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How to create an effective agenda

An agenda is simply a list of the things you want to discuss during a meeting. As well as helping you plan, it is a useful way of making sure that during the meeting you cover everything you need to.

Agendas provide an important outline for meetings and communicate important information such as the topics for discussion, presenters or discussion leaders for each topic and the time allotted for each item. Creating an effective agenda is one of the most important elements for a productive meeting.

The chair should prepare the agenda. When preparing the agenda the previous minutes should be consulted for items to be followed up under the agenda point ‘matters arising from the last meeting’. Major discussion points should have their own place on the agenda. Ensure there are enough items to make the meeting worthwhile.

It is also useful to ask key members of the team if they have any items to contribute.

Some ways of doing this are:

  • Ask for suggestion but email

  • At the meeting, ask for items for the next meeting

  • When you send out the notice of the meeting, ask for suggestions for the agenda (Remember to put a contact email address and the date you need them by)

A well-prepared and organised agenda is an important tool for helping you to hold orderly, efficient meetings. An organised agenda is not thrown together in a few minutes. Thought and planning are necessary to develop an agenda that provides meaningful information but does not become a lengthy narrative document. In addition, a carefully prepared agenda can influence the outcome of a meeting.

A meeting agenda may be relatively brief and sketchy or longer and more informative. No matter its form, a good agenda helps team members prepare for the meeting, and during the meeting it helps participants follow the order of business and provides a place to take notes.

Agenda items

Opening

Welcome everyone to the meeting. Particularly acknowledging any guests or anyone team member that are attending for the first time.

You could consider opening (or closing), your meeting with a thought for the day or reading.

Apologies for absence

Keep a note of the people in attendance, so those not present can be updated later.

(Is it always the same people who do not come? If so, why?)

Minutes of the previous meeting

Circulate these in advance so people have a chance to read them.

(A ‘minute secretary’ could take minutes during the meeting.)

Matters arising

An opportunity to follow up on any item or questions that were asked at the previous meeting.

(But not to have the discussion again!)

Main business

The bulk of your agenda will simply be the items you need to discuss.

Make each important matter a separate item.

Consultation

Any items which require feedback or views from the team which can be passed on to other teams or on to the district or county.

Team development

Quieter meetings are ideal opportunities to introduce an element of training or team development. The topic will depend on those attending but make sure it is relevant and fun for all, otherwise it will be seen as boring or irrelevant.

Any other business

Items not placed on the agenda before the meeting.

The next meeting

Setting or reviewing the date, time and venue of next meeting.

 

The following steps are essential to developing a good meeting agenda.

  1. Determine the level of attention appropriate for each agenda item.
    Questions to consider include:

    • Will an announcement be sufficient?

    • Will discussion be in order?

    • Will a vote be required? Carefully consider the order of the topics on the agenda

  2. List those items that require immediate attention first, in case time runs short.

  3. Ask participants requesting an agenda item to contact you no less than two days before the meeting with their request and the amount of time they will need to present it.

    If an inappropriate request is made, suggest that person send an email or written update or report instead or recommend that this agenda item be discussed at another meeting.
     

  4. Indicate on the agenda which group member is responsible for each agenda item and highlight any documentation or background information that will help members understand the issues involved

It is important to plan how much time to allocate for each agenda item, particularly if the meeting has a specific start and end time. Be realistic in the amount of time you allocate to each item. Don't cram an unrealistic number of agenda items into a two hour meeting. When people accept an invitation to a meeting, they expect to be finished by a reasonable time. When meetings go over time, people generally tend to get uneasy. It's better to schedule 1 hour 50 minutes of discussion into a two hour time slot. This way you have 10 minutes to spare and if you get done a little early, people will be pleased.

Items for your agenda

  • The bulk of your agenda will simply be the items you need to discuss. Make each important matter a separate item.

  • Look through the minutes of your last meeting. Are there any things to report back on? Are there items that need to be discussed again? Put each issue down as a separate item.

  • Have you received any information - for example about meetings or other events - you need to tell everyone about?

  • Always include an item 'minutes of the last meeting'. The purpose of this is to agree that the minutes of the last meeting are accurate and reflect what happened. The chair should then sign a copy of the minutes and these should be file for the Group’s records,.

  • Some groups have 'standing items' on their agendas. These are items that are always on the agenda at every meeting. They are usually reports from officers such as the Treasurer, or reports from sub-groups.

  • 'Any Other Business' is a regular item at the end of most agendas. It allows people to raise issues that aren't already on the agenda.

  • Try to avoid 'Any Other Business' taking up the majority of the meeting. If you can, it's better to find out beforehand what people want on the agenda. This allows you to organise the meeting more efficiently. 

How long will each item take?

  • It is useful for the chair and another member of the team to look at the agenda before the meeting, and work out how long they think each item is going to take. This can really help with the chairing and general smooth running of the meeting.

  • Try to make sure the important discussions get all the time they need, and the minor issues don't expand to take over the whole meeting.

  • It's hard to estimate exact times, but you can get a rough idea. For example, if you have 6 items to discuss in an hour's meeting you could give each item 10 minutes, or one important item 35 minutes and the rest 5 minutes each.

  • If this looks impossible you need to have fewer items on the agenda, or a longer meeting!

What order do items go in?

  • It is general practice to put the short, easy to deal with items at the start of the agenda. You get them out of the way quickly, and can concentrate on the important issues.

  • There are no hard and fast rules about this. It depends on what you think will work best at any particular meeting.

When do you prepare the agenda?

  • The crucial thing is to think about the agenda in advance. It's a tool to help you plan the meeting.

  • The agenda for a large public meeting will need careful advance planning and thought, while a small committee meeting can be prepared the day before.

  • If you are having speakers at the meeting, or need background papers or information, remember to prepare the agenda enough in advance to give yourself time to organise these.

  • Think about whether you want to mail the agenda out in advance, or give it to people at the meeting.

Some other things to think about

  • Think about whether an item needs an introduction and if so who will do this. It doesn't necessarily have to be the chair.

  • Make sure you have background papers prepared in advance if an item needs them and distribute them to the group if necessary.

  • Be informative: describe each item in sufficient detail so that members come prepared and interested.

  • Make sure you have a good idea what each item is about; you may need to refer to past minutes or discussions.

It is good practice to distribute the agenda a few days before the meeting as this lets participants know what will be discussed and gives them an opportunity to come to the meeting prepared for the upcoming discussions or decisions.

Of course, the most important part of creating an effective agenda is to follow it during the meeting!

Trustee meeting agenda template