Masonry Magazine June 1989 Page. 24
Important Reading For The
Contractor Management Team
JUST A
MINUTE
by
Harold E. Moore
James L. Schwinkendorf
Meeting minutes are an important necessity to the well-being of any organization. Unfortunately, minutes do not receive the appropriate attention they warrant until a calamity strikes. By-laws of public and private organizations often require that "proper minutes" be maintained. Governmental regulations are mandatory that minutes be kept. Regardless of the source that may require minutes, it makes practical business sense to review the manner by which minutes are recorded, organized, styled, edited and distributed.
What Are Minutes?
Minutes, simply defined, are an interpretation, as well as, summarization of a meeting's agenda or purpose. Minutes serve as an organization's source of information and are often looked upon as a reflection of the precise intent and purpose of a group's deliberations. Besides reflecting an accurate account of statements, positions and actions, minutes provide others a necessary reference tool. For example, if an investment committee meets and elects to place ten percent of an organization's cash assets in six month certificates of deposit, the minutes need to reflect this precisely so that those responsible for carrying out this action will be able to perform this duty without any question. Imagine the confusion if the minutes simply stated that the investment committee voted to invest a "portion of the cash assets in certificates of deposit. Naturally, those responsible would not know the amount of money to be invested or for what length of time. Poorly written minutes can have other negative consequences. Minutes which are ambiguous or do not include specific intent can create a notion that otherwise responsible individuals appear lax in their duties. When this occurs, minutes become a very real liability.
Considerations
Who should maintain an organization's minutes depends upon, in most instances, two key elements. If the "nature" of a meeting is technical or highly sophisticated, then, generally, a person who can readily comprehend the discussion should be selected to record the minutes. The second key element in determining the proper person to keep minutes depends upon the "personality" of the organization's meetings. If meetings tend to be congenial and orderly, the participants may feel comfortable with a stenographer or some other designated individual to record the minutes. If the meetings can be normally characterized as tense or potentially explosive, then the minutes possibly should be taken by a third party such as a court reporter, the organization's legal counsel or other paid advisor. Minutes taken verbatim or even recorded by either audio and/or video devices can be costly, but, nonetheless, effective for some groups.
Structure
The person preparing minutes should, at minimum, record the following for each subject:
* Identify date, time & place of meeting.
* People present and their respective titles/affiliation.
* People absent (optional)
* Introduction of each subject.
* Key comments concerning each subject, issue or problem.
* Decisions
* Instructions
Of course, many organizations follow parliamentary procedures, so motions and seconds and the vote count should be included in the minutes.
Other important items to be included in minutes are:
* Specific statements by individuals requesting that their views be on the record.
* If someone (with voting authority) is late or leaves the meeting, it should be noted.
* Adjournment time (Why? It will show that sufficient time was (or was not) devoted to all of the subjects covered.)
Attachments to minutes are important as well. For example, if a committee votes to commend 100 employees with an award, it is more feasible to place their names on a separate page and attach it to the minutes with a reference in the body of the minutes. The attachments should have a notation as follows: "Attachment No. 1 to the minutes dated..."
continued on page 36
Copywrited by:
Harold E. Moore and James L. Schwinkendorf
24 MASONRY-MAY/JUNE, 1989