06 Minutes and Record Keeping

MINUTES & RECORD KEEPING
Being a secretary for your organization is not a job to take lightly. This
responsibility should not be assigned / delegated to just anyone. Think about
these responsibilities when you are considering who will best fulfill this role:
 Is this person well organized and reliable; does s/he complete her/his tasks
in a timely way?
 Is this person a good listener; is s/he able to be objective and hear both
sides of an issue?
 Is this person on top of what is going on; is s/he able to weed out the trivial
information and record the key facts for the record?
As you can see, the role of a secretary is more than “just taking minutes.” The
secretary is responsible for complete and objective record keeping. They are, in
effect, the historian for your organization. What s/he records will be referred to
by current members as a reminder of what needs follow-up and what actions
were taken. It will also be kept for future members to gain an understanding of
where the organization has been and why. Many organizations make it the
secretary’s responsibility to notify the members about upcoming meetings – time,
date, location – as well as any important items to be discussed.
It is critical that the secretary attend all meetings. If your organization has a
structure that includes committees – be they ad hoc or standing – there should be
someone present to accurately record what transpired. It is not necessary to take
down everything unless someone requests that their remarks be entered for the
record. Motions and resolutions do need to be taken verbatim and should be read
back during the meeting to make sure they have been accurately recorded.
It is the secretary’s responsibility to signal the chairperson and ask questions
regarding the subject being discussed if they become lost or unsure. A secretary
should not wait until the meeting has been adjourned to get clarification;
individuals can lose their perspective, issues can become less important, and
one’s memory can alter what actually occurred.
1
Immediately after the meeting, the secretary must go over his/her notes while
everything is still fresh in her/his mind. S/he should check their notes for the
following information:
 Type of meeting (executive, committee, etc.)
 Date, Time, and Place
 List of attendees and those absent
 Time of Call to Order
 Approval and/or amendments to previous meeting minutes
 Record of reports from standing and special committees
 General matters
 Record of proposals, resolutions, motions, seconding and final disposition,
and a summary of the discussion as well as a record of the vote
 Time of adjournment
These minutes should be sent out to all members within 3 or 4 days of the
meeting. This allows members time to read the minutes for accuracy before the
next meeting and while the previous meeting is still fresh in their minds.
Some helpful hints on format and final preparations are as follows:
 Use good quality paper of standard size
 If you plan on typing on both sides of the paper, be sure it is heavy and
durable; otherwise the type will show through.
 Use a standard format:
- Capitalize and center the heading
- List names of those in attendance and those absent
- Double space between paragraphs and between each item in order of
business
- If you use captions, put them in the margins in capitals
- When recording sums of money, write them first in words and then put
the figures in parentheses ( ).
- Number each page at the bottom / center.
2
TAKING MINUTES
It is often helpful for the secretary to prepare his/herself before each meeting.
S/he should be sure to read the minutes of previous meetings, paying attention to
and reviewing the agenda and any attached documents. If the organization has
agreed upon a standard format for minutes, s/he can use a standardized form and
fill in preliminary rough draft information before the meeting so that s/he is able
to fill in discussions, etc. as they occur.
If the secretary is unable to attend a meeting, a substitute with the desired
qualifications and characteristics (as defined earlier) needs to be appointed. If a
substitute is taking minutes, the following hints will make the job easier:
 Indentify yourself before speaking
 Speak slowly
 Present motions in writing to the secretary ( this is a good practice
even when the regular secretary is present)
 Raise hands high during vote counting
 Summarize discussions
There are several ways to take minutes during a meeting and each organization
needs to choose the most appropriate method for them. Minutes can be
recorded in writing or on tape. If you choose to tape the minutes, you can tape
the entire proceedings word-for-word and listen to them later, pulling out the
pertinent information. Taping an entire meeting is an extreme form of taking
minutes; it is akin to sitting through the same meeting twice.
A second, more practical option is to record a summary of debates, agreements
and disagreements with a sufficient explanation of the character of each.
It is often helpful for minute taking and for those attending the meeting if either
the chair or the secretary summarizes decisions that are reached. The summarizer
should be most careful in clarifying those points of greatest controversy.
Source: Diane Schick - Eastern Michigan University
Revised: 8/2010 lm

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MINUTES & RECORD KEEPING

Source: Diane Schick - Eastern Michigan University

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