Guidelines: Tips for servicing officers

Tip

Tasks

First steps

• Know your committee’s terms of reference and membership.

• Meet your chair and establish what he/she expects of you.

Drafting an agenda

• Consult as appropriate:

• Terms of reference

• Minutes of previous meeting

• Agenda for same meeting last year

• Pending file for committee business

• Chair

• Apply an agenda template, if applicable.

• Consider style of headings, decide whether to just add action points or a full agenda.

• Arrange items in logical order.

• Find out if there is any “reserved business” to include.

Making arrangements

• Schedule the date, time and venue place of the meeting

• Book the venue, ensure that it has the required seating and equipment to meet the committee's needs

• Arrange refreshments (tea/coffee/biscuits), if necessary.

• Schedule the date, time and venue for briefing, if appropriate

• Confirm whether there is a fixed duration and finish time.

Preparing documentation for circulation

Prepare the following documents for circulation:

• The draft agenda, request input to the draft agenda and finalise it.

• Previous minutes, if not already circulated

• Any reports from matters arising

• Papers on specific issues – prepared by your or sought from other people (if specific format/presentation is required, make this clear).

• If possible, time saving summaries of actions taken since the last meeting

Circulating documentation

• Before sending out the documentation ensure that you have the correct circulation list, correct forms of address etc.

• Find out if any special invitations need to be sent out

• Find out if the documents are confidential (closed) and whether the papers and envelopes need to be marked “Confidential”

• Circulate several days before the date of the meeting

Briefing the chair

• Ascertain if briefing is required: usually of value even for simple meetings and essential for long and wide-ranging agenda

• Find out if an oral briefing is enough or whether chair’s notes are required. If the latter, prepare these several days in advance of the meeting.

Setting up for the meeting

• Arrive early to check seating, equipment in working order (if necessary) etc.

• Take essential items as appropriate- notebook, pen, file(s), any reference documents (e.g. University Calendar), committee terms of reference and membership, chair’s notes, list of membership, attendance book, calculator, background correspondence, minute book or copy for signing, any papers for tabling etc.

• Think whether other items might be needed, e.g. paper for voting slips if a decision goes to a vote

Identifying those present

• For in-person meetings, if necessary, provide place names for each member and/or a table map of who is sitting where.

• If members do not know each other, open the meeting with a quick round of self-introductions

• Speakers might be asked to identify themselves (this is useful in a large meeting)

• If applicable, pass around an attendance book or sheet for signatures

Taking notes

• Do your homework first

• Only note down what you think really matters

• Make sure you record any decisions

• If in doubt, ask.

• If unsure about jargon, acronyms, and/or specific terms ask for clarification.

• Ask the speaker for a copy of any pre-written paper, and ask for permission to attach it to minutes, if appropriate

• Keep calm.

Drafting minutes

• Create minutes promptly after the meeting or as soon as possible, do not delay.

• Use the past tense throughout.

• Use a style which is appropriate to the committee and the meeting, e.g. verbatim, summary or action minutes.

• Annotate minutes with any queries for your Chair.

• Amend minutes, taking Chair’s comments into account.

• Send out minutes as soon as possible.

Standard items to be included:

• Classification (‘Confidential’; ‘Strictly Confidential’, etc.)

• File reference

• Name of the committee

• ‘Minutes of the meeting held on [date] at [time] in [location].’

• ‘Present:’ [a list of those present, annotated with ‘representing…’ or ‘as alternate for …’ as appropriate]

• ‘In attendance:’ [you as committee secretary, plus anyone who had been invited for that meeting only (eg to present a specific item)]

• ‘Apologies for absence’ [a list of those members who told you they were unable to attend this meeting]

Numbering and layout:

• Be consistent

• Devise a numbering system (or follow the existing one) and stick to it.

• Be consistent about headings and a hierarchy within them, eg 29 MAIN HEADING, 29.1 Sub-heading, 29.1.1 Sub-sub-heading.

• Decide what to do about ‘action’ – initials in margin, phrase in bold at end of section, etc.

• Include a header or footer on each page showing name of committee and a date of meeting.

Drafting reports

• Know you committee’s remit and authority.

• Check whom to report to, and deadlines for doing so.

• Head your report with name of your committee and date of its meeting, and name of committee it is reporting to. You may need to incorporate a reference or paper number for the higher committee, check with the secretary.

• Don’t include list of those present etc.

• Put name or initials and date at the foot of the report.

Working with follow-up actions

• Meet your Chair to confirm any follow-up action/s.

• Make sure all papers are properly filed, and Minutes indexed if appropriate

• Mark on a spare set of Minutes who is doing what.

• Ensure that it gets done.