New Page 2

Course Home Page Calendar Assignments List Announcements

MEETINGS UNIT

NARRATIVE:

There are basically two types of standard meetings in an office environment. Informal and Formal. Additionally, business today are also utilizing technology to incorporate teleconferencing, video conferencing, and using web cameras to connect with employees all over the world.

INFORMAL

Usually unscheduled; use EMAIL or electronic calendaring to poll participants of their availability – if not all are available, you would go with the time and date that the majority are and inform the supervisor.

FORMAL

Usually scheduled – often has a formal memo of date and time, advanced notice, usually mandatory for those who are to attend, can be held off-site, usually are regular – i.e. "Leadership Meetings" or "Management Development Meetings" or "Inservice Meetings" etc. An inservice meeting is a training meeting and is usually either a half day or full day event and is often held off site. Topics for inservices are varied and can include items ranging from Sexual Harassment Awareness to training on a new software program.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MEETINGS:

Prior to:

Make Room Reservations

Create and distribute agendas

Give notice to the participants

Set up the room – electronics, video, etc.

Coordinate refreshments if requested

During:

Take meeting notes

Manage last minute requests or concerns for facilitator

Be prepared for the topic yourself

Post:

Clean up

Create and distribute the minutes

AGENDAS: --

The following is a sample agenda for a FORMAL meeting:

SAMPLE AGENDA #1

(FORMAL MEETING)

	MicroTechnologies Marketing Department Meeting 9/27/99 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Conference Room A

Meeting called by: Note taker:	Valerie Wells, Vice President of Marketing Jane Doe, Executive Assistant

Expected Attendees:	Valerie Wells, Rossana Logsdon, George Cannon, Mary Smith, Jeff Willson, Mark Madison, Tracey Wood, Liz Little

	Agenda topics
3:00-3:30 PM	Departmental Training	Mike Jones, VP-HR Sarah Smith, Trainer - HR
3:30-3:35 PM	Budget Updates	George Cannon
3:35-3:40 PM	Staff Updates	Liz Little
3:40-3:45 PM	Calendar Reminders 10/8: Leadership Training Mtg.; 4:00 p.m. Conference Room B 10/11: All Staff Inservice; Full Day – Off Site - Batelle 10/25: Teleconference with Radon Technology team; 2:00 p.m.	Jane Doe
3:45-4:15 PM	Project Updates Web Page Design: Tracey Customer Service Survey: Jeff New Store in Tacoma: Mary and George
4:15-4:30 PM	Wrap Up: Closing Comments	Val Wells

Next, is a sample of an INFORMAL meeting:

SAMPLE AGENDA #2

(INFORMAL MEETING)

Staff Meeting

October 4, 1999

1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Facilitator: ____________________ Note Taker: _________________

Agenda Items:

Check In (2 minutes max per person please)

Program Updates (5 minutes max per person please)

REACH class; Sherina

CACD Program; Tonya

Development Program; Shelley

Outreach Efforts; Julie

Upcoming Vacation Requests; Lynn

New Entry Keys; Marie

Pierce County Benefit Luncheon Details; Shelley

NARRATIVE:

Notice the difference between the two? The formal agenda is much more structured and formal in tone. It not only indicates who has called the meeting, but who is expected to attend, the specific time allotments for each participant and has an overall more formal look to it.

Conversely, the informal agenda is really just a rough outline of what the meeting is expected to cover. It can easily be drafted as a simple Word document and does not include formatting features such as tables, shading, or font formatting.

MEETING MINUTES:

Depending on culture and need, meeting minutes can be very informal – short paraphrased items of the meeting, or they can be very in depth and "long winded" – i.e. a law firm’s meeting minutes are most likely going to be much more involved than those of a staff meeting for a small organization of say 5-10 people.

KEY OF MINUTES: DISTRIBUTE THEM WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE MEETING!

Here is an example of meeting minutes for a FORMAL meeting:

		MicroTechnologies Marketing Department Meeting Minutes 9/27/99 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Conference Room A

Meeting called by: Note taker:	Valerie Wells, Vice President of Marketing Jane Doe, Executive Assistant

Attendees:	Valerie Wells, George Cannon, Mary Smith, Jeff Willson, Mark Madison, Tracey Wood, Liz Little, Mary Henderson

		Agenda Topics
3:00-3:30 PM		Departmental Training		Mike Jones/Sarah Smith
Discussion:
Mike and Sarah reviewed the new Customer Service Focus program - some key items included: The customer is our number one priority and all actions should reflect that. There are now focus teams who will serve as primary contacts for specific concerns. When working with a customer please refer them to the following individuals as noted: Technical Difficulties: Sam Jarensen, ext. 3321; Product Warranties: Michelle Michaelson, ext. 5487; Registration Questions: Mark Kulahan, ext. 7415; Returns and Refunds: Carol Jones, ext. 8755. Remember to always remain courteous and professional when speaking to a customer either in person or on the telephone – if a situation arises that you are uncomfortable with, please transfer the call to your supervisor if he/she is available. If the supervisor is not available, provide the customer with the name and direct line of the supervisor and let them know you will communicate their concerns appropriately. If anyone has further questions on the Focus Program, please contact Mike or Sarah in Human Resources.
Conclusions: N/A
Action items: N/A			Person responsible:		Deadline:
3:30-3:35 PM		Budget Updates		George Cannon
Discussion: George distributed the budget. Due to frugal activities at the beginning of the year, we have a small surplus in which we can dip into for any "big" end of the year activities that may be planned. Please remember to turn in all receipts to George - indicate the date of the expense, what the expense was and who is to receive the reimbursement ON THE RECEIPT prior to submitting it.
Conclusions: N/A
Action items: N/A			Person responsible:		Deadline:
3:35-3:40 PM		Staff Updates		Liz Little
Discussion: Liz introduced Mary Henderson who has been hired as our new Marketing Assistant. Mary will be reporting to Liz and will be assisting Tracy with our Web Page design and daily management.
Conclusions: N/A
Action items: N/A			Person responsible:		Deadline:

Pg 1 of 2

3:40-3:45 PM	Calendar Reminders		Jane Doe
Discussion: Jane reminded the staff that there is a Leadership Training meeting for all department Supervisors and Managers on 10.8 from 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. in Conference Room B. A box lunch dinner will be served. All staff are required to attend the Inservice Training meeting on 10/11. The meeting will be held at the Batelle retreat and is a potluck. There is a teleconference scheduled with Radon Technology on 10/25 at 2:00 p.m. Val will inform the attendees of her needs and the details of the conference via email by 10/20.
Conclusions: Staff are to update their calendars accordingly. Jane distributed menu options for the Leadership Training Meeting and a potluck sign up sheet for the Inservice that is to be routed amongst staff and returned to Jane by 10/8.
Action items: Department Supervisors and Managers are to send an email to Jane by 10/4 indicating their dinner choice. If you do not communicate your choice by that date, then Jane will choose for you. Liz will be responsible for returning the potluck sign up sheet to Jane by 10/8.		Person responsible: See notes at left		Deadline: See notes at left

3:44-4:15 PM	Project Updates		Assigned Staff
Discussion: Web Page Design: Tracey communicated that the new web page is still in the development stages however with Mary on board now, things should start moving. One idea they’re moving forward on is to survey the customers of what options on the web page are important to them and then incorporate those findings accordingly. Tracey and Mary will be collaborating with Jeff to incorporate the web page questions on the new Customer Service Survey. Customer Service Survey: Jeff stated that the survey is almost ready to go to print. There were orignally 12 questions, but they are adding 5 more specific to the web page project and so will have to re-align some of the printing requirements. The survey will be bulk mailed out to all customers in the Puget Sound Database and will be available at all retail locations for walk-in customers to complete if they choose. Tacoma Store: Mary (Smith) and George’s team are preparing for the Grand Opening of the new Tacoma store scheduled for October 31, 1999. Remaining items to be taken care of include: final staff hiring, training, signage, and opening day festivities. KJR radio is planning to do a remote broadcast from the store and we will be capitalizing on the Halloween theme.
Conclusions: All staff who can, need to plan to make an "appearance" at the grand opening sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The store is expected to do well as there is limited competition in our location and our database shows residential demographics support the Pierce county location.
Action items: Mary is finalizing the festivities with KJR while George and the training team will be managing the staffing issues. Mary will also take care of the signage details.		Person responsible: See notes at left		Deadline: See notes at left
4:14 – 4:30 PM	Wrap Up		Valerie Wells
Discussion: Valerie thanked the staff for all of their hard work and reminded everyone that holidays are quickly approaching. Staff should submit any vacation requests a minimum of 2 weeks in advance and supervisors should implement the same policy for front line staff as well.
Conclusions: N/A
Action items: N/A		Person responsible:		Deadline:

Pg 2 of 2

And now, compare what you just reviewed to the following minutes from an INFORMAL meeting:

SAMPLE MEETING MINUTES

(INFORMAL)

Facilitator: Lynn Robertson

Minutes Prepared by: Julie Capset

AGENDA ITEMS:

Program Updates:

REACH: There are 15 students in the current class – Shelby reports to Sherina that everything is going fine so far. Graduation is scheduled for next Friday (10/15) at 1:00 – all staff who can come are invited.

CACD: There are 16 students in the current class and they just started Excel this week so it’s bound to get a little stressful. Also, Tonya requested some lab assistance on Wednesday – Julie said she was available and so will be next door in the lab from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m.

Development Program: Shelley is busy with the Pierce county luncheon (see details below). Last year the luncheon raised over $30,000 for the program and we’re hoping to at least match that if not exceed it. Microsoft donated our Office 97 licenses and Mike is working on the equipment upgrades so we can load the software by the end of the month.

Outreach Efforts: Julie has been spending a lot of time in the community trying to connect with low income families at local grocery stores, Laundromats, and churches in an effort to get the word out about the programs. There is a Job Fair coming up in a few weeks that we will need to attend. Julie and Sherina will manage our booth.

Vacation Requests: Lynn reminded everyone that any vacation requests must be submitted in writing and that if two staff members want the same time off and it isn’t possible to provide it to both, the person who has the longest tenure with the agency will be approved first. Vacation Request forms can be obtained from Linda.

New Entry Keys: Marie distributed new keys to the front door. Please submit your old keys to her by Friday (10/8)

Pierce County Luncheon: Shelley provided a detailed update on the luncheon which is scheduled for November 15, 1999 at the Tacoma Sheraton. So far all the Table Captains have sent in their RSVP and Sunny Kobe Cook is going to be the Key Note speaker. All staff are requested to attend if at all possible. If you want more details on the luncheon – talk to Shelley.

NARRATIVE:

As you can see, there are several differences in tone and structure between the formal and informal meeting minutes – both though, coordinate with their corresponding agendas. Remember though – regardless the type of meeting, it is important that you distribute the minutes within 24 hours of the meeting unless otherwise instructed by your Supervisor. Be sure that you have proof-read for spelling and grammar errors and double checked for accuracy.

TELECONFERENCING-WEB CAMS-VIDEO CONFERENCING

Teleconferencing is where some or all parties are participating via the phone. Web Cams and Video Conferencing is where instead of just a voice over the phone, the person’s picture is also displayed in real time.

Some of the benefits of using this kind of technology for meetings include:

Reduction in travel costs

Reduction in travel time

Involve more participants

More efficient – can get back to work sooner

Some of the drawbacks include:

Potential technical difficulties

Could be less personable

Documents can’t be circulated "around the table" – would have had to be mailed, faxed, or emailed prior to the meeting

Meetings are a part of our office environments and as Office Professionals, you will likely be expected to assist in the preparation for, participate in, and help disseminate information accurately to others. It is important that you realize the various styles and tools that may be used to make meetings most effective and how you can fulfill your responsibilities.