But, and I must stress this, they have to be effective. In order to achieve this objective they must be accurate and contain an appropriate level of detail…..Yes? So what? Surely anyone with a little admin experience can perform this function?
But the thing is, you can't expect them to just know all this - they need training. It's a lack of training which causes people to avoid minute taking wherever possible. They're terrified and rightly so! It isn't a skill which comes naturally and your organisation could be adversely affected without clear, accessible communication - of which minutes form a vital part.
Your meetings likely comprise discussion, decisions, sharing of information and allocation of duties.
Without accurate and well laid out minutes, how can any of this content be remembered and disseminated?
If there's no written record your meeting is just a talk shop - no real objective and no possibility of structured follow-up - in short, it easily degenerates into an hour or two of wasted time.
Okay - let's assume you understand the importance of minute taking - I ask again - how many of the people tasked with taking these minutes have ever been trained on this skill? Because it is a skill and thus requires the minute taker to have a knowledge of all aspects of their function. In more formal meetings they have to understand the complex terminology and in all meetings the actual function of a set of minutes. Why they are important, the fact that they are producing a legally binding document and how easily their personal bias can unduly influence the tone of the minutes.
With me so far? How exactly can you expect the person you co-opted to perform this function correctly deduce the relevant issues which need to be recorded? Without an understanding of all the different types of minutes how can they format them correctly?
Staff Training offers a comprehensive two day course on minute taking which covers both theory and practical aspects. Our course is aligned to SAQA 13934 - Plan and prepare meeting communications.
Find out more about this course and book your seat here.
Testimonials:
The trainer did an excellent job of focusing on relevant topics ~ Lauren
There were lots of relevant examples which helped with understanding - very informative ~ Shana
The trainer was well informed and aware of our challenges - it was a very informative course and tackled the challenges of minute taking ~ Siphokazi
Trainer was amazing - really made the course fun and I learnt so much ~ Nicolette
What a great trainer - she had patience and allowed everyone time to express their views - we were given great tools to help us with our minute taking ~ Thandeka
This was a very helpful and thorough 2 day course - the content was good and easy to understand ~ Denray
The pace of the workshop was perfect - it was very logical and I had lots of light bulb moments ~ Henry
The trainer was well prepared and the course material covered all the problems I was having with minute taking ~ Sympathy