Whether one is chairing a committee or is a committee member, her or she faces the challenge of getting involved in the work the committee was formed to accomplish.
A committee member's contribution and participation on the committee will determine its success or failure.
If committee members participate, get involved, and encourage others on the committee to do so, the committee will be successful. Enthusiasm is contagious. The findings of a committee have a direct impact on the decisions made by the officers and the board of directors of the association.
The energy a committee member puts into your work on the committee has a direct influence on the direction your association takes. Functions of a Committee The primary function of a committee is to contribute to the efficient operation of an organization. In most cases, a committee is concerned with the communication of information and with assisting the leadership in the decision-making process by providing needed information.
Effective committees don't just happen. They are a combination of the right individuals, a mission, good leadership, [and] good staff work.
Even with capable members on a committee, a firm goal to achieve, and the support of the Association staff, a committee without strong leadership will be handicapped. The most consistent help for a Committee Chair will come from the Association staff. To a great extent, a Chair's ability to work with the Association ED and staff will determine his or her success as head of the committee and leader in the Association.
The Association ED and President will assist with the selection of committee members, setting objectives, and reviewing the work and communications of the committee. By keeping the Association ED and staff informed and familiar with the committee's activities and progress, they will be able to advise you on problems and procedures and can point out possible pitfalls. The success a Committee Chair achieves will largely depend on his or her ability to preside and guide the committee to a definite goal.
The following guidelines should assist Committee Chairs with running productive meetings:. Following is the generally accepted sequence, or order of business, that is observed for a meeting:.
An agenda needs to be developed and sent to all members of the committee prior to the meeting. It should include all topics to be discussed at the meeting and should also include the date, location, starting time, scheduled breaks, and anticipated adjourning time. If a committee meets the above four factors, then the meetings will likely be well run. It will still be important to provide for meeting space that matches the needs of the group, a written meeting agenda and any necessary information mailed out to members in advance of the meeting.
Set the agenda. The agenda provides a road map for the conversation so make sure the leader has a clear agenda before the meeting starts. That agenda needs to be communicated on a handout in advance of the meeting, and any other necessary information should be e-mailed out to members in advance of the meeting. Clarify the decision making process. The chair must clarify its decision making process at the outset. Is it by majority vote? Is it that the chair gathers input and then he or she makes the decision?
Make it clear from the outset how decisions will be made. Start on time and end on time. Make sure the leader lets people speak. End with an action plan. Determine who is responsible for what and what the timelines are. The secretary must record all time frames to make sure all action items are taken care of and followed up on. The decision of the Chair, in consultation with the Secretary, on whether a paper is to be circulated is final.
Set realistic deadlines for the receipt of papers - you will need to read them and absorb them before you can brief your Chair. Try and set the deadline for papers before the Agenda setting meeting if you can - inevitably the Chair will ask what the paper is about if it is going on the Agenda. At that stage the Chair might ask for additional information to be included so it is professional to have knowledge of the business.
A good Secretary will deal with and resolve problems before the Committee meeting which will save the time of the Committee at the meeting. You should arrange a meeting with the Chair to brief your Chair on items of business. The best time to have this is the day before the meeting. Any earlier and it is unlikely that you will be able to produce the annotated Agenda in time.
Any later and you will have difficulty in following up any action required or points of clarification by your Chair prior to the meeting. The annotated Agenda should provide clear guidance to the Chair. If there is background to the item, set out the factual information in short phrases which the Chair can read and pass on to the Committee. Make sure that for each item you record what the Committee is being asked to do.
Papers for Committee papers must be circulated in time for members to read and absorb them, so in general papers should be despatched a week in advance of the meeting.
It is unprofessional to circulate papers just before the meeting or to table substantive papers requiring important decisions. Just because you have finally written that last paper don't assume that others will have time to read it - members of Committees lead busy lives and you can't expect the Committee to drop other things just to read your paper!
In addition, as Secretary, late papers can be stressful if you are not involved in the key business of the paper as you may not have time to absorb the content or provide a professional briefing to the Chair. Set the ground rules with your Chair on late circulations. When taking the notes of the meeting, record the initials of the person making a comment.
In case you don't follow the discussion or you need to clarify a point afterwards it is helpful to have a reminder of who said what so you can go directly to the person for clarification. Don't be afraid to approach others for their advice if you are stuck on composing a Minute. The Chair will be busy during the meeting keeping the meeting in order. Sometimes items are taken out of sequence on the Agenda. It is the role of the Secretary to ensure that the meeting is kept on track and to ensure that all items are discussed.
Advise the Chair if they have overlooked any items! Some items on the Agenda may require specialist input from officers who have expertise on the item. It is helpful to invite them to the meeting to speak to the item and advise the Committee. When you are drawing up your Agenda, agree with the Chair if there are to be any attendees and, if so, check their diaries quickly to ensure that they are able to attend!
The Minutes of the meeting are the official record of the University's business. They should be short and to the point and clearly record the decision of the Committee. Minutes are not intended to be a verbatim record of the discussion but it is helpful to record a flavour of the discussion so that the reader can understand the reasoning behind the decision.
Ensure that the Minute heading has the same title as the Agenda heading so that the Agenda and Minutes can be cross referenced. This is helpful when you come back to the Minutes later. If there is an item on the Agenda which is withdrawn or not dealt with e. This is helpful as the absence of such a Minute could indicate that the Secretary simply forgot to include a Minute and it will save time in trying to find out what happened!
It is helpful to have a standard format for setting out Minutes which can be divided into four subsets:. A useful tip and one that is often forgotten is to include the date from which any decision is effective. The Chair and only the Chair is responsible for approving the Minutes - don't distribute them until this happens.
The first draft of the Minutes should be completed within a week of the meeting and should be sent to the Chair for approval. It is important that Minutes are written in a timely fashion so that, from a Secretary's position, the salient points of the meeting are fresh in the memory and are incorporated in the record of the meeting.
Timely production of the Minutes which have been signed off by the Chair as an accurate record though it is the Committee at its next meeting that formally approves the Minutes also enables the Secretary to communicate the appropriate action to be taken following the meeting. Just as important as the meeting itself is the action that is taken following the meeting. There is no point in the Committee making important decisions if you don't tell anyone about them or omit to ask colleagues to take appropriate action!
Your Committee may need to make recommendations to other bodies. You will need to write your report in the style that is required for the other body. Generally, replication of the Minute is not the best way to proceed and it is better to write a bespoke report with clear recommendations.
More often than not, your Committee will be required to write an annual report to another body usually the parent Committee. Make sure that you know which body requires the report and when it is required link back to the calendar of business. You don't need to wait until the end of the year before starting your report. You can compile it after each meeting and build it up over the year.
Effective targeted communication after meetings is very important.
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