While the term “promptly” is open for interpretation, there can be little debate that requests dating back about two years do not meet the definition of “prompt.”įormer Youngstown Board of Education member Dario D. If your company needs assistance creating or managing your minutes, you can work with an online service provider.Further, those minutes must be made available promptly as a public record, and especially when anyone requests to review them. Meeting minutes are an important record that keep your business on track and organized. For example, if a new product is discussed at several points in the meeting, it's best to sum up all of the related decisions or actions in one section. While it might seem best to make your minutes chronological, the best practice is to create minutes that are organized in a logical way.Sharing them online means everyone can have ongoing access and they will be preserved as part of the company's records. Don't distribute paper copies of the meeting minutes if at all possible.Meeting minutes are meant to be shared, but don't disseminate them until the meeting chair has a chance to review and approve them.They can be attached to the minutes or the minutes can just indicate where to locate the documents. Documents referred to in the meeting do not need to be summarized in the minutes.

The minutes should summarize the outcome of the discussion, not every single point that was considered. There can be a lot of debate that happens at a meeting as people offer their opinions, research, and experience, which should not be recorded.Minutes should be concise and summarize the major points of what happened at the meeting. Avoid writing down everything everyone said.All statements should be as neutral as possible. Personal observations or judgmental comments should not be included in meeting minutes.Do not switch tenses throughout the minutes.Ask for clarification during the meeting so that your minutes can be accurate.

If you're unsure about a point, don't just gloss over it.

Just as important as what you should do is what you shouldn't do.

Write the final copy of the minutes as soon as possible after the actual meeting, while it is fresh in your mind.

If you have trouble keeping up while taking minutes, use an audio recorder so that you can go back and fill in any gaps in your notes.

List items that are held over for future meetings.

Detail any new business that is discussed.

Identify and track action items and plans that are discussed, including any due dates.

Record the outcome of any votes taken as well who made the motions and who seconded them.

Describe all of the decisions made at the meeting.

Mention any documents handed out at the meeting and store a copy with the minutes.

Record any amendments or corrections that are made to minutes from previous meetings.

Use the same naming convention for all minutes files and, if possible, store them in a designated folder so they can be easily located.Use the meeting agenda as the outline for the minutes.List all the meeting attendees as well as those who were invited but could not attend.Include the date and time of the meeting.Create typed, electronic minutes that are stored in the cloud.Here are some of the most common tried and true methods for creating effective meeting minutes: To make the most effective use of your meeting minutes, follow these tips. These notes document what happened in a meeting and provide a reminder going forward of decisions that were made or actions to be taken. That's why keeping meeting minutes is a best practice for business meetings.

Keep the minutes