Sunday, October 21, 2018

The Importance Of Taking Reliable Township Meeting Minutes

By Michael Evans


A meeting cannot be actuated without an agenda, that which sets its purpose and direction. It will also ensure that a decision or resolution will be arrived at. However, even that would be for naught if the participants dont take the necessary notes and make the needed documentation. This can be established with an east Nottingham township meeting minutes.

The minutes of meeting, also called MoM, are the instant and official written record of a particular convocation or assembly. It outlines the particularities of a gathering, from the names of attendees, statements, responses, and also the decisions made. Any functional organization worth its salt would agree that its importance couldnt be underscored enough.

This is merely a concise and to the point outline of a certain assembly. Its more like a bullet form planner or calendar of activities, not a novel replete with niggling details and quotation marks. Moreover, its a summary of facts, not an interpretation of the writer. Therefore, the scribe must not analyze or sugarcoat what a speaker has said, but rather write down how it appears at the surface. It is a formal paper, not a personal note but a corporate document.

The MoM is made by an assigned typist, secretary, or court reporter. Since the meeting undoubtedly cruises down the fast lane, the minutes are usually written in shorthand notation in real time. However, since that will be intelligible to the writer only, he must make the necessary decipherment later when it is time to file and share the notes. However, in this Information Age, shorthand is deemed unnecessary since there are nifty gizmos like voice and video recorders, and the filing doesnt have to be done physically, but on an electronic platform. It goes without saying, though, that it would always do well to have backup.

The parts of a MoM include a heading, which contains the name of the company or committee, the time, date, and location of a gathering. Under that is an enumeration of attendees and then the absentees names. Some contain a side annotation on whether or not the minutes of previous sessions were approved.

Ideally, there should also be a brief side note whether or not the previous MoM was approved. The main part is, of course, the action items. These list down a report on each topic discussed, involving the subject, the person who led its discussion, and the decisions that were reached. Postscripts include the announcements made during meetings, which encapsulates the who, what, when, where, and how of the next session. In the adjournment section, one can see the exact time the assembly ended. The transcriber should then jot down on the signature line his name and also the date the minutes were submitted.

Making the minutes of a meeting is a comprehensive process that entail steps to be done even before and after an assembly. A boilerplate or template should ideally be prepared, so that the writer can just interpolate data on a prescribed format. Notes are taken in real time, and after which, there is the dissemination and filing of the revised document.

Credible statistics say that, on average, people who dont take minutes forget the nub or gist of a meeting within the week. Without an agenda, the session will be directionless and the facilitator may end up beating around the bush. The gathering will also take longer than necessary and rip off invaluable corporate time.

Not doing the necessary elbow grease of taking down notes will ultimately be costly in terms of time and resources. In the worst case scenario, the company may find itself in a never ending loop of repetitive and interminable meetings. On the long run, youll find that the compiled minutes of meeting would be a very telling factor on the excellence and accomplishments of a particular organization.




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