A boardroom is a most respected room at every institution as it is a place to discuss important issues and decision of an institution. There are youths out there who have never been in a boardroom or debated anything in a boardroom. As highlighted earlier that decision making is done in a boardroom by board members. One day you will wake up with a new title like board member or secretary general or director. There are basics, which must be considered before stepping in the boardroom.
In this article, we are not going to spend time on grooming and deportment or etiquette but the focus is on the flow of business in the boardroom. There are key resource persons in the boardroom and these people are very important even though everyone is important but the role they take is very important. The minute taker or the secretary has the hardest job in the boardroom. The secretary or minute taker should have good listening skills so that the information does not skip him or her.
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The duty of a minute taker is to present an accurate and concise written snapshot of a meeting. This means that there must be a high level of concentration in the meeting to record an accurate and brief record of the board meetings or discussions.
The minute taker records not everything in a meeting but only key points are considered. The appropriate language is used in a boardroom meeting and has to be very formal. Record keeping is the main task of the minute taker or secretary. Once minutes are produced, approved and signed, the minute taker should find a safe place to file the minutes for future reference by the board.
Many prominent companies and businesses, which are professional, knows how important it is to file minutes. If minutes are not saved and filed, it means the boardroom will keep debating on the things debated and finalised already. Resolutions are very important and every board member should write down resolutions after meeting in a diary.
What makes boardrooms boring? There are times when boardrooms are boring if people in the boardroom will be debating instead of having dialogues which will lead to a resolution. Debates consume time and ideas while dialogue promotes good and friendly business environment.
Other boardrooms meetings become boring if the minute taker keep repeating points and mixing up things discussed in previous meetings. Minutes enable an organisation or company to meet its obligations and requirements to conduct business in a translucent and accountable manner. They keep the organisation’s membership, stakeholders, or the general public informed on the progress of decisions that affect them. They also allow teams to check on progress against required actions.
Why board meetings take long to transact the business of the day? If the minute taker did not take minutes to be signed by the chair of the house, it means the chair will need time to read and approve the minutes as well as correcting before the house accept them as true minutes.
This boardroom talk can help youths who are starting companies and own institutions to it professionally. Take note of the following key points to produce good minutes, When and where was the meeting? Title/purpose? Who attended? (Including the name of the minute taker) Who did not attend? What topics were discussed? What was decided? What actions were agreed upon? Who is to complete the actions, by when? Were materials distributed at the meeting? If so, are copies or a link available? Is a follow-up meeting scheduled? If so, when? Where and why? Hope board members and minute takers will get helped by this article.
Chief Editor: David Nhawu
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