommended. In the instance where you do not receive a reply letter, it is possible to rely on the previous methods listed above.
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1.4 Provide Meeting Papers to Participants According to Task Requirements Meetings can be made more efficient by ensuring that the participants are well informed. Sending all documentation to be considered in advance of the meeting facilitates this. If the participants come prepared, time is not wasted informing; rather, decisions can be made more efficiently. This also reduces frustration sometimes felt by those who are able to read and absorb points more quickly. quickly. Based on your task requirements, you will need to identify the meeting papers you are required to provide to your participants. Meeting papers refer to documents that ensure that all participants of the meeting are well-informed about the purpose and discussion di scussion topics of the meeting. There are four different types of meeting papers. These include the following:
Notice
Notices are documents that inform participants about your intention to conduct a meeting. Notices are often sent to participants in advance to give them sufficient time to prepare for your meeting.
Agenda
Agendas are documents that are typically prepared either by the chairperson or an individual under thebe instruction the meeting. chairperson. As documents discussed inare Section 1.1, agendas the areas of to covered inofyour These developed to assistinclude your participants iin ndiscussion preparing for your meeting and in following the order of business.
Minutes
Minutes refer to documents that provide an accurate and truthful representation of what happened in a previous meeting. This helps both the participants and the chairperson see if all items from a previous meeting have been actioned upon, or at what status the action items are.
Code of ethics/codes of conduct
These documents typically contain a set of principles and expectations that both the chairperson and participants must adhere to when participating in the meeting. These documents ensure that the meeting is conducted smoothly and successfully and are typically used in board meetings and meetings where a public audience are involved. In order to identify which of these types of meeting papers you must provide based on your task requirements, you can use the following methods:
Consider the type and style s tyle of meeting
Some meeting papers will not always be appropriate for the type of meeting you are conducting. Likewise, the meeting papers must be appropriate for the style of your meeting. For instance, if you have an online meeting with a person halfway around the world, sending them a soft copy of the meeting paper through email would be appropriate.
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Identify the purpose of your meeting
The purpose of your meeting will help you identify what meeting papers you must provide and distribute in your meeting. The purpose of your meeting typically follows your task requirements and can help you determine both the structure of your meeting and the meeting papers you can provide. For instance, your task requires you to discuss a project task with your team. To complete your task, you can conduct a topical meeting and provide relevant documentation. Relevant documentation can include project details, project participants, their roles, and timeframes.
Prepare a handout
A handout is a document with the purpose of informing or providing additional information. In this context, a handout can provide you with a list of your task requirements and the agenda items that are aligned with them. Since the agenda items have already been provided, you can then identify which meeting papers are relevant to your yo ur task requirements and distribute them accordingly. To better illustrate how you can provide meeting papers to your participants according to your task requirements, a case study has been provided below:
Case Study 1.4 You have been assigned to inform your fellow employees about workplace health and safety. Given the educational nature of the task, you are to provide a seminar to other employees. When preparing your seminar, you think about what you must present in your seminar. Since your seminar is about workplace health and safety, the items you must present include safety plans and procedures, workplace risks, and additional documentation. Additional documentation for your seminar can include workplace inspection reports, incident data, and monitoring and measurement data. Pre-reading allows the meeting to focus on problem resolution and decision-making rather than reading or listening to information which could have been given earlier. This information may include sales figures, plans, follow-ups, correspondence, or other information requiring time to consider or research. Selecting the best time to despatch can be difficult. Too early and it may be forgotten or left unread, and too late and there may be insufficient time to consider. Generally, consider the volume, time for reply or response, timelines established by the organisation for completion, project timelines, or statutory requirements as for annual general meetings. While documents may be attached to an email, posting is a better option. If an acknowledgment of receipt is required, it is easily obtained. Confidentiality is also preserved. Before despatch, consider the budget because some methods of delivery are expensive.
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Activity 1 This activity is a simple introduction to demonstrate the importance of planning meetings and will help you develop an awareness of structure, scheduling, etc., and the basic process of organising and coordinating time, activities and resources. Break the group into smaller groups, each having an odd number (3, 5, or 7) of participants. Without discussion, each person must produce a simple plan for making a cooked breakfast. You may substitute or offer alternative tasks. Cooking breakfast is merely an example. Specify a task which the group will find interesting and amusing. For variation, you can c an issue each team with a different task. Using simple non-work-related tasks such as cooking a breakfast enables good focus on the planning and is an enjoyable quick activity, rather than using real work issues, which can become overly detailed, distracting, and/or tedious. Once the task has been completed, ask each group to discuss the ideas of the other members of that group and arrive at an agreement as to the plan their individual group will present to the larger group.
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Activity 2 Using the given clues and the discussion for this chapter, complete the word search puzzle below.
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1. This is a list of items that you intend to discuss in your meeting. 2. This refers to how you intend to conduct your meeting. 3. This refers to how your information is organised to achieve the purpose of your meeting. 4. These are personnel that must be present in your y our meeting. 5. These are items that must be taken into account before a meeting takes place. 6. This is the confirmation that your meeting requirements are correct. 7. These are documents that inform participants about the meeting ahead of time. 8. These provide an accurate and truthful representation of what happened in a previous meeting.
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Notes
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Key Points: Chapter 1
A well-prepared and organised agenda is an important i mportant tool for helping groups hold orderly,
efficient meetings. t he situation. Choose meeting methods that are appropriate for the
Explore other options such as telephone conferencing and videoconferencing before
deciding that a physical meeting is required and decide what sort of meeting is appropriate for the situation.
Meeting types include:
o
Standing meeting
o
Topical meeting
o
Presentation
o
Conference
o
Emergency meeting
o
Seminar.
The relevant individuals must be invited to your meeting, and the meeting requirements
must be established and verified with them.
Make or confirm the arrangements to ensure that it flows smoothly.
o
Budget
o
Transport
o
Accommodation
o
Choosing a Date
o
Location
o
Meeting Equipment
o
Catering
o
Pre-meeting Documentation.
One of the key components of an agenda is the inclusion of supporting information.
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Chapter 1 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz Tick ‘True’ if the statement is correct, and ‘False’ if not. Physical, face-to-face meetings are the least effective style of meetings for conveying feelings and meanings. Confirming your meeting allows you to be sure that both you and your
True
False
participants are clear on the arrangements of your meeting. The purpose of your meeting will dictate the items for inclusion in your data. It is surprising how many meetings occur without the right people there. A well-run meeting is quick, productive, and enables participants to achieve outcomes through the best practice. Verification of meeting requirements refers to the confirmation that these requirements are not needed in the meeting. A comprehensive agenda will take up additional time and demotivate participants. Few meetings involve a group review of relevant information.
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Chapter 2: Conduct Meetings
After making the necessary preparations, you can then proceed with conducting your meeting. Conducting your meeting seems simple enough, but you must consider that you also have a role to play in facilitating participation from your audience. Remember that meetings are a form of communication; it is a two-way process that requires input from both you and your audience. Other things you must consider are the conventions and requirements for conducting your meeting. Your organisation might have policies and procedures on the type of meetings you can conduct based on your meeting’s purpose. As for requirements, there are legal and ethical requirements that dictate
how a meeting must be conducted and what adjustments you can make for your participants. While these seem to be a lot to remember, it is important to take note of these considerations as they provide structure to your meeting and can help you conduct your meeting successfully. These considerations can guide you into being an effective chairperson, facilitating participation and discussions from your audience.
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Organisati onal Requirements, Agreed Conventions for 2.1 Chair Meetings According to Organisational Type of Meeting and Legal and Ethical Requirements As mentioned in the introduction of Chapter 2, your organisation may have requirements for chairing meetings. These requirements are typically found in your organisation’s policies and procedures for meetings and include information on the purposes of meetings in the workplace and how these meetings must be chaired. Ensure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures for more information on your organisation’s requirements for chairing meetings. Take Bounce Fitness, for instance. Bounce Fitness is a premier fitness centre that caters to businesspeople from the Central Business District. Bounce Fitness details a number of procedures for chairing meetings, which include:
General meetings will be chaired by the Director of Bounce Fitness. In the absence of the
Director, the General Manager, or any Department Supervisor will be appointed by the Director prior to the t he scheduled meeting.
The Department Supervisor or a case manager appointed by the Department Supervisor will
chair the meeting for Department D epartment and team levels.
General meetings require a quorum. Where there is a lack of quorum, the Chair can adjourn
the meeting.
Meetings must start and end at the time proposed at the notice.
Staff members can propose a motion and must vote for a resolution.
The Chair calls for the vote for a resolution. Where a motion is not passed, it will be added as
a motion for the next meeting. ri ght All motions proposed should be relevant to the business of discussion. The Chair has the right
to revoke any motion that is irrelevant or repetitive.
The Chair also takes note of the major decisions made during the meeting.
Staff members have an opportunity to speak to any motion after the Chair opens the floor
and for an allocated period.
Further Reading The simulated business of Bounce Fitness has supplementary materials relevant to chairing meetings. You may access these through their website linked below. Policies and Procedures for Meetings
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Given your organisation’s policies and procedures for chairing meetings, you must ensure that the
conventions for both virtual and face-to-face meetings are in line with your organisation’s requirements. Conventions refer to a set of rules under which meetings are usually conducted. These rules provide structure, fairness, and accountability during your meeting. Conventions will not necessarily be the same throughout every meeting, but your organisation o rganisation will usually set up their own private set of conventions to ensure uniformity unifo rmity during your meetings. The common conventions for these meetings include:
Virtual meetings
o
Choose the appropriate technology Your organisation’s requirements and your agenda will determine the most suitable meeting platforms you can use for your meeting. Examples of common virtual meeting platforms include the following:
Skype
This platform provides basic online group audio and video calls, which is appropriate for short update meetings such as check-ins. Calls can be recorded for any participants that cannot attend the meeting.
Citrix GoToMeeting
This platform allows participants to share screens during the meeting. GoToMeeting is available on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
Cisco WebEx
This platform provides an HD video feature, which means that the video output in the meeting can be of high quality.
Microsoft Teams
This platform offers video conferencing and file sharing in real-time. In addition, it allows you to share your screen with other participants so they can see the same content. Ensure to review the meeting platforms that are available to you before using them. Some platforms may lack specific features, such as polls or online whiteboards.
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o
Work on specific skills When chairing a virtual meeting, its success will often depend on you. Due to this, it is important to learn the skills and tools that can help you chair the meeting effectively. This would include skills to operate the meeting platform and your interpersonal skills. For instance, your meeting participants are unfamiliar with each other. Using ice breakers can encourage your participants to relax and be acquainted with each other before the discussion. This can include asking them to introduce themselves and share information about themselves or doing an exercise that helps them know more about each other.
o
Spend time preparing There are a number of items that you must consider when preparing for virtual meetings. These can include dealing with conflict in the virtual space, keeping the discussion productive, and technical difficulties at bay. Take these items into account so that you can prepare sufficiently for your meeting and for any technical challenges that may happen. Next, decide on your agenda and how much time you will be spending on each agenda item. For longer items, you can organise your agenda items to ten to fifteen-minute segments to help keep everyone engaged. Afterwards, schedule your meeting with everyone’s time zones in mind. Check with your participants if your meeting time is suitable and ensure to be punctual; just because the meeting is virtual, that does not mean it is polite to start or finish late. After making these preparations, you can then send out notices and login details to your participants. These would include the meeting URL, the agenda, a list of the attendees, and the meeting’s start and finish times. Be sure to provide these several days before the meeting to allow your participants to prepare beforehand.
o
Set ground rules Your ground rules will guide the behaviour of your attending participants. For example, you may ask your participants to log in to the meeting five minutes early so that everyone can connect and check their audio and video. Other examples include asking participants to mute their lines until they are ready to speak and asking everyone to state their names before speaking.
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o
Communicate with virtual reality in mind Facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language are often lost in virtual vi rtual meetings, which means your participants will not be able to pick up important communication cues from them. When chairing a virtual meeting, guide the discussion by asking for a discussion one personofatsaying a time.‘Hello everyone, let us begin with introductions. Who For instance, instead wants to go first?’ you can say, ‘Hello everyone, let us begin with introductions. Emmett, why don’t you go first, followed by Jan and Dean?’ During the discussion, strengthen your active listening skills by focusing on the person currently speaking. You can show that you paid attention by asking them a relevant question or summarising what they said. When it is your turn to speak in the discussion, ensure to clearly communicate how you feel through your choice of words. For instance, if you are unsure about something, you can share it in the discussion and ask for clarification. clarification.
o
Facilitate involvement from all participants As chairperson, you must ensure that your participants have sufficient suffic ient opportunity to contribute to the discussion. You can do this by pausing regularly during discussions and asking each participant for their input. This is also known as the Round Robin technique, which encourages your participants to stay engaged. Other methods of keeping participants engaged include using activities and questions. Some meeting platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, have a feature that allows attendees to ‘raise their hand’ virtually to respond to questions.
Face-to-face meetings
o
Be punctual Like virtual meetings, ensure that you start and finish your meeting on time. You can arrive at the location of your meeting at least fifteen minutes early, which shows respect to your participants and allows you to prepare before the meeting.
o
Restrict the discussion to agenda items Your agenda provides a structure for your meeting and helps your yo ur invitees sufficiently prepare for your meeting. Discussing topics that are not relevant to your agenda can confuse your participants and derail your meeting, wasting everyone’s time.
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o
Make thorough preparations As previously mentioned, your agenda determines the preparations required for your meeting. These preparations can include additional documents, such as reports and project data. Be sure to create these preparations so that your participants have a
o
better understanding of your meeting topic. Take breaks regularly If you are chairing a long meeting, ensure to take a break every two hours so that your participants remain engaged. Aim for breaks around fifteen to twenty minutes long and meal breaks around thirty minutes long. lo ng.
o
Follow dress code Should the meeting require a dress code, you yo u must indicate to your participants parti cipants what kind of attire is required. For instance, your meeting requires a business casual dress code. A representative listing of the dress code can be helpful to your participants, as they may have differing views on what business casual is.
o
Speak in turn Similar to the virtual meeting, having everyone speak in turn helps keep the meeting organised. Speak only when you have the floor and ask questions during the designated question period. Avoid interrupting when someone else is speaking or asking a question. question.
o
Listen actively As mentioned in the virtual meeting conventions, it is important that you strengthen your active listening skills. You can show that you were attentive through facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. Other methods include taking notes and asking questions.
o
Remove distractions Before chairing the meeting, ask your participants to put away their phones or any other mobile devices they may have. Let them know that they can access ac cess their devices during breaks to make sure that your participants remain focused on your meeting.
o
Do not bring guests Ensure not to bring unannounced guests to your meeting. Should you bring guests, you must notify your participants several days before the meeting. Let your participants know who your guests are and why they have been invited to your meeting.
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2.1.1 Standard Process Meetings may be conducted using what are considered standard processes, or in the manner dictated by the constitution of an organisation. o rganisation. Whether an organisation is incorporated or not, meeting process requires a clear set of rules, based on Robert’s Rules of Order. Robert’s Rules of Order is the standard for facilitating discussions and group decision-making. Copies of the rules are available at most bookstores. Although they may seem long and involved, having an agreed upon set of rules makes meetings run easier. Robert’s Rules will help your group have better meetings, not make them more difficult. Your group is free to modify them or find another suitable process that encourages fairness and participation unless your bylaws state otherwise. Model rules may include:
Committee Meetings
The notice required, quorums, the minimum number of meetings, m eetings, who should chair and how voting should be carried.
Annual General Meetings (AGMs)
When they should occur, how office bearers should be elected and items to be on the agenda.
General Meetings
Amount of notice required, who should chair, quorums, how they can be convened, how voting should be carried out, passing of special resolutions, and adjournments. Establish model rules according to your needs. There are no specific processes required even for incorporated companies.
Further Reading To know more about Robert’s Rules of Order, you may access the website linked below. Robert’s Rules of Order
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2.1.2 Meeting Procedures or Standing Orders Meeting procedures are based on democratic principles and the government by the will of the majority. Meetings are more efficient and effective by establishing a clear set of meeting procedures. The main requirements are:
Decisions are made in accordance with democratic principles.
Minority opinion is respected.
A few overpowering people do not impose their will.
Depending on the needs of your organisation, the procedures can be simple or complex. The basic meeting procedures are referred to as standing orders and define the methods used to conduct meetings and debates.
2.1.3 Choosing the Right Level of Formality The degree of formality required by your organisation is another matter of choice and will again be reflected in the standing orders. There are occasions when an informal meeting is the best choice. However, great formality is required when:
There is a new executive or committee
There is a potential for conflict
Some members are disruptive or overbearing
Participants are comfortable with formality and get a good result.
More formality may be warranted when:
The committee is new and/or on unfamiliar ground
A high level of accountability is needed for the project Milestones and financing mentioned
There is conflict or potential conflict
Disruptive or dominating members are present
Members are familiar with formal procedures, and formality brings the most efficient
result. Meetings can be less formal for problem solving involving creative activities such as brainstorming. The annual general meeting requires adherence to the rules.
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2.1.4 Quorum A quorum is the number of participants that must be present for the actions of o f the meeting to be valid. It is also to ensure that meetings are democratically representative of members. Decisions that are made at a meeting without a quorum are not binding on members. Quorums can vary in number for different types of meetings.
2.1.5 Amendments Amendments must not conflict with decisions already made – they must be relevant to the original motion and not introduce new ideas. Amendments must be handled by the chairperson in the correct order – in sequence as they affect the various sections of the motion. Movers are called on to speak in the order in which their amendment affects the motion. Four types of amendments are:
1. To leave out certain words 2. To leave out certain words in order to add others 3. To add certain words 4. To leave out all the words after the first word `that’ and substitute others with a different meaning. Once an amendment is moved, the discussion must be confined to the section of the original motion which it proposes to alter. The whole motion can no longer be debated. Besides the question of sequence, the chairperson must keep in mind that some members may be in favour of one part of the amendment and not the other. After several opinions have been heard from both sides, the chairperson may ask for one or more speaker from each side – then give the mover a chance to exercise a right of reply.
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2.1.6 Voting Actions of the meeting are valid only if there is a quorum; that is because actions must be voted on. This guarantees that meetings are democratically representative of members. The matter can be voted on:
At the time
Postponed until a future date
Postponed indefinitely.
A proxy vote refers to a vote that another person makes on behalf of another person. When making a proxy vote, you will need a written document that provides you with authority to do so. This document is also known as a proxy vote form. A casting vote is a vote that is exercised by the chairperson to create a result when the voting is equal. The constitution should clarify the rules about the use of casting votes. Voting can be by voice, a show of hands or if necessary, by standing, depending on the size of the meeting and the closeness of the numbers for and against. A count co unt should be taken again if there is any doubt about the result.
2.1.7 Keeping it Legal and Ethical Early in the planning stages, but after you have decided your purpose and type of meeting, thought must be given to the legal and ethical requirements. These include:
Ethical Requirements
o
Codes of Practice Industry Codes of Practice provide practical guidance and advice on how to achieve the standard required by Acts and regulations. Codes of practice are developed through consultation with representatives from industry, workers and employers, special interest groups, and government agencies. A Code of Practice is not law, but it should be followed unless there is an alternative course of action that achieves the same or better standards. Employers, workers, designers, manufacturers, and suppliers should use the Code of Practice in conjunction with the Act and regulations.
o
Ethics in Business Meetings It is important to behave appropriately to earn respect and appreciation in and out of the organisation. This is applicable during meetings, as meetings are important instances where employees sit together and discuss ideas and opinions that benefit the organisation.
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There are a number of ethical guidelines that you must consider when participating in business meetings. These guidelines include:
Create an agenda before every meeting. Ensure to distribute your meeting
agenda in advance to allow your participants to sufficiently prepare. Your agenda provides a well-defined plan for your meeting; keep it short and make sure not to stray from your key points.
Keep your smartphone on silent mode. Disruptions such as smartphones
ringing in the middle of meetings are considered rude and unprofessional. In addition to being rude, these disruptions can break the pace of the meeting.
Always be punctual for meetings. Similar to disruptions from smartphones,
being late is considered rude and unprofessional, as you are wasting your participants’ time.
Listen to what your participants have to say. Allow them sufficient time to
deliver their opinions and ideas.
Speak loudly and clearly when chairing the meeting. Ensure that the
meeting information is being delivered to your participants in a manner that is easy for them to understand.
Use whiteboards, projectors, graphs, or slides as visual aids for better
clarity during your meeting.
Prepare a question-and-answer session to allow your participants to clarify
any doubts they may have.
Once your meeting has concluded, have your minute-taker prepare the
minutes of the meeting and distribute the minutes to your participants as soon as possible. o
Public Meetings These meetings are held to inform the community at large and may be in a group, by videoconference, or teleconference. Often, they are held in response to proposed changes in government or community services or property which will affect the community or a great number of people. Many of these meetings can be confrontational, and the large numbers may pose a new set of concerns.
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Regardless of whether your meetings are formal or informal, consideration must always be given to safety. Here are a few points to consider and discuss with your committees:
If your meetings are held in rented or borrowed premises, find out about
public risk and your liability; arrange public liability insurance coverage; update it regularly, and remember to always promote injury and accident prevention.
Consider access and equity issues for gender, disability access, the young,
old, or the infirm — promoting safe meeting access and the environment is just part of real participation. Many groups and committees use food and raffles to raise their profile or gather funds. Be familiar with the legal and local law requirements for food safety or liquor licensing. Consider the alternatives and model positive positi ve behaviour at all times.
If it is appropriate, be family-friendly, develop a family-friendly policy, and
be accommodating of young or new families. f amilies. Provide a variety of activities and roles to encourage greater participation. Consider providing childcare and encourage all ages for the next generation of committee volunteers.
Undertake Safety Audits of your facilities at least annually and have First
Aid trained personnel in attendance.
Legislative Requirements
Make sure that whatever you do is legal l egal and give serious consideration to ensuring that you meet the requirements of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Privacy Act 1988, and many others that may impact on your meeting behaviours or topics. o
Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 is a piece of legislation that details government obligations under civil and political rights, discrimination, the rights of children, and the rights of physically and mentally disabled persons. Of particular note are the following sections:
Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons
This section details the rights of mentally disadvantaged persons which aim to promote their integration in society as much as possible. These rights must be considered to ensure that the meetings you are chairing are accessible and easily understood by mentally disadvantaged persons.
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Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
This section lists the rights of disabled persons. Similar to the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, these rights are provided to ensure that disabled persons are provided equal opportunities as ablebodied people.
Further Reading To learn more about this piece of legislation, access the site linked below. Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 1986 o
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) is a piece of legislation that aims to protect the health, safety, and welfare of workers in the workplace. All kinds of workers are protected by this act, and other people who may be affected by the work that is being done are also covered by it. The WHS Act has set several requirements businesses must adhere to and integrate into their organisational strategy, policies, and procedures. These include:
Consultation with workers
Incident notification
Inspector powers and functions
Issue resolution
Offences and penalties
Two particular sections of the WHS outline the necessity for communicating work health and safety information to workers. These are:
Part 5, Division 5.2 Section 47.1
This section requires business owners to consult with their workers regarding work health and safety matters as they are likely to be directly affected by matters relating to these.
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Part 5, Division 5.2 Section 49a
This section requires consultation in order to identify hazards and assess risks to health and safety that may arise from the work that is being carried out by a business. Section 2.1 of this manual has discussed the consultation process Bounce Fitness has in place. This is aligned with the requirements set above.
Further Reading To learn more about this piece of legislation, access the site linked below. Work Health and Safety Act 2011 o
Privacy Act 1988 The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is a piece of legislation that aims to promote and protect the privacy of individuals. It is particularly concerned about how Australian Government agencies and organisations handle personal information of these individuals. One section of the Privacy Act merits further discussion. This is:
Part II, Division 2, Section 16A
This discusses the situations where it is permittable to share personal information. By default, the sharing and usage of others’ personal information should not be done without their consent; however, this section recognises seven permitted general situations. These are:
1. To lessen or prevent a serious threat to an individual’s life, health, or safety, or to public health or safety
2. To take appropriate action in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct
3. To locate a missing person 4. To assert a legal or equitable claim 5. To conduct an alternative dispute resolution process pr ocess 6. To perform diplomatic or consular functions (this only applies to agencies)
7. To conduct specified Defence Force activities (this only applies to the Defence Force)
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It is important for your business to make a note of these general situations for the need to use or disclose personal information may arise and be necessary. However, it is likewise important to remember that the situations outlined are all exceptions to the rule. rule. Further Reading To learn more about this piece of legislation, access the site linked below. Privacy Act 1988 1988
o
Disability Discrimination Act (1992) This piece of legislation requires that people with disabilities are able to access ac cess and use places open to the public and to access any services and facilities provided in those buildings. People with disabilities can face barriers to attending and participating partic ipating in public functions in a variety of ways. They may experience difficulty hearing what is said, seeing a small print on an invitation, climbing steps to the venue, understanding signage, or using a restroom in the building. Public events need to be planned to ensure they are accessible to all members of the community. Consideration of aspects such as the venue, continuous accessible path to the venue, invitations, and hearing augmentation is important. To assist event organisers and function coordinators design, plan and conduct events that are accessible for people with disabilities, the Disability Services Commission has produced the booklet Creating Accessible Events .
Further Reading To learn more about this piece of legislation, access the site linked below. Disability Discrimination 1992 To learn more about the CreatingAct Accessible Events booklet, access the site linked below. Creating Accessible Events Events By carefully planning your meeting and avoiding the risks, you will step around the legal minefields and emerge unscathed!
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2.1.8 Defining Terms There are a number of terms that you may encounter in your meetings. These terms include the following:
A motion is used to introduce a new piece of business or propose a decision or action.
A motion must be made by a group member ( ‘I move that......’) A second motion must then also be made (raise your hand and say, ‘I second it.’) After limited discussion, the group then votes on the motion. A majority vote is required for the motion to pass (or quorum as specified in your bylaws.)
A substantive motion is a formal proposal put before the meeting for the purpose of
eliciting a decision. It is worded by the mover to achieve its purpose in each case, but the chairperson must ensure that the wording is clear before accepting the motion. Once accepted by the chairperson and seconded, a substantive motion becomes the property of the meeting and can only be altered by a formal vote to amend it.
Procedural motions are working motions that help the processing of substantive
motions through the meeting. They have fixed wording and are subject to strict conditions about who can move them and when. They are used to facilitate f acilitate the business of the meeting. When dealing with them, it is important to remember that, as presented, they are only motions and have no validity until a vote has been taken. A Procedural Motion cannot be moved or seconded by anyone who has moved, seconded or spoken to the substantive motion or amendment which is ‘the Question before the Chair’, so when confronted with a Procedural Motion, ask yourself is this person eligible to move this motion?
An amendment is a change to the detail of a motion. It must never negate the motion.
Anyone can move an amendment, except the mover and seconder of the original motion, but everyone can speak to the amendment. The mover of an amendment has no right of reply
A resolution is a formal expression of a decision made in a meeting, agreed upon by
participants through voting.
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2.2 Promote Participation, Discussion, Problem Solving and Resolution of Issues During meetings, it can be difficult to encourage participation, discussion, problem solving, and resolution of issues from your participants. In this section, these items will be discussed one at a time, starting with participation. Participation, by dictionary definition, refers to the action of taking part in something. You can participate in a meeting through discussion, problem solving, and resolution of issues. However, discussion, problem solving, and resolution of issues have their differences, which will be discussed later in this section. There are six methods of promoting participation in meetings. These methods include:
1. Prepare and distribute your agenda As discussed in Section 1.1, your agenda provides an outline of the structure of your meeting. A lack of agenda will lead to a lack of clear understanding of the subject matter of the meeting. This can cause your participants to feel uncomfortable with participating in your meeting. You can provide clarity to your participants by sending the agenda to them with a friendly memo. This allows them to ask any questions beforehand and allows them to feel welcome to offer input to any additional topics your participants feel f eel should be addressed.
2. Create a safe space for your participants to engage in This allows your participants to feel at ease, inspiring confidence, and trust from them. One method of doing this is starting the meeting with positive feedback on your attendees’ performance in a project. For instance, your participants consist of your team members. You can start off your meeting by acknowledging their most recent accomplishment, making everyone feel valued.
3. Be mindful of the time of day When scheduling your meeting, ensure to schedule it at a productive time of day. Scheduling meetings too early in the morning can cause your participants to be tired or cranky. You may also want to avoid scheduling your meetings after lunch when people are feeling full and sleepy. An exception to this is if your meeting involves an activity that requires your participants to move around. It is also not ideal to schedule a meeting towards the end of the day when your participants have lost steam and are just waiting to go home. A safe window of time to schedule a productive meeting is between ten o’clock in the morning and one-thirty in the afternoon.
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4. Use the ‘Start, Stop, Continue, Change’ model The ‘Start, Stop, Continue, Change ’ model allows participants to express themselves freely in an organised manner. The model poses the following fol lowing questions:
What needs to start?
What needs to stop?
What should continue?
What should change?
Start your meeting by going through these questions and choosing a volunteer for each one. If your participants do not readily volunteer for this, consider which of these categories apply to each person’s strengths and offer that category to them. Be sure to explain to them why you think they would be a good fit for that category.
5. Introduce a ‘Speaking Object’ Depending on your meeting, it can be helpful to pass an object to each participant when it is their turn to speak. This object is referred to as a ‘speaking object’ and ensures that each person gets to participate without interruptions. If you plan to use a speaking object, be sure to include it in your agenda so that your participants do not feel put on the spot.
6. Use a feedback/suggestion box To get a good sense of how your meeting felt to your participants, you can provide them a few minutes after the meeting to write feedback down. This allows your participants to feel safe in addressing items that they may have felt uncomfortable speaking about. Ensure to read through all the feedback and take them into consideration for your next meeting.
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Discussion, on the other hand, is a conversation about a particular topic or range of topics, held in a group of a size that allows participation from all members. You do not necessarily need a leader to have a good discussion, but you may need to facilitate should you have more than two participants. The following elements are present in an effective discussion:
All participants have a chance to speak openly
All participants can hear the ideas and opinions of others stated openly
Ideas that are not fully formed can be safely tested out
All participants can receive r eceive and respond to respectful, honest, and constructive feedback
Various perspectives are put forward and discussed
The discussion is not dominated by just one person
Any arguments in the discussion are based on ideas and opinions instead of personalities
There is an understanding that all participants are working together to solve a problem,
resolve a dispute, create a plan, make a decision, etc. In order to promote effective discussion in your meeting, you can use the following methods:
1. Model the behaviour and attitudes you want participants to demonstrate Also known as role modelling, this method refers to showing conduct co nduct that you want your participants to emulate. These can include respecting everyone equally, admitting when you are wrong, asking questions for clarification, listening carefully, etc.
2. Use encouraging body language, tone of voice, and words An example of encouraging body language is leaning forward when someone is speaking. Other examples include keeping your body position open o pen and approachable and smiling when appropriate.
3. Provide positive feedback for joining the discussion As mentioned in promoting participation, positive feedback allows your participants to feel at ease and inspires confidence and trust from them. You can smile and repeat points made by participants to show that you value their contribution to the discussion.
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4. Be aware of participants’ reactions and feelings and try to respond to them appropriately Take note of your participants’ reactions during the discussion. If a participant is offended or confused, you must respond to them by using ground rules or your own sensitivity. You can c an discuss how to make arguments without getting personal or clarifying the topic of confusion with your participants. This
method can help expose and resolve conflict or clarify any misunderstandings.
5. Ask open-ended questions Open-ended questions require more thought from participants and include reasons or analysis. These questions cannot be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and can help the discussion progress into more productive topics.
6. Control personal biases Factual errors or inaccurate and offensive ideas may come up during your discussion. It is important to point these out, but you must also remember that you must not impose your views upon your participants. You must also make sure to keep your participants from doing the same and ask them to make rational decisions about the ideas they agree and disagree with. Pointing out both your bias and your participants’ biases and discussing them allows your meeting to be objective.
As mentioned above, during your discussion, there must be an understanding that all participants are working together to solve a problem. Problem solving refers to the process of finding solutions to problems and involves the following steps: Define the 1 problem
Generate 2 solutions and ideas
Evaluate and 3
select solutions
Implement and 4 evaluate solutions
There are a number of methods you can use to promote problem solving in your meetings. These methods include the following: Identify someone in charge
Identify a ‘leader’ for your meeting; this can be you or another employee. This person may be in charge of a number of responsibilities (e.g. choosing attendees, leading the discussion), but of particular importance is the role of finalising decisions. They will be in charge of selecting the final solution and adjourning the meeting.
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Ensure that all participants are familiar with the problem
Your participants must know what the problem is in order for them to come up with solutions. If your participants are unfamiliar with the problem, you will need to use more time informing them instead of directly looking for ways to solve the problem.
Facilitate participation
Let your participants know beforehand that you expect their contributions to the meeting. Problem solving in meetings requires you to share ideas with one another, and if these ideas are not shared, the problem will not be solved.
Assign ‘homework’
You may want to ensure that your participants are prepared with something to offer to your meeting. For instance, you can ask your participants to come up with at least one potential solution to the problem some time before the meeting.
Provide sufficient time for brainstorming
Allow your participants individual time to think of possible solutions. Giving them sufficient time to brainstorm the problem individually can help them come up with a handful of solutions. In the event of urgent problems, you can give your participants a few days to consider the issue if possible.
Keep the meeting short
A shorter, pressing time limit such as thirty minutes or even fifteen minutes forces people to acknowledge the problem and work towards solving it as efficiently as possible. You can schedule another meeting to explore the problem further if you must. Over the long term, you will see faster results and less time wasted.
Develop an agenda
As per any meeting, you must create an agenda. Your agenda can be simple, outlining the order in which your participants will speak, or complex, such as detailing a breakdown of the problem being discussed. Be sure to send your agenda to your participants in advance and restrict your discussion to the problem at hand to guarantee a productive meeting.
Listen to all ideas Listen to each of your participants’ contributions carefully, patiently, and respectfully. This helps create a more conducive environment for open discussion, allowing effective teamwork with fewer conflicts and a better chance of coming up with a final solution to the problem.
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2.2.1 Chairperson’s Role
Even with the best organisation, rules, and preparation, if the Chairperson does not manage the meeting effectively and in accordance with the rules, efficiency and productivity are lost. The Chairperson is responsible for the use of time, making sure that the actions move the meeting forward and ensuring that the discussions lead to decisions that can be enacted. They must effectively manage the people on committees and should be able to develop them as well. An effective Chairperson will remain impartial, use conflict to generate better solutions, and help participants to learn and understand the agreed agr eed meeting processes. They will ensure that the minutes are kept accurately, that a quorum is present, that meetings are opened and closed on time and are conducted in accordance with the constitution, by-laws and standing orders. Before the meeting, the Chairperson should work with the Minute-taker and committees to develop the agenda, be familiar with the meeting business and correspondence, and plan for matters that are likely to arise and the direction that discussion may take. During the meeting, they should be fair, allowing all participants equal opportunity to be heard, keep the progress without stifling discussion and select an appropriate time to call for a vote.
2.2.2 Participant Roles Participants have a serious role to play in making meetings productive. Some of these responsibilities include:
To be Adequately Prepared
Must have read the pre-meeting documents, sought further information if necessary, and assessed ideas prior to the meeting.
Participate Politely
Should strive to allow each person to finish his or her thoughts without interruption and to communicate in a polite and assertive way.
Expression Should be Complete and Concise
Must be respectful of the value of time and use it considerately and with the achievement of purpose in mind.
Engage Others
Understand the value and wealth of experience when all participants contribute. To be gracious when opinions differ.
Stay Focused
Focus on the agenda items unless the group agrees to alter the agenda.
Prompt and Punctual
Show respect for each other’s time by arriving on time.
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2.2.3 Communication Problems in Meetings Sometimes, meetings bog down or do not go very well. Listed below are some of the most common problems in meetings and some techniques you might use to address them. These solutions may not work in your situation — use your own judgment. Common Problems
Possible Solutions
Leave silence between speakers so everyone can listen carefully to what was last said and ponder it.
Summarise, paraphrase, or clarify the ideas of the last few speakers.
Point out that people are not hearing each other clearly.
Have a check-in time at the beginning of meetings for everyone to
Poor listening
say in turn what is on their minds so that they will not be distracted by it later during the meeting.
People do not hear each other clearly.
Try setting up some structured exercises to let people practice listening.
Use communication tools (empathy, active listening, I-messages, loving gestures, and so on) to minimise agitation that can hinder hearing.
Lack of focus
List all of the things that everyone might discuss or all the important questions that must be considered. Sort them into reasonable categories and then choose one issue or aspect to talk about first.
People talk about different issues or different aspects
Alternatively, break down into smaller groups and have each group talk about a specific issue or aspect.
of an issue.
Acknowledge what others say by summarising, paraphrasing, or clarifying so they will not feel the need to say it again.
Repetition
Determine the areas of agreement and disagreement. Finalise agreements and then focus on the disagreements. disagreements.
Point out the repetition and ask the repeaters for new ideas. Ask
People repeat themselves without seeming to get anywhere. anywhere.
others for their opinions or ideas.
Suggest another new solution, perhaps even one that is unusual or silly to stimulate fresh thinking.
Brainstorm new ideas or perspectives.
Redirect the discussion to another issue.
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Common Problems
Possible Solutions
Try to de-personalise the discussion. Refer to the ideas by their main aspects, not by who introduced them.
Competition for the best idea
List the pros and cons of each idea and point out that none is perfect, and none completely flawed.
Decide together what criteria you will use to evaluate evalua te the ideas and
People try to show their idea is
then decide together how well each of the ideas meets each
best — usually by belittling
requirement.
others’ ideas.
Try to combine ideas to incorporate their best parts and avoid their pitfalls.
Build up each person’s self -esteem -esteem by praising them for their hard
work and good ideas.
Break down into very small groups of two or three, so everyone can talk at length.
Verbosity
Gently interrupt windy speakers. If they cannot be interrupted gently, then be more forceful. Point out how long or often they speak and ask them to contain their remarks or speak less often.
Some people talk too much or too long long
Use talking limiters: limit remarks to a set time, restrict the number of times each person can talk (issue a limited number of talking tokens), go around the circle and let each person only talk during their turn, and so on.
2.2.4 Group Dynamics During meetings, participants will often take on distinct roles and behaviours that have an effect on others. These are known as group dynamics, and these can be positive and negative. Positive Po sitive group dynamics involve trust among each other in the group. Members of the group work towards a collective decision and hold each other responsible for implementing that decision. Negative group dynamics, on the other hand, involve the disruption of work due to poor behaviour. This can include a lack of trust among group members, causing the group to not work towards a decision. Other instances include the lack of exploration of possible options within the group, causing the group to make a wrong decision.
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Given that group dynamics involve roles, there are a number of roles that can be present in your meetings. These roles are organised into three categories:
Maintenance roles
Supporter
Gatekeeper
Task roles
Hindering roles
Initiator
Dominator
Information seeker
Unfocused
Consensus tester
Degrader
Clarifier
Stubborn
Summariser
Distractor
Maintenance Roles Maintenance roles involve actions that are meant to create a supportive atmosphere should conflict arise during the meeting.
Supporter
This role involves expressing supportive comments during the meeting. Using these supportive comments, the supporter can ease any tension that may arise during the discussion.
Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper’s role involves intervening when the conversation is being monopolised or if there are any participants that are too timid to speak up. The gatekeeper restates the meeting’s ground rules and prominent agenda items to bring back order and structure to the meeting.
Task Roles Task roles involve actions by participants that help the meeting progress.
Initiator
The initiator suggests an action during the start of a meeting or when the meeting is at a lull and needs a kickstart. The actions that the initiator can suggest include a task or a goal which will be discussed throughout the meeting.
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Information seeker
Also known as the opinion seeker, the information seeker focuses on requesting relevant facts, ideas, and opinions from all participants of the meeting.
Consensus tester
The consensus tester checks if there is a need for more discussion with the group before advancing to the next agenda item. This role goes in tandem with the clarifier.
Clarifier
The clarifier checks if meeting participants need an increased understanding of a specific agenda item.
Summariser
As per the name, the summariser provides a summary of the meeting proceedings so far. The summaries they provide ensure that all participants are at the same level of understanding of the agenda.
Hindering Roles Hindering roles involve actions that hinder the meeting’s progress. These roles are often found in negative group dynamics.
Dominator
The dominator monopolises the discussion, disrupting the flow of the meeting. They often ask too many questions or simply take too long to get their point across.
Unfocused
The unfocused hinders meeting progress by not being fully present during the meeting. They do not pay attention to important agenda items which result in a lack of participation from their end.
Degrader
The degrader creates conflict among the group by attacking others or their opinions. This causes a lack of trust and cooperation among the group.
Stubborn
The stubborn role hinders progress by being uncooperative, stalling the flow of the meeting and wasting everyone’s time.
Distractor
The distractor disrupts the progress of the meeting, causing participants to be distracted from active participation in the meeting. Distractions can include side conversations, constant background noise, etc.
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2.3 Brief Minute-Taker on Method for Recording Meeting Notes When chairing meetings, there will be instances where you will need to coordinate with your minutetaker on how they can record notes for your meeting. Before conducting a meeting, provide the minute-taker with documents relevant to the meeting (e.g. attendance sheet, meeting agenda, or previous meeting minutes.) In addition, provide the minute-taker with notes that will remind them of their tasks. If possible, discuss these tasks with them in detail. These tasks include the following:
1. Preparing for the meeting Your organisation may have requirements for taking meeting minutes, m inutes, such as using a specific format. Check your organisation’s policies and procedures on taking meeting minutes or check previous meeting minutes for formats that your minute-taker is expected to use.
2. Taking a record of the meeting Discuss with your minute-taker on how they can take notes at the meeting (i.e. typing notes out or writing longhand.) If possible, provide your minute-taker with a sufficient meeting minutes template to help them write structured minutes.
3. Reviewing and completing the meeting minutes Inform your minute-taker on what sections of o f the meeting minutes they need to review and when they should add notes. These notes can be relevant to actions, motions, votes, and decisions made in the meeting, and can be used for clarification. Once they have completed their review, they must edit the minutes accordingly so that the minutes are clear, concise, and easy to read. Should there be any meeting handouts and documents that were distributed and referred to during the meeting, have your minute-taker include these documents in the final copy of the minutes instead of summarising these documents.
4. Signing, storing and distributing the meeting minutes After completing the minutes, have your minute-taker finalise the minutes by signing them. If your organisation requires other relevant personnel to finalise fi nalise the meeting minutes (i.e. the chairperson, the president of the organisation, etc.) have them sign the minutes as well. Check your organisation’s policies and procedures on taking meeting minutes for specific requirements. In addition, check your organisation’s policies and procedures for requirements on filing and sharing meeting minutes. Your minute-taker may be expected to store copies of the meeting minutes in print, a hard drive, or online (e.g. organisation database.) When distributing meeting minutes, check on which formats your minute-taker should use (e.g. hard copy or soft copy.) Make sure that the minutes have been approved by relevant personnel before distribution.
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The items listed below are featured regularly on agendas and can be used to record meeting notes:
Minutes
A brief official record of the business of the meeting.
An account of decisions taken and action to be carried out as a result of the responsibility and
date for completion specified.
A way of ensuring that agreed decisions are implemented, and that action has taken place
between meetings.
Correspondence
Inward correspondence should be grouped by subject and summarised for the committee.
The content of outward correspondence is discussed by the committee and handled by the
minute-taker.
Letters received well before a meeting can be acknowledged, and the writer informed when
the letter would be discussed.
Urgent letters containing important business may require a special meeting or decision by the
chairperson or executive between meetings.
Reports
A minute-taker’s, coordinator’s or sub-committee’s report shows how instructions at the
previous meeting were carried out, other actions that were taken and costs incurred. They also flag new issues.
A treasurer’s report includes receipts and expenditure for the period, balance in hand and
accounts due. A treasurer’s report at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a full audited account.
The annual financial accounts of an incorporated association must be lodged with the
appropriate body after the AGM.
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2.3.1 Minutes Minute taking is usually based on Robe rt’s Rules of Order. The committee will decide how formal and comprehensive it needs the minutes to be. This decision will be influenced in part by the level of accountability that is required – either by legislative obligations or by the need to report to shareholders or other funders. Minutes ensure that a record of decisions and those who agreed to them is kept. In the situation where a committee or its members are the subject of litigation, litigati on, the minutes become evidence. For this reason, formal minutes, once approved and signed as a true and correct record by the appropriate committee members, are never altered. They also must be kept permanently by the secretary (or another officer, if appropriate) and their successors. Finally, minutes are a good means of ensuring that action ac tion to carry out decisions occurs between meetings. Because full minutes take some time to complete, copies c opies for pre-reading can be sent out beforehand. The summary sheet may be included, which summarises action to be taken, who is responsible, time for completion, co mpletion, and permitted resources. It gives committee members (and others) a reminder of the work they have agreed to complete. When taking minutes, ensure that you are following your organisation’s requirements for minute taking. For instance, Bounce Fitness has a set of requirements found in their Policies and Procedures for Meetings relevant to minute taking. These include the following:
A roster of minute-takers must be in place across teams/departments. For general
meetings, the minute-taker will be assigned by the head of each team/department. Minute-takers must have a copy of the agenda prior to the meeting and must be briefed prior to the meeting.
Motions and resolutions must be documented in verbatim by the minute-taker in a formal
meeting. The content of the meeting minutes for Department/team meetings is upon the discretion of the Chair. wil l review the Minutes taken down by Upon completion of the meeting, the Manager will
the minute-taker while referring to the meeting agenda. ag enda. If necessary, the manager will re-write the minutes to edit by correcting grammar and spelling errors, and ensuring they accurately reflect the meeting events. Accuracy of Topics discussed, Timeframes observed, and Outcomes achieved will also be checked.
Further Reading The simulated business of Bounce Fitness has supplementary materials relevant to minute-taking. You may access these through their website linked below. Policies and Procedures for Meetings
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Minutes can be informal or formal. These often depend on whether the meeting that transpired was informal or formal. Below are a couple of case studies to better illustrate the difference between informal and formal minutes.
Case Study 2.3.1 Your organisation is currently planning out a chook raffle, and your team has been assigned to make arrangements for the raffle. As the team lead, you chair a meeting with your team discussing these arrangements. Below are the informal minutes m inutes for your meeting:
Meeting: Date: Time: Place: Agenda Item Chook Raffle
Action to be Taken
Who Responsible
25
Investigate
Mary
cooked
the cost of
Peters
chooks will be
chickens
Decision
raffled Handover
Quotes
Costs
Beatrice
Arrangements
to be
compared
McElroy
sought
Resources Needed Bank Chq
Data Completed 12 June
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Case Study 2.3.2 The Cairns Polo Club held a meeting regarding r egarding their remaining initiatives and arrangements. Below is the formal minutes of the meeting: Minutes of Cairns Polo Club Wednesday, 8 June 2009, Cairns Community Centre Meeting: The meeting was opened by President Ms Narelle Northy at 7:00pm Present: John Burton, Maria Grills, Fred Bell, Patrick Grills, Lee Dawson, Anna Ellis Apologies: Stuart Dawson Adoption of the Minutes: ‘That the minutes of the previous meeting be confirmed.’ Moved: Lee Dawson Seconded: Patrick Grills Business arising from the minutes: Nil Correspondence: A. Inward 1. National President: Update of initiatives 2. Telstra: Internet account 3. National Office: Approval of funding for coordinator B. Outward 1. Gemma Peast: Request to perform on November cabaret night 2. ‘That the inward correspondence be received, and the outward correspondence be endorsed.’
Moved: John Burton Seconded: Anna Ellis
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Reports: A. Coordinator No coordinator report pending appointment of coordinator
B. Financial report (Report attached to these minutes) ‘That the financial report as circulated be accepted and the Ozemail O zemail account be paid.’ Moved: Maria Grills Seconded: Fred Bell
2.3.2 Ensuring Action Taking and Transcribing Minutes To effectively take minutes, the minute-taker will need:
The meeting agenda
Minutes from the last meeting
Any pre-reading documents
Constitution and bylaws
Consider using a tape recorder to ensure accuracy. If it is chosen to record the meeting, the participants must be informed and agree before the recording is commenced.
Sit beside (or close to) the chairperson for help as the meeting proceeds.
Write ‘Minutes of the meeting of (exact association or business name)’, record the date,
time, and place of the meeting.
Circulate a sheet of paper for attendees to sign. (This sheet can also help identify
speakers by seating arrangement later in the meeting.) If the meeting is an open one, write down only the names of the attendees who have voting rights.
Note who arrives late or leaves early so that these people can be briefed on what they
missed.
Write down items in the order in which they are discussed. If item 8 on the agenda is
discussed before item 2, keep the old item number but write item 8 in second place.
Record the motions made, who moved and seconded each.
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Record whether motions are adopted or rejected, how the vote is taken (by show of
hands, voice, or another method), and whether the vote is unanimous.
Record actions taken by the group but do not record details of each discussion.
Transcribe minutes soon after the meeting, when your memory is fresh. Follow the format used in previous minutes.
Preface resolutions with ‘Resolved, that...’
Write ‘Submitted by’ and then sign your name and the date.
Have the chairperson or executive check the minutes to verify their accuracy, sign, and
date.
Place minutes chronologically in a record book and store as required by the
organisation.
Consult only the chairperson or executive officer, not the attendees, if you have
questions.
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Activity 3 Assess your skills as a chairperson. Working individually, answer the following questions. After completion, discuss with the group to gain agreement on the ‘best’ answer. How do I work out the most important items on the agenda and how long it will take to get through them?
How do I get the views of everyone and keep time?
How do I keep the discussion on the topic?
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How do I keep the discussion on the topic? How do I make sure everyone is really clear about what they are deciding on/voting on?
How do I mediate conflict?
How do I do if I feel strongly about an issue?
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Activity 4 Using the given clues and discussion in this chapter, complete the crossword puzzle.
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
5
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Down 1. It is the number of participants that must be present for the actions of the meeting to be valid. 2. These refer to letters that must be received and acknowledged before a meeting. 3. These must not conflict with the decisions already made in your meeting.
Across 4. This is used to introduce a new piece of business or propose a decision or action. 5. This kind of vote is a written authorisation for a person to vote on behalf of another person. 6. This is a brief official record of the business of the meeting. 7. This is a formal expression of opinion by a meeting agreed by a vote. 8. It is a vote made by the chairperson to create a result when the voting is equal.
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Notes
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Key Points: Chapter 2
The constitution of an organisation generally creates a framework of rules about
meetings.
Meetings may be conducted formally or informally, depending on the objective of the meeting and the circumstances. Meetings that require the taking of minutes are based on on Robert’s Rules of Order.
Meeting procedure is based on a long tradition of democratic principles and government
by the will of the majority.
A clear set of meeting procedures can make meetings more efficient and productive
meetings.
When conducting meetings, it is useful if behaviours are agreed to by participants before
commencement.
Minutes also exist to ensure that a record of decisions and those who agreed to them is
kept.
Meeting participants need to know how much decision-making power is being delegated
to them.
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Chapter 2 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz Tick ‘True’ if the statement is correct, and ‘False’ if not.
Role modelling refers to showing conduct that you want your participants to emulate. Once an amendment is moved, a discussion must be conducted on the whole motion. Minutes exist only to ensure that a record of decisions and those who agreed to them is kept. Meetings are the place where information is exchanged, ideas generated, differences resolved, decisions reached, and actions identified. i dentified.
All amendments are voted on before the substantive motion is put to the vote. Not all formal meetings require rules for the different meetings.
Start and end meetings on time and arrive at meetings punctually.
Participants should not feel they have to yield their opinions in order to promote consensus. Even if your association is incorporated, there is no compulsion to adopt model rules – they can be adapted or modified according to your needs.
True
False
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Chapter 3: Follow Up Meetings
Now that you have conducted your meeting, you will have to review your meeting documentation and distribute them, as necessary. When reviewing your meeting documentation, you must ensure that the content of these documents is true to what transpired in your meeting. Your documentation must also provide a truthful and accurate representation of your meeting for a number of purposes that will be discussed in this chapter. Before distribution of meeting documentation, you must consider any timelines ti melines that your organisation might have designated for the distribution and storage of this documentation. These timelines are determined by a number of factors, such as contractual obligations, organisational requirements, or even your meeting participants. Documentation aside, you must also report the outcomes of your meeting. These outcomes must be reported to the relevant personnel within the designated timelines. These timelines are similar to the timelines designated for distribution and storage of meeting documentation and will be discussed further in this chapter.
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3.1 Review Meeting Minutes and Edit, as Required After chairing your meeting, ensure to review your meeting minutes. The information you will review r eview can include the discussed timeframes, project information, assigned tasks, and so on. Should there be any inaccuracies, you must edit them to ensure that your meeting minutes are a truthful and accurate representation of what was discussed during the meeting. A good method of reviewing meeting minutes is having your minute-taker confirm the items discussed with all meeting participants. For instance, your minute-taker can read what information they recorded to the participants, and your participants can point out if there are any inaccuracies. Another method can be cross-checking the meeting minutes against an audio or video recording of the meeting. An audio or video recording of the meeting provides an accurate and precise representation of the meeting, which your minute-taker can use to check if their minutes are inaccurate. There are a number of reasons as to why you must review your meeting minutes. These reasons include:: include
Meeting minutes offer legal protection
Meeting minutes offer structure
Meeting minutes promote action
Meeting minutes measure progress
Meeting minutes state ownership
Meeting minutes offer legal protection
Meeting minutes are considered legal documents by auditors and the courts. Your meeting minutes will often contain details that are crucial to keeping your organisation in line with state laws and backing up tax returns. Legal officials and experts will maintain that if a specific action is not covered in your meeting minutes, then it did not happen.
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Meeting minutes offer structure
While there is no exact, standardised format for meeting minutes, it is important that you report the facts of your meeting in a clear and logical order. Your meeting minutes must contain sufficient detail on how you and relevant personnel in your meeting arrived at specific decisions.
Meeting minutes promote action
An accurate meeting minutes helps promote action for your team and employees in the organisation. Your meeting minutes clearly delineate how, when, why, and by whom specific decisions were made. These help map out a plan for action items and provide important information to relevant personnel that were unable to attend the meeting.
Meeting minutes measure progress
Because meeting minutes record meeting decisions, this makes your meeting minutes a useful review document when it comes to measuring progress. Your meeting minutes also act as a tool for accountability due to clearly specifying who was responsible for a specific task or action item.
Meeting minutes state ownership
Depending on the progression of your meeting, your meeting minutes can be long and detailed or short and straightforward. During instances when documentation is significant, you may need to take detailed meeting minutes. This can include votes, specific decisions, action items, and the persons responsible for these action items and decisions. deci sions. To further illustrate the importance of reviewing your meeting minutes and editing them as required, a case study is provided below:
Case Study 3.1.1 You are currently chairing a meeting to discuss the arrangements of a project with the department heads of your organisation. Before adjourning the meeting, you have your minute-taker read the minutes so that you can review them for inaccuracies. During your review, you notice that there were some items that were not recorded in the meeting minutes. To correct this, the department heads helpfully repeated the key points of the agenda items that your minute-taker was not able to record. Once the meeting is adjourned, you create an action plan to reflect the project agreements made during the meeting. To ensure that your action plan is true to the decisions made in the meeting, you review the meeting minutes again.
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3.2 Distribute Store Minutes and Other Follow-Up Documentation Within Designated Timelines, and According to Organisational Requirements There are still a few jobs that must be done as soon as possible after the meeting:
Send thanks to presenters (especially non-members).
Draft a formal copy of the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. This will be meant
for distribution.
Amend the draft and/or approve it.
After approval, distribute minutes to all members and people on the distribution list (also
distribute copies of presentations, after seeking appropriate permission).
Send extracts of minutes to the following individuals:
o
Your supervisor
o
All participants
o
Other personnel as indicated by organisational requirements (e.g. HR personnel)
Ensure records are up to date.
Ensure that minutes are recorded, distributed and stored according to organisational
requirements. You may wish to use some variation on the templates provided below.
Meeting Templates
Name
Date Start Time Finish Time Total Time Venue
Present
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Agenda Items
Action Date
Processed
Responsible
Deadline
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Storing Minutes Minutes are always a permanent record and can be required as a legal document under some circumstances; particular responsibility must be taken for their recording and secure storage.
What is the organisational policy regarding recording and storage of minutes? Are they accessible to all, or is this restricted in some way?
How should copies be kept - electronically, hard copy, or both?
If a hard copy is kept, how many copies are kept, where are they kept, by whom and in what
order?
If copies are electronic, how are they labelled, filed on the computer and how securely are
they kept?
Are CD-ROMS used primarily or as a back-up?
Every aspect of arranging a meeting and the follow up requires keen attention. By making this investment in time and planning, you can be assured of the success of your meetings.
Distributing Minutes Once your meeting has concluded and the meeting minutes have been finalised and approved, the minutes must be distributed to the meeting participants as soon as possible. Keep in mind that your distribution methods are typically aligned with the format of the meeting minutes. For instance, if the minutes are recorded digitally digi tally (e.g. Word documents, audio recordings, or videos), vi deos), copies of the minutes can simply be distributed to participants through email. In addition, the copies of the minutes can be uploaded onto the organisation’s cloud storage and their links distributed
through email. Should the meetings be recorded on a physical document, copies of the minutes can be distributed personally to the participants. Other methods include faxing or mailing copies of the minutes to participants who were unable to participate and lack access or knowledge to operate the necessary technology.
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When distributing and storing meeting minutes and other relevant documentation, make sure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures for specific requirements. For instance, Bounce
Fitness has a set of requirements relevant to distributing and storing meeting documentation found in its Policies and Procedures for Meetings. These requirements include the following:
Final copies of the updated Meeting Minutes must be distributed to all staff, including to those
who were absent, within seven (7) days for general meetings, and no more than three (3) days for team/department meetings.
Documents used in the meeting including agenda, minutes and other relevant documents
must be kept in accordance with the organisation’s record -keeping policies and procedures
and relevant legislation.
All Meeting documentation such as Meeting Minutes, Meeting Agendas, Meeting Sign in
sheets or any other documentation used or discussed at the meeting must be stored electronically in D drive under the context of the meeting. For example; staff meetings must be saved under: D:Meetings/Staff
Further Reading The simulated business of Bounce Fitness has supplementary materials relevant to chairing meetings. You may access these through their website linked below. Policies and Procedures for Meetings
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Be sure to follow designated timelines when distributing and storing your meeting documentation as well. These timelines can include the following:
Contractual obligations
These refer to the legal responsibilities of all parties involved in a contractual agreement. For instance, two parties in a meeting will exchange an item of value, but certain expectations must be met for the exchange to be completed. These expectations are defined by the terms of the contract relevant to the exchange.
Formal timeframe set by the organisation
Your organisation may have specific timeframes set for formal meetings. For instance, your meeting documentation must be distributed to all participants within an hour ho ur after the meeting’s adjournment. Ensure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures regarding meetings for more information on formal timeframes.
Informal timeframe set by the administrative organiser
The administrative organiser of the meeting may have scheduled a specific timeframe upon which the meeting will start and end. These timeframes, while informal, are often aligned with the organisation’s requirements for conducting meetings. During these timeframes, you can distribute meeting documentation to your participants.
Project timelines
Project timelines refer to the chronological order of events in a specific project. These timelines provide an understanding of a project at a glance and keep everyone informed at every stage of the project. Each stage of the project has its own due date and duration, which can dictate when you must distribute and store your meeting documentation. For instance, you are currently in the initial development stage of your project, which is due next week. It would be appropriate to distribute and store meeting documentation within the current week to make sure that everyone is currently informed. Distributing and storing meeting documentation later than next week would result in everyone involved, not getting the information they need in a timely manner.
Statutory requirements (e.g. for annual general meetings) These refer to legal requirements that you must follow for your organisation’s meeting to comply with the Corporations Act 2001. According to the Act, if you are required to hold an annual general meeting, your meeting must be held within eighteen months after registration. Your meeting must also be held once every calendar year, and it must be held within five months of the company’s financial year-end.
Timeframe decided by participants
You may not have sufficient time in your meeting to distribute relevant meeting documentation to your participants. In this instance, your participants can decide a timeframe that is appropriate for them to receive meeting documentation, during which you must distribute this documentation and store them, as necessary.
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3.2.1 Follow Up Documentation Aside from your meeting minutes, you may need other documentation that can help provide more accurate details of what transpired in your meeting. These are known as your follow up documentation. Follow up documentation can serve as a reminder of what was discussed in the meeting and can be useful in the completion of action items. This can also help ensure that there is ongoing progress on the action items from your meeting. Documentation may include the following:
Email correspondences
Phone call
Video recording
Email correspondences
Using email correspondences, you can list the key points that were discussed in your meeting’s agenda. This can help remind participants of what the meeting was about and what decisions were agreed upon in the meeting.
Phone call
You can schedule a call with a specific participant to remind them of the action items that they are responsible for. During this call, you can also ask them for their current progress on the agreed action items.
Video recording
A video recording is helpful if you have relevant personnel that were unable to attend your meeting. The recording can also help if there are any agenda items from the meeting minutes that need clarification.
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3.3 Report Outcomes of Meetings, as Required, Within Designated Timelines Following the adjournment of your meeting, you may be required to report the outcomes of your meeting to certain individuals in your yo ur workplace. These individuals can include your direct dir ect supervisor, your department head, the board of directors, or even the owner of your organisation. When reporting, ensure that you follow the timelines designated for you to complete your report. As mentioned in Section 3.2, there are a number of designated timelines that you must adhere to. These include:
Contractual obligations
Formal timeframe set by the organisation
Informal timeframe set by the administrative organiser
Project timelines
Statutory requirements (e.g. for annual general meetings)
Timeframe decided by participants
The requirements for the content of your report may vary, so b e sure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures for requirements on reporting. However, there are five common sections of a report that you can use as a rough guide for reporting. These sections include the following:
1. Executive summary Also known as an abstract, this refers to a brief summary of the contents of your report. This typically contains the key points of the outcomes of your meeting and should be no more than half a page in length.
2. Introduction Your introduction must provide a summary of your meeting’s main agenda, as well as the conclusion and outcomes of your meeting.
3. Main body This is the main part of your report. All details of the outcomes of your meeting must be included here and organised in a logical structure. In this section, you must make sure to convey the outcomes of your meeting in the most effective way for communication. You can use figures and tables, bulleted or numbered lists, or formatting to break up large blocks of text.
4. Conclusion Your conclusion must identify the main outcomes of your meeting and any recommendations you may have for future meetings. Given that your conclusion covers the main outcomes of your meeting, your conclusion must be brief and structured logically. Similar to the main body of your report, you can use bulleted or numbered lists to convey your conclusion.
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5. References This section refers to a list of all the sources you cited in your report. Your references refe rences are typically arranged in alphabetical order; however, your organisation may have specific requirements on how your references must be arranged. Ensure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures for writing a report.
After completing your report, you can then report the outcomes of your meeting. Make sure to check your organisation’s policies and procedures; your organisation may have requirements on how you
must report to relevant personnel in the workplace.
There are two common methods of reporting. These methods include written reports and verbal reports. Written reports are often filed to relevant personnel in the workplace according to your organisation’s requirements. For instance, you can file fi le your report through email correspondences addressed to your direct supervisor within designated timelines. For verbal reports, you can verbally report the outcomes of your meeting through a briefing with relevant personnel. During your briefing, you can report the main outcomes of your meeting and provide relevant meeting papers as required.
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Activity 5 This activity will allow you to prepare for your assessment by planning a meeting. Think about a meeting that would be held in the workplace. It may concern OH&S, or it may be about a new product or process. In either case, the opinion of the workers is being sought. You will have 15 minutes to design an agenda for the topic that you select. Your Trainer will choose one of the agendas and use that to chair a meeting of about 30 minutes. The group will then conduct the meeting, and each will take the minutes. On completion, your Trainer will provide feedback on both the meeting behaviour and your minutes.
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Activity 6 Using the given clues and the discussion in this chapter, unscramble the words below.
Clue This contains a brief summary of the contents of your report. This provides a summary of your meeting's main agenda, as well as the conclusion and outcomes of your meeting. All details of the outcomes of your meeting must be included here and organised in a logical structure. This section must identify the main outcomes of your meeting and any recommendations you may have for future meetings. This includes a list of all the sources you cited in your report and are arranged in alphabetical order.
Scrambled Word CUEEVITEX MUYSMAR
OOITCDINTURN
NIMA ODBY
NUCOLCIONS
EEFENCERSR
Answer
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Notes
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Key Points: Chapter 3
Have the chairperson or executive check the minutes to verify their accuracy, and sign and
date if required.
Place minutes chronologically in a record book and store as required by the organisation. Instruct the minute-taker to distribute and store minutes as soon as possible after the
meeting.
Have your minute-taker send a draft copy of the minutes to you for approval/amendment.
After approval, distribute minutes to all members and people on the distribution list (also
distribute copies of presentations, after seeking appropriate permission).
Minutes are always a permanent record and can be required as a legal document under
some circumstances; particular responsibility must be taken for their recording and secure storage.
Every aspect of arranging a meeting and the follow up requires keen attention. By making
this investment in time and planning, you can be assured of the success of your meetings. meetings.
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Chapter 3 – ‘True’ or ‘False’ Quiz Tick ‘True’ if the statement is correct, and ‘False’ if not.
Your distribution methods are usually independent from the format of your meeting minutes.
You can review your meeting minutes by having your minute-taker confirm the items discussed with all meeting participants.
Record the motions made and the names of people who originate them.
Focus on recording all discussions of the group.
Minutes are temporary records and are typically not required as legal documents under some circumstances.
Follow-up documentation provides general details of what transpired in your meeting.
Ensure that minutes are recorded, distributed and stored when you have time.
Write down items in the order in which they are discussed.
True
False
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Summary
“The world rewards those who take responsibility for their own success.” Curt Gerrish
It takes skill to effectively manage a meeting; a skill that all managers should develop. There is no magic to making a meeting effective; it takes practice and attention to detail. Knowing when to call a meeting and when a phone call would suffice is a good start. One meeting could solve many concerns; this occurs when things need to be discussed at length, when decision-making involves several people with different experiences or opinions, and when you gather, collate, and disseminate information to many people. Occasionally, committees are great for seeking preliminary information. After they report back to the larger group, the meeting of the larger group becomes more effective. Regardless of the meeting purpose, planning and organisation are essential if it is to be successful.
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References
These are some references that we feel may be of assistance to you in completing the Assessment for this unit of competency:
6 facilitation strategies to solicit participation in meetings. (2019, February 7). PMC Training.
https://pmctraining.com/site/resources-2/6-facilitation-strategies-to-solicit-participation-inmeetings/ meetings/
8 strategies for group problem solving and creativity . (2017, April 3). Engage for Success.
https://engageforsuccess.org/strategies-for-group-problem-solving-and-creativity https://engageforsuccess.org/strategies-for-group-problem-solving-and-creativity
AllBusiness Editors. (2010, July 1). Five reasons why meeting minutes are important .
AllBusiness.Com. https://www.allbusiness.com/five-reasons-why-meeting-minutes-areimportant-4113272-1.html important-4113272-1.html
Balerio, M. (2013, June 23). Documents that are commonly used in meetings. Pa-Prive.Com.
http://pa-prive.com/documents-that-are-commonly-used-in-meetings/ http://pa-prive.com/documents-that-are-commonly-used-in-meetings/
Chapter 16. group facilitation and problem-solving | section 4. techniques for leading group
Ku.Edu. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablediscussions | main section | community tool box . (2019). Ku.Edu. of-contents/leadership/group-facilitation/group-discussions/main of-contents/leadership/group-facilitation/group-discussions/main
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Eisenstein, L. (2019, September 6). How to take minutes at a board meeting . BoardEffect.
https://www.boardeffect.com/blog/how-to-take-minutes-at-a-board-meeting/
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Juneja, P. (n.d.). Meeting etiquette - codes of conduct while attending meetings .
Www.Managementstudyguide.Com. Retrieved November 5, 2020, from from Meeting Etiquette Codes of Conduct while attending Meetings (managementstudyguide.com) (managementstudyguide.com)
Lash, M. (2018, March 21). What are the requirements of an annual general
LegalVision. meeting? LegalVision.
https://legalvision.com.au/requirements-annual-general-meeting-
agm/ agm/
Lid, V. (2016, February 10). Group dynamics in meetings - roles played in a group setting .
MeetingSift. http://meetingsift.com/group-dynamics-in-meetings-roles-played/ MeetingSift. http://meetingsift.com/group-dynamics-in-meetings-roles-played/
Meeting management - organization, manager, type, workplace, situations requiring a
meeting. (n.d.). Www.Referenceforbusiness.Com. Retrieved November 5, 2020, from
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/Meeting-Management.html
Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). How to run effective virtual meetings: Communicating well
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Mind Tools Content Team. (2019). Running effective meetings: Establishing an objective and
sticking to it . Mindtools.Com. Mindtools.Com. https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/RunningMeetings.htm https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/RunningMeetings.htm
Report writing. (2011). Skillsyouneed.Com. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/report-
writing.html writing.html
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Root III, G. N. (2019, January 29). 10 rules for proper business meeting etiquette . Small
Business - Chron.Com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/10-rules-proper-business-meetingetiquette-2857.html etiquette-2857.html
SkillMaker.
(2013, August). Meeting https://www.skillmaker.edu.au/meeting-
papers.
Skillmaker.
papers/#:~:text=Meeting%20papers%20are%20the%20documents papers/#:~:text=Meeting%20papers%20are%20the%20documents EVenues. https://evenues.com/event-planning-guide/what-is What is a conference. (2015). EVenues.
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What is the difference between a meeting and a conference . (2018, July 30). E88 Bangkok. https://e88bangkok.com/difference-meeting-conference/
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