Meeting Guidelines

Meeting terminology

Chairperson – The person responsible for organising and running the meeting.

Agenda – A plan of the stages or topics to be discussed during the meeting. Before the meeting a call for agenda items may be made before the agenda is prepared and distributed to include:

  • the purpose of the meeting
  • attendees and apologies
  • acceptance of the minutes from the previous meeting
  • WHS matters
  • general business
  • standing items.

Minutes – An official record of what took place at the meeting, particularly any actions and decisions that have come out of the meeting.

Action items – A documented event, task or activity that needs to take place as a result of discussions during a meeting. An action item is usually assigned to someone with a designated timeframe for completion.

Apologies– People who are unable to attend the meeting are recorded as an apology.

Teleconference – Two or more attendees simultaneously connected by telephone allowing them to speak and hear one another.

Videoconference – Video link between a group of people allowing them to see and speak to each other (e.g. via Skype, FaceTime, Blackboard Collaborate)

Motion – An official proposal that is put before a meeting to be accepted or rejected. The person who suggests the proposal moves the motion. A person who supports the motion seconds the motion. The motion is then voted on by all the participants, with or without discussion and either carried or lost.

Formal meetings

A formal meeting is a pre-planned gathering that is scheduled well ahead of time to meet a specific need or purpose. A formal notice is often provided by way of an invitation with an agenda outlining what will take place during the meeting.

Formal meetings have a chairperson, usually a senior member of the organisation, who runs the meeting and a record of the meeting is kept by way of minutes. These meetings often take place in a meeting room or company boardroom where technology such as laptops and overhead projectors can be used to display information. These meetings are often where business decisions are made and discussed. Refer to meeting protocols below for more information on decision making in meetings.

Agreed actions from a formal meeting must be minuted and distributed to all relevant parties.

Informal meetings

An informal meeting can take place almost anywhere, anytime, and there is seldom the same strict structure and formality that you will see in a formal meeting. The purpose of these meetings is often to share ideas, discuss progress or just catch up about work. One on one meetings between a manager and an employee are often conducted as informal meetings. This provides both parties with an opportunity to discuss how they are tracking and if they need any assistance or extra support with anything. Informal meetings can be conducted face to face or over the phone and may not require a set agenda.

Agreed actions from an informal meeting should still be documented and distributed to relevant parties.

Meeting protocols

The following protocols apply to all meetings held at ABMN:

  • Meetings must be conducted in a professional manner in accordance with ABMN’s code of conduct
  • Legal requirements such as WHS and environmental obligations need to be considered during the conduct of meetings to ensure they are conducted in a safe and sustainable manner
  • When organising and conducting meetings, regard must be given to people from culturally diverse backgrounds
  • Meetings must be made accessible to all employees who are required to attend, including people with diverse abilities
  • Participants are expected to listen to one another, participate and respect the views of others
  • Meetings must start and finish on time, so all parties must be punctual
  • All parties must be prepared and participate in discussions as required
  • Phones should be kept off or on silent and calls to be taken outside of the room if necessary
  • Meetings may be run via:
  • Skype
  • Video\Teleconference
  • In person

For all formal meetings:

  • An agenda must be created and sent out at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting and sent with any relevant attachments via email or calendar invitation
  • All formal meetings must be minuted. Minutes must include an accurate record of the meeting, action items including responsibility for the action and timeframes.
  • Minutes must be distributed to relevant parties within 1 week of meeting.
  • Minutes must be named and saved in accordance with record management procedure.

Duties of the Chairperson

The chairperson has a number of duties when preparing and conducting a meeting. Their responsibilities may include:

  • Scheduling or delegating the scheduling of the meeting
  • Preparing the agenda
  • Clarifying roles and responsibilities
  • Opening the meeting and ensuring it starts on time
  • Where necessary, establishing ground rules, guidelines and meeting conventions (see below)
  • Participating as a team member
  • Following the agenda and keeping the meeting focussed on agenda items
  • Facilitating participation and discussion of all participants
  • Summarising key decisions and actions
  • Keeping order
  • Ensuring the meeting rules/protocols/conventions are understood and adhered to
  • Thanking participants and closing the meeting on time
  • Reviewing and distributing the minutes or delegating this task as required
  • Following up action items

Meeting conventions

It is the role of the chair to clarify the meeting conventions to be followed during a meeting. These may include:

  • Discussion to be limited to agenda items only
  • Speaking to occur through the chair by raising your hand and waiting to be acknowledge
  • Applying a time limit on speakers
  • Voting procedures to be used (e.g. majority of members must agree or consensus required)
  • Requiring a motion to be seconded before going to a vote
  • Allowing informal discussion to occur

Meeting checklist

When organising and conducting a formal meeting you need to:
Determine meeting style and structure (i.e. formal or informal, video/teleconference or face to face) / ☐ /
Prepare an agenda / ☐ /
State meeting purpose / ☐ /
Identify and invite participants / ☐ /
Confirm meeting venue, date, time, resources / ☐ /
Identify and send pre-meeting reading material (e.g. reports/documentation to be discussed) / ☐ /
Distribute minutes after meeting / ☐ /
Australian Business and Management Network
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