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Planning effective meetings

It’s time to hold a meeting! There are lots of things to discuss at your group trustee board meetings, so it’s very important to clearly understand and to define the difference between matters discussed by the group leadership team and matters discussed by the group trustee board.

Whether the cubs should have orange or lemon squash at their fun day is really a matter for section teams , whereas whether there is enough cash in the budget for refreshments is a decision for the trustee board.

Points to consider when planning a meeting

It’s no secret that scouting can require lots of meetings. A meeting can make or break the planning and decision making process for an event, activity or project. Meetings can inspire people to work to meet the goal or help to decide to tune out, and can help build an inclusive team or alienate people.

There are lots of things to consider when planning your trustee board meetings. Not only do you need to plan for the meeting itself but it's also important to plan so that information is structured and helps you run successful meetings that are proactive, purposeful and guide your group to achieve its goals.

Considerations include:

  • What is the purpose of the meeting?
  • Who is to attend the meeting?
  • Are there any guests?
  • Where will the meeting be held?
  • Is it always the same place or can it move to different venues?
  • Is the meeting place clean, cheerful and accessible? 

Is there a set date for the meeting?

if your meetings are always held on the first Monday of the month it will always be convenient and inconvenient for the same people.

Having set dates, gives as much notification as possible. It is good practice to circulating the year’s meeting dates in advance as this means that space is allocated in the diaries of your members.

Do not cancel a meeting unless you really have to and if you do, give people as much notice as possible. However, don’t have a meeting if there is nothing to discuss.

Where to hold your meetings

Sometimes there will be uncomfortable discussions that happen or need to happen. By having a neutral meeting place it means that everyone can come and go and not have to live with memories of a bad meeting in their living room.

Use the group’s meeting place or find a local venue that is prepared to donate a room for your meetings. Be careful though; trustee and business matters should not be discussed in the lounge bar of the local pub. These are confidential matters that should not be discussed in such a way. You could always adjourn there afterwards, If you chose.

Alternatively, could some of your meeting take place online using Zoom or Microsoft Teams?

Consider providing refreshments

This could be before the meeting, between items as a break, or afterwards to allow for a friendly exchange of news.

'Meeting rules'

Some times it might be appropriate (and effective), to have some 'meeting rules' or a 'code of conduct'. this could be especially helpful at larger meetings. some examples of 'rule of engagement' could be:

  1. Ask people to speak ‘through the chair’. This means putting your hand up if you want to speak and waiting for the chair to say it’s your turn.
  2. Don’t interrupt other people.
  3. Stick to the agenda item currently under discussion.
  4. Don’t talk amongst yourselves.
  5. Respect other people’s views - don’t groan or pull faces when someone else is speaking.
  6. Wait until they’ve finished and then put your point of view calmly and politely.
  7. Keep contributions short and to the point.
  8. Start and finish the meeting on time. 

Start and finish on time

Your trustees volunteer their time and it is important not to waste it.

Start the meeting on time, you will find that people are more likely to volunteer if they know that all meetings are finished in two hours or under.

Control the running of your meeting so that you always start and finish on time so those attending will know what commitment they are making and can make plans for transport, etc.

 

Take a look at...

  • 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.

    Read more

  • Chairing meetings

    Meetings are vital to the effective functioning of teams and trustee boards and their ability to carry out their role. They are the means by which the teams exercises their collective responsibilities for planning, running and leading the group, district or county.

    Read more

  • Taking Minutes

    Minutes are simply notes taken during the meeting to remind you what was discussed and agreed. They don't need to be long or complicated, in fancy language or perfect grammar. They do need to record clearly and simply what decisions were made at the meeting and who is going to carry them out. It is the Secretary's job to take minutes.

    Read more

 

Is this the correct meeting?

It’s time to hold a meeting! There are lots of things to discuss, so it’s very important to clearly understand and to define the difference between matters discussed by the group leadership team and matters discussed by the group trustee board.

Whether the cubs should have orange or lemon squash at their fun day is really a matter for section teams , whereas whether there is enough cash in the budget for refreshments is a decision for the trustee board.