Tipskey - Handling Office Meeting

Posted: 2008-01-25

Handling Office Meeting

Call 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.

Make the meeting value-added. Do not call 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 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.

Before the meeting
Have a chat with the related personnel about the meeting if you have time.

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.

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. 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.

Minute the meeting
Minute the item right after discussion before proceeding to the next item. 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.

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:

Minute for meeting #1

#	To Do	Whom	Comment (Due, status etc)
1-1	Beat the competitor.	John	Due meeting #2
1-2	Change to new product.	Jane	Due meeting #2

Minute for meeting #2

#	To Do	Whom	Comment (Due, status etc)
1-1	Beat the competitor.	John	Due meeting #3
1-2	Change to new product.	Jane	DONE
2-1	Retrench staff.	Mr. X	Due meeting #3

Minute for meeting #3

#	To Do	Whom	Comment (Due, status etc)
1-1	Beat the competitor.	John	The competitors are changing strategy
2-1	Retrench staff.	Mr. X	Due meeting #4
3-1	Increase output.	Ms. X	Due meeting #4

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.

Download: minute_format.doc

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