Meetings in companies occupy a special place. They act as a kind of platforms for discussing important issues and solving various problems. It is also possible to manage internal affairs through them in order to achieve progress in activities faster.
To remember all the nuances of a working meeting there is a protocol. It allows you to capture the essence and record generalizations of the main topics discussed. Let’s consider its features.
What is the meeting protocol?
The protocol of the meeting is considered to be a document where a written report on the decisions taken at the meeting is recorded. It is not among the mandatory papers, but sometimes it is very necessary. Its main tasks are:
- acts as a reference material and data source for each participant;
- contributes to the guarantee that important information will not be forgotten;
- ensures accountability.
Preliminary planning of the meeting minutes of the meeting
The workflow can be simplified thanks to a fixed plan. The basis of the meeting is a properly drawn up agenda. What to do:
- Outline a plan for the meeting as soon as you find out what it will be about. This is especially true for those who make brief notes by hand.
- Check the correctness.
- Do not try to record everything that happens, otherwise you can get a mess, miss something really important.
- If you do not understand any points, contact the moderator for their explanations.
- When drawing up the protocol, mark the participants of the business meeting who come to the meeting. If their names are unknown, it’s worth waiting for them to introduce themselves.
- Make audio/video if you write notes slowly.
What does a timekeeper do?
The timekeeper is the one who is engaged in maintaining the protocol. His main task is to be responsible for the accurate recording of discussions, decisions that are made during the meeting. Also, the recorder should be able to competently and effectively summarize the discussion.
This role can be assigned to an administrator, secretary, manager.
How to write a meeting protocol
8 main components of the protocol
The document consists of:
- Dates, times, places.
- A list of participants, apologies for not being able to come.
- The agenda, the objectives of the meeting.
- Results of discussions, decisions.
- The votes held, their results.
- Actions, the deadline for their implementation.
- Any next steps/follow-up actions.
- Final comments/break in the meeting.
Step-by-step writing process
Preparatory stage
Before the meeting, study the agenda. To understand what information should be included and how to format it, review the minutes of past meetings of managers. It is also worth making sure that the laptop, notepad, pen and other important tools are in place.
Taking notes
Try to make brief notes to the point. The main thing is to focus on the key points. Be sure to include the names of the speakers/any important quotes. Do not use abbreviations and abbreviations. In the future, they may be incomprehensible to other people.
Organize
Systematization of personal notes will allow you to form a consistent presentation of the protocols following the meeting. In the work, you can use markers and divide the text into headings – this will simplify the reading process. It’s best to focus on the facts.
Recording details
The indication of important details is mandatory. We are talking about the date, time, place, participants. It is also worth noting important topics, decisions and votes.
Actions
It is important to list each assigned action, including those responsible and deadlines. This is a guarantee that everyone is informed about their responsibilities.
Review and distribution
Check the document for accuracy, completeness, and make the necessary changes. It is also worth making sure that important points are fixed. After that, send it to the email address of each participant. You need to save a copy in quick access, for example, on a shared disk or in the cloud.
Follow-up actions
We have figured out how to draw up the minutes of the meeting. But do not forget about the actions that were taken. We need to make sure that they are executed quickly. This process can be tracked by the protocol. As a result, the meeting will be effective.
Content and storage
After the document is issued and signed, it must be sent to other documentation of the company. We are talking about papers that record internal meetings, the negotiation process, meetings.
As soon as the document loses its relevance, feel free to send it for storage in the company’s archive, where by law it will be for at least 3 years. Then it can be disposed of, but in the manner prescribed by law.
Conclusion
Thus, the main purpose of the minutes of the working meeting is to provide a general overview of the meeting for those who did not come, as well as to record the results. Therefore, this process should be well-established and accessible, and the most important information should be clearly and concisely highlighted.
If you are tired of filling out and sending protocols to each participant, we are ready to take on this task. We offer an optimal AI-based solution that will do it for you automatically.
The advantage of artificial intelligence models is that they do not lose data and do not forget details. Moreover, the quality of summarizing conversations reaches 100%. With this solution, you will be able to optimize your work within the framework of internal and client meetings.
