As much as we tend to complain about meetings, they do serve a purpose. If conducted correctly, they can be a platform to share ideas, solidify strategies, and provide status updates to ensure deadlines are met. The reason meetings tend to get a bad reputation is because they are not always as organized as possible. They often lack a set agenda that prevents people from dragging the conversation in the wrong direction.

Another reason meetings are looked down upon is the lack of results they produce after the meeting is done. This is where meeting minutes come into play. The act of taking minutes during a meeting is pretty straightforward. A designated person records everything that was discussed so it can be referenced afterwards. The purpose is that nothing gets missed and everyone understands what needs to be done before the next meeting.

 

Designate the Responsibility

It is counterproductive to have a manager or director record the meeting minutes. This will prevent them from focusing on the ideas that are being presented. They will be too busy typing notes to offer a response. Valuable input from your most talented team members will undoubtedly be lost. Whoever is in charge of taking the minutes, that should be their only responsibility.

This individual should be a fast typer and good listener. They should have experience recording information as it is presented and then organizing it later. They also cannot be afraid to interrupt the meeting to clarify what was said. This requires someone who is comfortable speaking up when in the company of executives and company leaders. Ideally, you would hire a virtual assistant who is experienced in working in these types of situations.

 

Record All Deliverables and Deadlines

Ideas shared during a meeting are important, but it is what comes next that must be documented to ensure that great ideas are executed properly. After an idea is approved, you will need to record who will be responsible for putting it into action. This includes the deliverables that are included and who they have been assigned to. Equally important is when those deliverables are due. By recording this information, you are providing a reference point in case there is an issue or dispute in the future.

Any meeting that centers on a project should include a list of deliverables and a timeline for completion. This may include phases such as discovery, design, copywriting, and approval. Ideally, each phase will be designated to an individual, department or third-party vendor. This timeline will make it clear when everyone’s tasks need to be completed by. If the deadline passes and the deliverable is not met, you will be able to refer back to the meeting minutes everyone previously agreed upon.

 

Send Out a Recap E-Mail

Once the meeting concludes, your VA should go to work organizing their notes from the meeting. Remember, if the conversation is moving fast, they may be forced to quickly jot down what was said. Now that it is over, they can review their notes and begin to present the information in an easily digestible format. This can include laying out the main points and then creating bullet points for the sub-points that were discussed.

A recap e-mail should be sent out within 24 hours of the conclusion of the meeting. It should be sent to everyone who was in the meeting and anyone else who was assigned a deliverable but did not attend. This e-mail should clearly lay out everything that was discussed in easy-to-read sections. For example, if the project in question is a website redesign, you would break the information up into sections such as design, development, and copywriting. The bottom of the e-mail should include an updated project timeline outlining when each deliverable is due and who is responsible.

 

Set the Next Meeting

To keep the momentum going, you should use your recap e-mail to set the next meeting on this topic. If that has already been determined, be sure to call that out in your communication. To take it a step further, the person in charge of the minutes can also be responsible for sending out the meeting invitations. Remember to ask all parties if anyone new needs to be included in the next meeting invite.

If this is a recurring meeting, try to choose the same time and day each week or month. This will reduce the number of scheduling conflicts with your busier attendees. Also, keep track of who has not accepted the invitation for the next meeting. If you are 72 hours away from the next gathering and someone has not responded, you will want to reach out directly to confirm.

 

Archive the Minutes

Be sure to instruct your VA to set up an archiving system for all meeting minutes. This system should include both their raw notes and the official version that is sent out to the attendees. This will allow team members to easily find information about past meetings, including project timelines and due dates. It also allows your team to go back to any ideas that were presented in the past and are now ready to be implemented.

You can set up this archiving system in several ways. If you work for an agency, each client should have their own folder. You will also want to separate internal meetings and external meetings. You will want to agree upon a naming convention for each document to ensure it can be located quickly. For example, you may want to use something such as: Meeting Date_Client Name_Project Name to avoid confusion.

 

Conclusion

Meeting minutes can be the foundation of strong internal and external communication strategies. They are living documents that can ensure projects stay on track and everyone is clear about their responsibilities. These documents should be shared with and used by all relevant parties at all times. They are just another valuable contribution that can be made when you hire the right virtual assistant.

 

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