Best Practices for Taking Minutes at Board Meetings

When you’re taking minutes during board meetings, there are a variety of best practices that can boost the effectiveness of your company. By adopting these methods regardless of whether you’re a board secretary or simply taking notes, can help you to take accurate and clear board meeting minutes.

Start by reviewing the agenda. A well-organized agenda can help you organize your meeting minutes and make it easier to find later. It’s also helpful to create your own template https://loveboardroom.com/mistakes-to-avoid-when-selecting-a-board-portal-solution/ that you can fill out as the board meetings take place. This will help you create a consistent format that is easy for others to take over from and ensures that the minutes content remains relevant.

Attendance: Recording who is present in the room is vital for your final minutes document. You can do this by writing names down on the agenda or by distributing the sign-in sheet and recording the results. This lets you include an accurate attendance list with the minutes of the board.

Follow your outline: It’s important to stick with the outline you created prior to the meeting starts, even if the discussion diverges from topic. If you stay on topic it’s much easier to create an organized and concise minutes of meetings that are a reflection of your organization’s decision-making procedures. Record the outcome of each motion, which includes the exact language used in the motion, as well as who initiated it, and who voted for or against it. Include any information related to handouts or reports distributed during the meeting. Also, list any alternatives considered when making major decisions.