BTCV Handbooks Online

Book:	Local Action
Chapter:	Running a group
Section:	Meetings
Metadata:	Details	Buy this book

Your first group meeting

Such a meeting is essential if you have gone for a public launch. Matters to discuss include your programme of work, the aims of your group, setting up a bank account and, most importantly, how the work is going to be done and which people are going to be involved in running your group, as, for example, chair person, secretary or treasurer.

This kind of committee meeting is every bit as important as your first public meeting but does not require the same number of people. It will be the first time that members sit down together as a group and discuss plans. It is therefore important that the meeting is well organised and that the co-ordinator thinks hard about what needs to be achieved. If the basic structures can be agreed at an early stage, then the bureaucracy can be kept to a minimum.

Whatever the make-up of your group, a key to success is to make decisions effectively, accurately and without taking up any more time than necessary.

Chose a structure that suits your members and be prepared to change the system if your needs change. Some groups have frequent small committee meetings to manage day to day business, with longer meetings for all the volunteers at longer intervals when they plan the work programme or make decisions about site management. Sometimes you might need a sub-committee to run a particular project, which can be dissolved when the project has been completed.

Running meetings

To run productive and successful meetings, consider:

The venue

Is it comfortable, accessible, warm in winter and quiet? Do you ask people not to smoke? You may well be putting some people off attending if one or two people smoke in meetings. Can people get to the meetings easily and do they feel they can get home safely afterwards? It is worth reviewing where you meet every few months. The worst reason for doing anything is that "we've always done it like this".

Letting people know

If they don't know it's happening, they won't come! How is the date, time and place of each meeting publicised? Get the details of forthcoming meetings in each newsletter, send new members a map and make sure there's a poster at the venue to show people that they've arrived at the right place.

Timing

If meetings start too early, people won't be able to come. Don't just ask the people at the meeting about this, try and consult all the group members. More importantly, set a closing time for the meeting which everyone is aware of and make sure the meeting ends on time. You should be able to get through all the business in one and a half hours. If people want to talk for longer than that, the meeting chair person needs to be firm about continuing discussions elsewhere.

People

One of the biggest problems is people's different perceptions of meetings. Few people ever think they speak for too long or are boring others or that the way they run a meeting is poor. Others may see things differently, however.

How the meeting is conducted is very important. People come to meetings to learn what is going on and to contribute and make decisions. One way forward is to appoint a chair person, who can ask for reports or information as necessary, but who can politely intervene to let other people have their say. If the person who usually chairs meetings has a lot to say about any of the agenda items, think about asking someone else to chair the meeting. The most important role for any leader is to create new leaders. If people aren't given the opportunity to contribute at meetings, they are unlikely to want to take responsibility.

Agenda

Another way to ensure progress is to have a written agenda. This can be done very simply by passing round a sheet of paper, or the record book, at the start of the meeting and letting anyone write in topics they want to discuss. The chair person then draws these topics into order and sets a time for each one, to ensure that the meeting finishes on time. A better way to run meetings is to circulate the agenda in advance, perhaps with the newsletter. This lets people plan what they want to say. If you're doing this, ask at each meeting for agenda items and ideas for the next one. A suggested format for an agenda follows:

Agenda for meeting at (date, start and finish time and place of meeting).

Apologies, and who is present
Minutes of the last meeting - are they accurate?
Matters arising from the last meeting
Reports on and decisions about group activities - list them, so people know specifically what activities you are referring to
Health and Safety issues
Equal Opportunities issues
Treasurer's report
Any other business
Date, time and place of next meeting

Minutes

Make sure that you write down all the decisions and action points, agree and record who is going to carry them out, and send copies of the minutes to all relevant people. Lastly, as with any changes, you should watch to see if your minutes system works and review progress after a few months.