Meeting and Note Taking

Meetings have always been a part of the way business is done. It’s not unusual for a business to have meetings every week and even every day. Whether the meeting is to discuss a new campaign, get new clients or assess current operations, chances are the meeting must have been set up with proper planning and structure. It helps to be prepared when the meeting is called. Since so much business is conducted via telephone, make sure all parties on the call agree to the meeting as well. In businesses with more than a few departments, it is common to have a meeting for all of the departments. Depending on the size of the meeting, it may or may not be necessary to distribute minutes to the participants. This is not a formal process and it can vary slightly depending on the objectives of the meeting. Meeting minutes with all the points made are definitely a requirement. However, since phone meetings are an important part of the day-to-day operation of many businesses and are so vital to meeting customers and getting solid business, it is definitely a good idea to spend time keying in the points that were made to each party.

As soon as everyone’s business card is read and the proper date, time, location, agenda, etc. have been determined (most likely a document created in Microsoft Word or an envelopes mailed out to an address), they need to make sure someone picks up the phone and facilitates the call. This can usually be done with the help of refreshments or a brief reminder of the point made. Once all the documents are handed out and everyone sets to “get to the point”. This may take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour or so to get to the place everyone has agreed to. At some point, attendees may want to address other business issues. For example, if it’s a meeting to finalize an “important project”, it is likely that staff will need to ask questions to clarify documents, be sure to speak to this matter at the end of the meeting. Now that goals have been set, it is time to discuss the time frame, agenda, accuracy of minutes, etc. If there are many people attending your meeting for any reason, the meeting minutes can get out to them in the designated timeframe. Don’t get involved in who said what; the meeting titles don’t matter, nor does who gets to do what. Only settle an issue if all parties are willing to be involved. Allow time and/or topic discuss within yourselves so everyone is able to identify which topic they would like to discuss. Once everyone has a chance to speak, it is time to record the conversation.

Sometimes, even though the agenda was agreed, it is still not necessary to record all of the points made. This would depend completely on the agenda unless it is very specific. By this time you should feel everything has been covered to the best of any hirings on the agenda at the end of the meeting. Once the meeting has ended, then it is time to sit down and think over the things as a group. Make sure everyone knows what they have agreed to, who will be doing what, and what will happen to those who are not attending. Meeting minutes are such an important part of any business and even more so in large corporations where lines can be blurred on people stuck at some company’s home office. If the meeting is important enough, it is much better to have it documented anyway. If there are multiple people attending a meeting, then try to accomplish the minutes as a group. If larger times Spaces are used, it is always best to sit together.

Everyone should have an equal opportunity for voice, but a idea may be that the person attending more has more experience, which may or may not not be the case. Having someone from the company in attendance will allow the company more control. This person can form committees or may be the boss who is willing to handle greater company issues.

As your company continues to grow, it is always a good idea to know what everyone is doing and what the procedure is on a daily basis. It does not hurt to send out an agenda ahead of time and allow extra time and space for those who really need to speak. Minutes are a time for “all hands on deck”, should the meeting start at a specific time. Once the meeting to keeps things moving, people will find it much easier to follow-up on topics discussed. This will ultimately save time and not waste energy.

To wrap up, business is something that may not involve “real” people, but definitely can involve close. There are many benefits of being able to maintain a business office, especially when using your phone. The internet in this case. Business meeting can always be useful, but it is no doubt good for the company to have a meeting and record those meetings just to ensure there is proper management.