Management-Level 3

Chair and Lead Meetings

Meetings

In general terms, meetings may be formal or informal.

Informal meetings are usually groups of people meeting to discuss their work, for example:

• Departmental or team meetings

• Briefing meetings – to update staff on specific issues

• Progress meetings – to check on progress towards a goal

• Working parties – set up specifically to see a project or job through.

They may occur regularly or as one-off occasions. Whilst notes of what happens in the meeting may
be taken, they are likely to be briefer and not subject to the same regulations as a formal meeting.

Formal meetings will follow set procedures in terms of documentation and processes involved.
There will be an appointed Chairperson to run the meeting and a secretary to take notes of what is
discussed and agreed at the meeting. Depending on what the meeting is about, there may also be a
Treasurer to put forward any financial points. Examples of formal meetings may be a Health and
Safety meeting, an Annual General Meeting or a committee meeting.

 Annual General Meeting (AGM) – this is a meeting held once a year by all public limited
companies (and many other limited companies) to declare the profit/loss of the company,
the share dividend and to elect the board of directors and the auditors. All the shareholders
must be invited with at least 21 days’ notice of when the meeting will be.
 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) – this formal meeting occurs, as the name suggests,
when there is urgent company business to discuss with shareholders that cannot wait until
the next AGM. For example, a director may suddenly retire from the board or there may be
financial problems or the possibility of a company takeover.
 A regular formal meeting is likely to have written Terms of Reference which sets out what
the meeting is about, who is involved, the frequency of the meeting, the scope of decision-
making, and the regulations for record-keeping and voting. (In informal meetings there will
also be Terms of Reference but they may be just what is considered usual practice in the
organisation and not written down.)

Documents

The documents involved in meetings are:

  Notice The Notice gives written notification of when and where a meeting is to take place,
and is sent to all those attending. It is often combined with the Agenda into a single
document.
 Agenda This sets out the items to be discussed at the meeting and will also include a number
of standard items (see below) as well as specific items for discussion at that meeting (items
4, 5 and 6 in the example).
 A Chairperson’s Agenda may also be produced: this is an agenda just for the Chairperson,
with space for him/her to write their own notes and reminders against each item.

The agenda should be sent out to delegates in advance of the meeting.

 Attendance List This is a list of people attending the meeting and usually has a space
alongside each name for them to sign in on arrival.
 Minutes the minutes are a record of what was discussed and decided at the meeting.

Organising meetings

In organising meetings, you will need certain information before you begin, e.g.:

• Date, time and duration

• Venue
• Type of meeting
• Number of delegates
• Refreshments
• Equipment required
• Room layouts
• Special requirements.

Any meeting will require a degree of planning and, depending on the size and formality of the
meeting, quite a bit of preparation may be necessary. It is helpful to break down the tasks required
into those that need to be carried out before, during and after a meeting, and it is advisable to
create a checklist of tasks so that you can tick off the jobs as they are completed.

Before the meeting

Some or all of the following tasks will require consideration:

• Circulate Notice to members

• Agree, produce and circulate agenda
• Book venue
• Arrange for refreshments and equipment required
• Receive apologies
• Check Health and Safety requirements of venue – any special needs
• Inform reception staff
• Copy documents required for meeting
• Make overnight accommodation arrangements for delegates
• Circulate maps of venue
• Prepare attendance register
 • Brief the Chairperson with all relevant information – produce a Chairperson’s agenda.

During the meeting

During the meeting, you will play a fully supportive role of the Chairperson, which will include any of
the following:

• Check room for tidiness and equipment

• Have spare copies of agendas and previous minutes
• Take note of attendance
• Take notes of the meeting
• Sit next to the Chairperson to provide whatever support is required.

After the meeting

• Leave the room tidy, ensuring no belongings are left behind

• Draft, agree, produce and circulate the minutes of the meeting to all members
• Ensure the date of the next meeting is entered into diaries
• Deal with any other paperwork/correspondence requested by the meeting
• Undertake other follow-up activities requested at the meeting, e.g. telephone calls
• Review/evaluate procedures/venue and start preparations for the next meeting.

Possible problems

If you are arranging meetings on a regular basis, it is highly likely that at some point you will
encounter a problem. It helps to consider the problems that may arise before they actually do in
order to have some ideas for contingency planning. Possible problems could be:

• Insufficient resource packs, e.g. through delegates forgetting to bring them or extra
delegates attending
• Double-booking of venue
• Equipment – breakdown or not being provided as expected
• Failure of the refreshments/catering arrangements
• Transport problems
• Unexpected special requirements, e.g. dietary, access, etc.

Once the meeting is over, it is important to evaluate the event as a whole in terms of both the venue
and the process of arranging and running the meeting. It is good practice to provide a simple
evaluation form for delegates to complete, particularly if outside agencies are used for catering and
venue. Only with a process of reflection and review can practices be improved for the future.