Ideal minutes can be organized using ordinary flipchart sheets and markers, or they can be done using more sophisticated and modern tools like board portals. The main thing is to follow the proper methodology and rules of the game. So, how to structure board meetings with the help of board minutes templates?
The role of board meeting minutes
Every organization has meetings from time to time. Therefore, the organization of conferences and minutes are part of the regular duties of professional assistants. At board meetings, corporate issues are raised, and important decisions are made. Meeting minutes occupy a vital place in documenting the course and consolidating the decisions made. Today executives use board software with its meeting minutes template to simplify the preparation procedures.
Decisions taken at a meeting of a collegiate body with advisory functions, as a rule, are put into practice by order (instruction) of the head of the organization or by approval of the meeting minutes by the head of the organization. The board minutes of the meeting are a document that records the course of discussion of various issues and the development and adoption of decisions on these issues during meetings, sessions and meetings. It is important to note that the protocol’s primary function is the written registration of all questions, tasks, and opinions voiced at the meeting as well as fixing the decisions made on paper.
Types of board minutes
Now let’s talk about what are the types of board minutes. According to the degree of completeness of the record of the meeting, the minutes can be short and full. Full minutes contain a record of the entire meeting course, including questions, remarks, comments, references during the meeting, speeches of participants, etc. A variety of short minutes can include a protocol that was drawn up in an abbreviated form. This form provides a concise, sequential summary of all the issues considered. In this case, the “question-decision” scheme is applied. It is the most common type of protocol since compiling a complete protocol is often labour-intensive.
When drawing up the minutes, it is essential to use documents prepared in advance for the meeting: lists of invitees, agenda, texts of reports, information notes, etc. The document, which was drawn up directly at the meeting, is a draft. Before registration, such a protocol must be edited, clarified and verified with a transcript or phonogram (in case a transcript or voice recorder was organized at the meeting). Usually, minutes are drawn up within 3 or 5 days from the meeting date. The relevant internal organizational regulations regulate other terms for preparing the protocol.
Drawing up a board meeting minutes
At any meeting, a secretary must be elected to keep its minutes. The minutes is a mandatory document and must meet specific requirements. There are a few tips for novice executive assistants that you should consider when preparing the board minutes:
- discuss with the head the form of keeping minutes and the agenda;
- communicate the agenda to the participants of the meeting;
- check the equipment for recording the protocol (in the case of using transcripts, sound and video recording);
- determine the timetable (there should be enough time to discuss the planned issues).
Sometimes the exact time (up to minutes) of the beginning and end of the meeting is entered into the protocol – this allows you to discipline employees and optimize the time spent on such meetings in the future. Additional documents, photos and video evidence can be attached to the meeting minutes if necessary. If there are any, their presence should be reflected in the minutes as a separate item.