Clubs and businesses conduct meetings every day. Decisions made during meetings involve significant time and money, and impact on each organisation’s growth. Meeting minutes are written records of what was discussed and decided in meetings, what actions need to be taken, the people responsible for actions and their timeframes. Since minutes provide a summary of meetings and help direct what needs to be done to gauge progress, they are of great value.
Recording efficient meeting minutes is easy with online meeting minutes software. Complete meeting management software like meetingTRAC provides custom minutes templates that can be easily populated and electronically shared with the attendees in real time.
What should meeting minutes include?
Meeting minutes should include all the information necessary to track the outcomes of the meeting.
• Date, time and location
Adding date, time and location ensures that the minutes are recorded in context and that there is sufficient evidence about when decisions were made.
• Purpose of the meeting
Outlining the purpose of the meeting provides a quick and easy reference point when reviewing meeting minutes in the future.
• Decisions made
Meeting minutes should include details of all decisions made during the meeting – whether big or small. Any key points made along with the decisions should also be mentioned in the minutes.
• Action items
Record the next steps in your project, who you have assigned these steps to and the deadline for each action item.
Businesses can leverage online meeting minutes software to record efficient meeting minutes quickly and easily.
Reasons to record meeting minutes
Here are some important reasons why meeting minutes are recorded:
• Establish accountability
All too often, people participating in follow-up meetings find out that no action was taken on the decisions from the previous meeting, which accomplishes nothing but another meeting! Meeting minutes help assign responsibility to team members, leading to better results.
• Provide historical records
Meeting minutes establish a written record of events that transpired during meetings. They provide traceability of communication and assignment of action items.
• Set due dates
Meetings lead to actions that have to be completed within a certain time frame. Without written records and reminders, it is easy to forget when something was supposed to happen. Meeting minutes provide complete information about action items, the people responsible for the actions and the deadline for each.
• Capture highlights for those who didn’t attend the meeting
Other meetings or appointments regularly prevent people from attending your meeting. The minutes captured using online meeting minutes software can be shared with relevant team members electronically, including those who were unable to attend. This helps absent team members to gain insight into meeting highlights and find out if they are required to achieve any action items.
meetingTRAC for Efficient Meeting Minutes Recording
meetingTRAC is smart and easy meeting management software that automates scheduling and agenda templates, allowing minutes and actions to be recorded and distributed electronically in real-time.
meetingTRAC lightens the load on clubs, businesses, volunteers and community groups by saving time, reducing stress, and empowering clubs and organisations to get on with what really matters. In addition, meetingTRAC helps save money in preparing, running, and reporting on meetings.
meetingTRAC online meeting minutes software is easy to integrate into any organisation, can run on any computer or mobile device, and does not require any software download.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial to explore how meetingTRAC can help you drive efficient meetings.