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How To Organise A Meeting - Day Before

April 26th, 2006 by Jennine

You’ve sent out the agenda, taken apologies and confirmation of those attending. To save time and to reassure yourself that everything is running according to plan there are steps you can take the day before.

Firstly, ring the venue and confirm the booking, just to make sure it isn’t double booked. If possible find out if it’s possible to go to the venue in the afternoon to set up. If you set up the day before it will minimise any unforeseen surprises, such as insufficient power points.

Contact the caterers to confirm the time they are delivering the food and to make sure they have the right quantities and product that you ordered.

That is the essential parts out of the way. Since you are so organised and running according to plan, there are a couple more things to make your life easier for the meeting. Make extra copies of the agenda and supporting documents. There is always one or two people that will forget their paperwork and there may be some visitors who will sit in. It’s a nice gesture to offer them the agenda so they can follow the meeting, but check with the Chairperson first to make sure protocol allows them to see it.

I always start the minutes the day before the meeting; it saves time after the meeting. Don’t get me wrong I don’t actually type what is happening, just the parts that I can. Make a template for the minutes; this saves time for future meetings as you won’t have to fuss with the formatting as it’s already done.

If you have already received apologies from attendees, you can type them into the apologies section of your minutes. You can also put in the correspondence, training, general business items and if you are aware of any other business that may be raised.

Also, most meetings have motions, so you can put in the moved: and seconded: for all the business that has recommendations that are to be passed. If the motion isn’t passed, it can simply be taken out.

Also, all the attendees that you haven’t heard from you can put them as being in attendance. If they don’t turn up, then you just copy and paste them into the apologies section.

Print out your first draft of the minutes, this way you can scribble on it during the meeting. Move people from attending to the apologies or vice versa, enter who moved and seconded motions and if the motion was passed or not.

You will also have to decide how you are taking the minutes. Whether it is tape recorded, shorthand or longhand or a combination. If you are planning on taping the meeting, ensure the chairperson knows and that he announces it at the meeting so all those in attendance know that the meeting was taped. Most people don’t have a problem with it being taped as they appreciate the difficult task it is to take minutes, but they like to know beforehand that they are being taped.

You are all organised now for the meeting.