Job Description

coordinate and manage meetings and team members in an efficient manner while accomplishing team goals to get the results needed in the amount of time allotted.

* Plan the Agenda
* Define the Purpose of the Meeting
* Determine Attendees
* Define Roles & Responsibilities
* Schedule the Meeting Invite
* Document the Meeting
* Transcribe Notes into Meeting Minutes
* Send Meeting Minutes
* Archive Meeting Minutes
* Schedule Follow-Up Meetings

Step 1: Plan the Meeting Agenda
This is the starting point for any meeting. For meeting leaders, planning an agenda falls under your responsibility. When leading a meeting, it is your responsibility to plan the agenda. The meeting agenda will include the following:

1. Purpose of the meeting
2. Attendees
3. Roles
4. Time and Place

Step 2: Define the Purpose of the Meeting
For all meeting members, the purpose should of the meeting in the agenda. For all attendees, clearly stating the purpose of the meeting for everyone is an important step to planning an effective meeting. Once the purpose is clear, communicate it to those involved, and plan meeting strategies that support the thoughtful involvement of those attending.

More importantly, if there are multiple topics that need to be discussed, it is recommended to mention each topic and schedule time during the meeting specifically to cover each topic.

Step 3: Determine Attendees
Who needs to be at the meeting and who does not need to be there? When planning your meeting invite and agenda, it’s best to limit the number of people to only the members who absolutely need to be there. Keep in mind, meeting minutes exist to update those that need to know meeting results but don’t necessarily need to be involved.

Step 4: Define Roles & Responsibilities
After narrowing down the team members that need to attend, it’s time to define your roles. There are meeting leaders, facilitators, decision-makers, and note-takers that all have separate roles to contribute to having an effective meeting.

Also, it’s important to note if updates needed from team members for the meeting. These updates should be listed on the agenda for those members to see. That way, each attendee knows what’s expected of them, and there’s little confusion on what each individual needs to do or bring.

Step 5: Schedule the Meeting Invite
You’re finally ready to send an invite to your team. Create a meeting invite, include your detailed agenda, and schedule the meeting for a date and time that accommodates everyone’s schedule. Here are a few considerations around scheduling a meeting.

Meeting Length
An important aspect to remember is the length of the meeting. Based on the purpose of the meeting, and the topics to discuss, you’ll have an idea of how long the meeting will take.

Location
Be sure to include the location of the meeting. For instance, if it’s a specific room in your office, include that information in the invite.

If you’re traveling to another place outside of your office, be sure to include the address, directions, and parking information. You may even want to include and schedule time on people’s calendars for necessary travel time.

Alternatively, if the meeting is virtual, add the link to the meeting room, and other information needed, like a password, if required.

Step 6: Document the Meeting
Once everyone is in the same room (whether virtual or in-office), and discussion has begun, the notetaker will start documenting the meeting. Throughout the meeting, the note-taker will document the meeting and the decisions that result. They will either take written notes as these important decisions and updates occur, or use a meeting recording software to listen to and reference when forming meeting minutes.

Step 7: Transcribe Notes into Meeting Minutes
Once the meeting ends, note-takers will rely on their notes of the meeting, and transcribe them into minutes. Meeting minutes serve as a record of what was discussed and decided from the meeting. In addition to the decisions of the meeting, the meeting minutes clearly define the actions that must be taken, the member responsible for each decision, and the expected due date for each.

Step 8: Send Out Meeting Minutes
Once these meeting minutes are formatted, it’s time to send out your minutes, with action items included. Meeting minutes will serve as a summary of decisions and action items the meeting results for those that missed the meeting. For action items included, be sure to include the team member responsible for the task, and due date.

In addition, be sure to provide links or attachments to any presentations or files that were used during the meeting.

Step 9: Archive the Meeting Minutes
After everyone has seen the meeting minutes, the next step is to archive the meeting minutes in a shared drive. By archiving minutes, you can reference meeting notes at any given time. Make sure the minutes are stored in a place where everyone can access them. In addition, be sure to store away presentations and other relevant files.

Step 10: Schedule Follow-up Meetings
Take a look at the next steps and be sure to check whether follow-up meetings need to be scheduled. Wil three need to be multiple meetings scheduled for each follow-up action item? This will depend on each action item and the next step. For instance, if an action item calls for time for the task owner and other members to review a document, a meeting should be scheduled at the appropriate date that was agreed on in the meeting minutes.