the power of the minute maker presented by:. the power of the minute maker 1.the role of your...

The Power of the Minute Maker

Presented by:


1. The role of your society2. The role of the recording secretary in a

successful society.3. Managing Effective Meetings4. The role of the corresponding Secretary5. Archives and reports6. Achieving society continuity

1. The Role of Your Society

Who are your key players?

• Your Committee?• Your Members?• Your College?• Your Local Community Partners?• The Wider World?

Your Committee• Team• Shared Mission• Shared Goals• Different Skills• Different Responsibilities• Personal Aspirations

How do you achieve a win win for everyone?


• Your Committee?

• Your Members?• Your College?• Your Local Community Partners?• The Wider World?

Your MembersActive Members• Want to help and fully engage in your activities• Are regulars at your events and meetings.• Attend AGMs and EGMsOffer them the chance to participate and belong by

helping at events, putting up posters etc…Offer them a chance to get recognition through any

college volunteer reward scheme/ certificate.• They may for your next years committee

Secretary: collect their contact details in a separate mailing/text list. Get to know them.

Your MembersPassive Members• Attend Occasional Events

Circulate information about upcoming events.Up date with news letters etc.• They may become active members.

Secretary: They are your full membership list must be informed of all AGMs and EGMs


• Your Committee?• Your Members?

• Your College?• Your Local Community Partners?• The Wider World?

Your College• How does your Society contribute to campus

life?• What skills do your committee and members

learn? • Do these contribute to your College Graduate

Attributes?

Secretary: Invite key college personal to your big events, Share your successes with the Marketing office, Participate in any society surveys.


• Your Committee?• Your Members?• Your College?

• Your Local Community Partners?• The Wider World?

Local Community Partners?• Identify if you have anyWhat can you share with your local community?• School outreach programmes• Fundraising for local charities• Supporting local initiatives/ volunteeringWhat can it share with you?• Audience for your public events• Sponsorship/ Support/ ExpertiseSecretary: Create contact list, act as a contact between your society and your community partners, send letters where appropriate, file correspondence,


• Your Committee?• Your Members?• Your College?• Your Local Community Partners?

• The Wider World?

The Wider WorldDoes your society contribute to the Wider World?Celebrating Diversity?• Raising awareness of global issues• Advocating on social / global issues• Working with external national & international groups• Facilitating foreign travel• Hosting national and international speakers• Promoting ecological and planet supporting ideologies

Secretary: Create contact list, act as a contact between your society and external groups, send letters where appropriate, file correspondence, inform and engage with like minded and relevant university individuals/ groups.


1. The role of your society

2. The role of the recording secretary in a successful society.

3. Managing Effective Meetings4. The role of the corresponding Secretary5. Archives and reports6. Achieving society continuity

Role of the Secretary

• Recording Secretary• Corresponding Secretary

Often both roles carried out by one person

2. Recording Secretary

• Organise & circulate meeting times, venue, minutes of last meeting, create the agenda with the Chairperson for next meeting.

• Record and retain the minutes of all meetings• Familiar with all society rules in the society constitution• Update any changes to the committee constitution• Take charge of all documentation including handover

documents.• Ensure the current list of Committee is on the societies

website and with the Society Administrator• Maintain membership list • Complete an end of year report



successful society.

3. Managing Effective Meetings4. The role of the corresponding Secretary5. Archives and reports6. Achieving society continuity

Types of Meetings

• AGM • EGM • Committee

Formal & Informal

AGM

• At the end of Semester 2 you must hold an AGM • Check your constitution for regulations regarding your AGM• Best Practice give one weeks notice of the AGM.• Inform all members and publicise (posters, email, websites)• Democratically elected new committee• Only registered members can vote (have membership list)• Approve any changes to your constitution, send any changes

to your Societies administrator for approval.• Present a secretary’s report• The treasurer presents a financial report• After the AGM inform the Societies Administrator of new

committee members and their contact details

EGM• An EGM may be held at any time of the year.• If you have held an AGM at the end of semester 2 of the

previous academic year and you have not filled all the positions on your committee you will need to hold an EGM in September, (preferably after Societies day) to fill the vacant posts

• It is advisable to advertise the EGM with date & venue on your table on Societies day.

• Attendance is open to all members of the society.• Usually one weeks notice is required (Check your individual

constitution)• The Agenda is at the discretion of the committee.• Changes to constitutions may be made at an EGM

Committee Meetings

Meeting Agenda

‘The agenda is a roadmap for the meeting.

It lets participants know where they're headed so they don't get off track.

Most importantly, the meeting agenda gives a sense of purpose and direction to

the meeting.’

Creating a Meeting Agenda

All agendas should list the following: 1. Meeting start time, end time & location 2. Matters Arising (Refer to the previous minutes when

drafting these)3. Topic headings (Include some topic detail for each

heading) 4. Attach any additional material which it would be

advantageous for the committee to read before the meeting - this can save considerable time.

Creating a Meeting Agenda

• A good agenda will help you to understand the objectives of the meeting, which will help you to know what is important to include in the minutes.

• Prepare the agenda after discussion with the Chairperson and any other key participants.

• Distribute the agenda and additional material prior to the meeting so members will be prepared and feel involved and up-to-date.

Before the Meeting

• Define the purpose of the meeting. • Choose an appropriate meeting time. Set a time

limit and stick to it, if possible. • If possible, arrange the room so that members

face each other, i.e., a circle or semi-circle. For large groups, try U-shaped rows.

• Choose a location suitable to your group's size. • Be sure everyone knows where and when the

next meeting will be held.

What to Bring to the Meeting

• The meeting agenda & all background information/ supplementary material

• A prepared outline with all of the topics written, leaving white space, in order to record the proceedings. (Template available)

• An attendance sheet. • Copy of minutes from the last meeting. • Any correspondence received by the society

Meeting MinutesThe purpose of meeting minutes is to provide:

• A summary of the meeting’s activities • A method of conveying information to people who were unable to

attend the meeting • A record of decisions and expected future actions • An historical background for the decisions and the rational behind

them. • At the meeting chair and the secretary should sit next to each other

so that they can confer and clarify points for the minutes.

What to record in the minutes• List of those present at the meeting. This is important to establish if a

quorum is present. (Including those who arrive late and those who leave).

• All pros and cons of a discussion • New information • All motions (passed and defeated), exactly as they have been stated • Every action taken & an expected action• Include each line of business referenced in the agenda even if it is only

one sentence

Useful phrasesWhen everyone is essentially saying the same thing for a long time: • After a lengthy discussion the consensus was....

When the discussion lasted for a very long time: • After much debate.......• Having explored all the issues it was decided.......

Recording Motions

• Motions need to be recorded properly. A motion is a presentation of an idea to a meeting for discussion. It must have a proposer and a seconder and then must be passed by a vote.

• It is a good idea to have motions written out beforehand and presented to the meeting participants on an overhead.

• It is important to record these motions in the minutes exactly as they have been stated. It is also important to document in the minutes “It was moved by ..., seconded by ... and carried that ...”

After the Meeting

• Prepare a draft of the minutes and consult the Chairperson for approval.

• Once approved circulate to all the committee (can be useful to up load to a shared Google file)

• Send a reminder notice of each decision requiring action to the relevant person; this can be done by telephone, or by an ‘action list' with the relevant action for each person duly marked in the minutes.

• Promptly send all correspondence as decided by the Committee.



successful society.3. Managing Effective Meetings

4. The role of the corresponding Secretary

5. Archives and reports6. Achieving society continuity

The Role of the Corresponding Secretary

• Responsible for External communication • Receiving, reading, and responding to any communications

(postal, electronic, telephone, etc.) from third parties. • Informing the committee of any correspondence received• This includes contact from the Societies’ Officer as well as

from other societies. • Secretaries must have passwords for any resources used by

the society for communication, e.g. e-mail accounts, SMS servers, web-servers etc., or be in close communication with the officers responsible for these resources.

Formal Letter template available



successful society.3. Managing Effective Meetings4. The role of the corresponding Secretary

5. Archives and reports6. Achieving society continuity

At the End of The Year

• Handover Documents• End of Year report

Hand-over Checklist Even the most vibrant and active society needs to work hard to ensure continuity from year to year. It would be a shame to let everything your society has achieved this year go to waste.

The transition between committees often causes numerous problems. Successful handovers do take time, but will prove invaluable for coming years and ensure a lasting legacy.

As secretary, you should be prepared to hand over the following information which you should have recorded in such a manner that it facilitates an efficient transfer:

• A formal record of all activities• The minutes of all committee meetings, AGMs and EGMs

(Google Docs is good for this)

End of Year Report

Should include Outgoing Committee members Incoming Committee Members A summary of your year List of Events Number of committee meetings and EGMs

As the report has many elements it should be prepared with the chairperson and committee

This may be required by your Societies Administration



successful society.3. Managing Effective Meetings4. The role of the corresponding Secretary5. Archives and reports

6. Achieving society continuity

Achieving society continuity Ingredients:

• Happy successful committee working as a team• Clear attainable goals• Loyal Engaged members• Successful events• Supportive partners• Enthusiastic new committee• Good hand over

The Secretary Contributes bySupporting the society to:

• Keep the committee on track• Focused on goals• Keeping meetings formal and focused when needed especially

when difficulties arise• Keeping everyone informed• Maintaining contact with key college personnel• Maintaining contact with external key players• Attracting interesting guests• Ensuring follow through on society commitments• Archiving information to help future committees

And Finally

What Makes a Good Secretary?

Characteristics of a good secretary

‘The role of Secretary of a Committee is key to the efficient functioning of the

Committee, particularly in volunteer organisations with no paid staff members.’

http://www.diycommitteeguide.org

Desired Quality, Skills & Knowledge

A good Committee Secretary will:• be methodical, with a good eye for detail;• be well organised, with an orderly mind;• bring objectivity to the proceedings;• deal promptly with correspondence;• be able to take accurate notes of meetings;• make sure members receive all the necessary material;• bring the necessary material to the meeting;• work well with the Chairperson;• ensure quorum is met for meetings; and• have knowledge or experience of committee procedures.

Do's and Don'tsA good Secretary will: A good Secretary will NOT:• Be organised. • Ignore correspondence.• Keep copies of all correspondence. • Keep information to her/himself.• Check quorum is met for meetings. • Be late for meetings.• Respect confidentiality. • Throw away important papers.

•Work closely with the Chairperson. • Write down trivial details of all discussions at every meeting.

• Make it easy for others to take over by keeping clear records. • Rely on his/her memory.

• Prepare for meetings well in advance. • Repeat private conversations.• Summarise discussions effectively. • Organise meetings at the last minute.• Keep people informed. • Delay in circulating minutes• Ensure accurate minutes of meetings are kept