Best practice for Minute taking is by a Minutes Secretary or a technological solution (digital recorder which then converts to a Word document). It is efficient to have a Minutes Template prepared and to take your laptop. A Minutes Secretary does not replace the Committee Secretary. The Minutes Secretary is anyone who can accurately take minutes and provide a first draft quickly and efficiently to the Secretary.
The Secretary then checks the Minutes for accuracy and releases them to other Committee members.
Minutes should NOT record who said what unless someone distinctly requests to go on the record. The Minutes should provide a record of the proceedings of the meeting just sufficiently to be useful and transparent. E.g. the Minutes do not need to detail all the points of discussion, rather summarise and provide the resultant decision.
Motions, decisions and other formal aspects are recorded. It is very important that:
- Motions and any actions have a designated person responsible and this person is recorded in the Minutes.
- Minutes must be disseminated electronically to the Committee within seven working days of the meeting.
- The “What Do We Tell Our Members from This” summary for publishing to members is disseminated.
- If a delegate or Committee Member presents to the Committee, the topic, actions and outcomes needs to be provided within the Minutes.
- The Secretary on behalf of the Committee maintains a Record of Key Committee decisions and a Committee Action Tracking List as below.