Calling a meeting
Call a meeting only if
a) a decision cannot be made alone.
b) there are tasks to be allocated to the subordinates. A meeting makes a person answerable to the task he is given to if it has more than two attendees and is minuted.
c) it is a management meeting. Management meeting is important as it is an evidence to show the management's commitment.
d) it is required legally (such as safety committee meeting) or required by ISO system.

Send agenda. The agenda should include a proposed date for next meeting after this meeting.

The good thing about having a meeting fixed periodically (e.g. quarterly) is the team members can prepare things to say for the meeting thus there is more input. Ad hoc meeting will have less input.

Make the meeting value-added. Avoid calling a meeting just to collect info (collecting info can be done by just approaching the person anytime).

State clearly the expected outcome of the meeting.

Get attendees who are really related only, in other words, people who will bring productivity to the meeting.

The meeting should be held at a place with least distraction (a meeting room etc).

If your colleagues are always busy attending meeting in or out the office, it is better to talk to them (especially your superior if he has to attend that meeting) first to set the meeting date and time. It is even better if everyone can write their meeting schedule in the public calendar in the network system so that you do not have to run around to ask them about their schedule.

Remind each colleague to send a representative attending the meeting on his/her behalf in case of absence. Or if the colleague does not have a representative, then he should at least decline your invitation (preferably with a reason) so that you know nobody from his side is attending.

Before the meeting
If you have time, have a chat with the related personnel about what will be talked the meeting.

If before the next meeting you complete a task that is mentioned in the last meeting, you do not necessarily have to wait for the next meeting to tell the boss about status of the task.

If the attendees have a tendency of coming late, remind them a quarter hour before the meeting so that they will not forget about the meeting or come late. The easiest way is to send an SMS to a pre-defined group of attendees in the mobile phone five minutes before the meeting.

During the meeting
Start the meeting on time. Try not to wait for the persons who are late. If there is a significant number of people who do not come, do not wait too long but just cancel the meeting.

Start the meeting by closing the room door. Remind everyone to switch off cellphone. Tell the attendees that who is not attending the meeting. Then review the minutes of last meeting.

Ensure there is no
a) surprise statement in the meeting unless it is a desirable one. If you want someone (including your subordinate) to answer a big question in the meeting in front of other people, you had better tell him/her at least one hour before the meeting to get prepared for the answer.
b) discussion on question that does not relate to the rest of the team (for example personal job scope should be discussed with the direct superior personally). Example of issue that relates to the rest of the team: cost, new process implementation. If you really want to engage in this kind of discussion, make sure to allow the unrelated persons to leave the room. Do not waste other people's time.

Minuting the meeting
To avoid biasness, the person having any task from the meting should not be writing the minute. If it is a very technical meeting and only one person is the expert of the matter and will be responsible of the issue addressed by the meeting, then that person does not need a minute at all, let alone writing the minute.

Minute the item right after discussion before proceeding to the next item in the agenda. It is the best if it can be written in front of all attendees displayed by a projector. It is OK if there is a moment of silence to write minute of meeting. That period can also let the attendees think what to say next. It is not good if the minute cannot be sent directly right after the meeting. By all means finish the minute on the spot. That also ensures the genuinity of the minute. And there will be no dispute from the attendees later because the wording is formulated in front of them.

The person taking the minute should take active approach to confirm any doubt boldly on the spot without thinking that any unclear point can be clarified after the meeting. The minute should be written during the meeting so that
a) it can be readily distributed right after the meeting.
b) you do not have to try hard to recall the things in the meeting to be minuted.

If the meeting is via the phone, read the minute clause out loud to the person who is not minuting.

If a task stated in the minute for the last meeting has been done, it is marked as done in the current minute and will not be repeated in the next minute. The new minute can be worked on the last minute list. Examples:

Item 1-2 means point 2 in meeting #1. When meeting #2 is called, item 1-2 is already done so it is marked as DONE (you may also strikethrough the item) and it does not appear in minute for meeting #3. Item 1-1 is not done when meeting #2 and #3 are called so it still appears in minute for meeting #2 and #3 without being marked as DONE. If there is outstanding item from last year, you may want to write it as 2007*1-1 to differentiate it from the task in this year.

Generally the due date of the task is on the next meeting. The minute of current meeting will be reviewed in the next meeting anyway.

If there is new rule decided in the meeting, it should be assigned with a item number too for easier future reference.

At the end of the meeting, ask whether the proposed date for the next meeting in the agenda is acceptable by all. Otherwise propose a new date on the spot.

Download: minute_format.doc