Printer-friendly versionWhy have Meetings?
Good meetings start with a clarification of their purpose. There are broadly six reasons for having meetings:
· Information: to share information about what has happened or is going to happen;
· Consultation: to get participants’ views or proposals about what should happen, but without the meeting having power to make a discussions;
· Business/decision-making: to discuss what the group should do and how it should be done, and make decisions on the basis of those discussions:
· Legal: to carry out business which must legally (according to legislation or the organisation’s constitution) be transacted;
· Education: to learn about a topic of relevance to the group, for example by having a speaker, video or discussion;
· Social/support: to be with friends, share an interest or support each other.
These reasons overlap, but are different. People come together for a variety of reasons, which are of interest to them. To ensure your organisations meetings run smoothly it is good to get training for the management committee on roles and responsibilities of office bearers and committee members and how to run good meetings.
Effective Meetings
The single most important thing a voluntary management committee does is meet together to make decisions. All business is carried out at meetings, and effective meetings should be well planned to ensure the effectiveness of the decision-making. Consideration must be given to what is needed before a decision can be made – is it further information? Agreement or consensus. Everyone needs to know why an item is on the agenda, and that a decision is needed.
The Agenda should be thought through in advance, agreed between the Chair/Convener and another officer (i.e. Chair, Secretary) with a running order and each item given time according to whether it needs:
· A decision or;
· Further information required before a decision can be taken or;
· Discussion before a decision is taken.
In any event a decision is ultimately the aim of all meetings.
The Agenda
An agenda lets everyone know what is going to be covered at a particular meeting. If the agenda is distributed in advance, it gives people a chance to prepare for the meeting. Having an agenda means everyone, not just the person chairing the meeting, has responsibility for getting through all the business.
An agenda can be done in many ways, but it is a good idea to have a consistent agenda format, for example:
· Welcome & Apologies
· Minutes of last meeting
· Matters arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda
· Internal committee matters (new committee members etc)
· Finance report
· Funding and fundraising
· Staff matters
· Activities or issues specific to this organisation or meeting
· Training
· Future meetings (Dates, times and venues)
· Any other business
An agenda like this broadly tells participants what topics will be covered, but does not give an idea about the specific items for the meeting. Agendas are far more useful if, under each main heading, items to be dealt with are detailed.
Role clarity helps everyone to contribute effectively at meetings. A lack of understanding of roles is one of the commonest causes of conflict in meetings.
Why have a Committee?
Groups have management committees:
· To ensure the organisation meets the needs of its members, its users or clients, and/or the community it serves;
· To ensure the organisation is accountable to its members, its users or clients, the community it serves and/or funders;
· To draw on people’s experience or expertise in making decisions about the organisation;
· Because donors or funders want to know financial and other decisions are being made properly, and not just by one or two people;
· Because organisations registered as trusts, friendly societies, industrial and provident societies, companies and/or charities are required to have a good governing body.
If a voluntary organisation is to function effectively, it is essential for staff, managers and committee members to see themselves not as adversaries but as partners working together to achieve the organisation’s goals.
Although ultimate responsibility for running a voluntary organisation rests with the management committee as a whole, specific responsibilities may be delegated to elected officers (either individually or jointly), other committee members, subcommittees or working groups, the manager, staff or other individuals or groups. Good communication between the management committee and the body or person with delegated authority is essential, otherwise members of the committee could find themselves being held responsible for something they didn’t even know about. It is important to note that the management committee as a whole has the legal responsibility for what the organisation does, so it is therefore important to maintain good communication.
Management Committees
Management committees are simply mechanisms for bringing people together to consider problems and make decisions. Committees however, need rules and procedures, which establish structures and formal procedures. In some organisations these rules are written in constitutions (see booklet on constitutions). Procedures can sound pompous and unnecessary but basically they give a structure to fall back on when ordinary discussions reach a stalemate. A committee can get bogged down in the same discussion and not reach a compromise so it is helpful for the chair to ask for a formal motion to be proposed, to conduct an organised debate and take a vote.
There are ten general responsibilities of a management committee, and these are:
· To ensure that the organisation is meeting its objectives or purposes and working within its powers as stated in the constitution
· To ensure that the organisation complies with legal obligations under charity law, if relevant
· To ensure the financial viability of the organisation, through ensuring funding is acquired and managed to best effect
· To provide accountability to funders, through keeping accounts as required by law and good practice
· To ensure insurances are taken out, reviewed and maintained, to meet legal requirements and prudent risk assessment
· To ensure generally that all legal obligations are met, and that proper recording records are maintained
· To engage, support, manage and occasionally dismiss staff, within the framework of employment legislation (including Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities) and to ensure necessary recruitment, support and management of volunteers
· To ensure that property and other resources owned or leased by the organisation are properly maintained and managed, and in accordance with any relevant legal requirements, such as Health & Safety
· To ensure that the organisation develops effectively in accordance with its own constitution
· To maintain effective working practices as a committee, and between committee and staff.
Being a good committee member
Whatever the organisation certain skills are required of the committee members if they are to play an active and meaningful role at committee meetings. To be an effective and good committee member is not always easy. It requires commitment and skills that have to be learned.
What should be the attributes of a good committee member?
· Regular attendance at meetings – arrive punctually
· Well prepared. Arrives at meetings with agenda and the relevant papers
· Able to contribute to discussion in a relevant and constructive way
· Well-briefed and well informed about the various items on the agenda to be discussed. Prepared to take the lead occasionally on particular items on the agenda. And be an active, interested individual
· Assertive without being aggressive, i.e. prepared to give an opinion/state a point of view without being ‘domineering’ in the committee situation
· Keeping in mind the ‘goals’ of the committee – keeping to the ‘formal’ agenda
· Supportive of the other members of the committee, in particular the chairperson
· Listening to all discussions during meeting and is attentive to all items on the agenda. Listening to views of others.
OFFICERS AND WHAT THEY DO
Chairperson
The role of a Chairperson of a committee is very difficult and the qualities for effective chairmanship are not easily defined.
The general responsibilities of being a Chairperson are:
· To chair the majority of meetings of the organisation – certainly all committee meetings
· To be spokesperson for the organisation between meetings – the official ‘voice’ of the organisation
· Liaise closely with the secretary about dates/arrangements/agendas for committee meetings
· To take the lead on Public Relations for the organisation.
At meetings of the committee:
· It helps if the chairperson arrives early for the meeting as members may wish to speak to him or her, prior to the meeting
· Start the meeting on time and keep ‘time limits’ nevertheless allowing reasonable time for each item on the agenda
· Facilitate discussion during the meeting encouraging all members to participate
· Bring items on agenda to a conclusion by a brief review of points. (This may involve inviting specific proposals/decisions from the committee)
· If a vote has to be taken then clarify voting procedure and enact this procedure. (In the event of a tie the chairperson may have a casting vote)
· At the close of the meeting fix arrangements for the next meeting and liaise with secretary on actions resulting from the meeting e.g. press releases or letters.
Good chairmanship does not simply depend upon following the above responsibilities to the letter; it is doing that and more. A good chairperson has always to be aware of the difficult and demanding task he or she has taken on. A good chairperson must be well prepared before the meeting and be forewarned of possible controversial or delicate items on the agenda.
A good chairperson must always appreciate that in this position there will be less opportunity to voice his/her own opinions at meetings. They must know all committee members well and be able to recognize the ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ members of the committee. It is his or her particular responsibility to put at ease new committee members at their first meeting and to encourage participation by all.
A good chairperson will know the ‘goals’ for each meeting and will not allow time to be wasted. He or she must develop sensitivity as to when discussion is no longer ‘fruitful’ and bring such discussion to a meaningful conclusion.
Secretary
The position of secretary is the most interesting and rewarding office to hold on a committee. However the job of secretary can be difficult and demanding and often goes unrecognised.
1. The Office
In many cases small voluntary organisations do not have an office so the secretary’s home becomes one.
Correspondence and Records
All correspondence both in and out must be noted on the agenda for the forthcoming committee meeting. Take the correspondence to the meeting for discussion, reading out any important letters. No filing of current correspondence should be done until after the committee has received and approved both inward and outward mail. Conclude all letters by typing your full name and designation, and sign in your usual way.
All old correspondence such as letters, which give factual information about dates of meetings or apologies for absence, or the like can be discarded after one year. Correspondence about specific events, awards or policy, constitution or internal management letters should not be removed before two years and they should then be stored in a safe place, not destroyed.
Membership List
This should be kept up to date and include full details of all members. The most convenient method of keeping a record of membership is to use an alphabetical card system. Try to get to know as many of the members as possible.
Minutes
Minutes should be taken at all meetings and distributed to committee members before the next meeting. A file should be set up to keep a copy of each of the committee meeting minutes, so that anyone can have access if requested because one minutes are passed at a meeting they become public documents. Members should be able to access the minutes of meetings.
2. Convening Meetings and Preparing Agendas (In consultation with the Chairperson)
If the meeting date is established for a definite date and time in each week or month, members may not need to be reminded. When meetings are held infrequently it is necessary to post a notice enclosing an agenda with it to reach members about a week or so before the meeting.
Preparing the Agenda
· The Secretary will need to check through the minutes of the previous meeting to ensure all instructions from that previous meeting have been carried out
· Consult with the chairperson and treasurer as to any business which they would wish to have included on the agenda
· The secretary may have suggestions or comments from other committee members.
3. The Meetings
Record the names of all those present, possibly by circulating a list, which members sign. Check that a quorum is present (see booklet on Constitutions) before any business is done and finally take the minute of the meeting.
After the Meeting
Write out minutes as soon as possible after the meeting; submit to chairperson for approval before circulation to members of the committee. Write any letters, obtain any information or take any actions on matters decided by the committee.
4. Other Responsibilities
Prepare a secretary’s annual report. Make arrangements for Annual General Meeting. Obtain nominations from people wishing to become committee members for the following year and send reports of meetings to the press.
Treasurer
The role of the treasurer is different to that of other committee members, because the treasurer is dealing with the finances of an organisation he or she holds considerable responsibility yet has no absolute power over the way in which financial resources are used. In extreme circumstances the treasurer may exercise a veto on spending but generally decisions on the spending of money must be reserved for the committee as a whole.
The treasurer will probably have an expertise in financial matters and an understanding of the financial affairs of the organisation which complements the skills of other committee members experienced in forming and pursuing the objectives of the organisation. Used unwisely this experience, coupled with the day-to-day responsibility for the management of money, could result in conflict in committee. To avoid this the treasurer must acquire and use his or her skills to advantage and explain in easily understood terms the organisation’s financial position both immediately, and projected to the foreseeable future, so that policy decisions can be made by the whole committee in full knowledge of the financial implications of pursuing those policies. It means too that the treasurer must be fully committed to the aims and objectives of the organisation and understand its priorities so that his or her advice can be tailored and presented accordingly.
It can be see that the treasurer is more than simply a bookkeeper. He or she is someone who:
· Must foster the financial resources of the organisation
· Should advise on the use of those resources to maximum advantage
· Must protect the financial interests of individual committee members since they will, in an unincorporated association have personal liability for all debts
· Must be aware of the policies being pursued
· Must maintain the books of account
· Prepare estimates and budgets
· Submit regular financial reports to the management committee.
The treasurer has specific responsibilities for the administration of money. He or she must create secure systems for income and expenditure control, monitor cash flow, prepare statutory returns to Inland Revenue (If required), advice on investments and finally, prepare annual accounts for audit. In some organisations these functions are undertaken by staff but under the authority of the treasurer who will have the final say in all matters of routine financial administration.
There is a great deal of help and advice available to treasurers from other voluntary organisations, accountancy practices, the local authority or your local Council for Voluntary Service.
Sub-Committees or Working Groups
Some of a committee’s business can be done through receiving and acting upon reports from sub-committees and officers. Some organisations do this as a matter of course but smaller committees can benefit from this way of operating.
Often the main body does not have time to undertake all the business, particularly the detailed discussions. Nor does it have the expertise. A sub-committee or working group can comprise those members most involved in a subject and may also include other experts and representatives from outside bodies. Committees and meetings cannot do everything. Some tasks have to be performed by other groupings reporting back to the main committee. The main body receives from the subsidiary group, information about how it has carried out instructions or delegated functions, recommendations for action and information, which will help the main body reach a decision.
The main body can:
· Receive a sub-committee report
· Refer the report back (for further work)
· Accept or not its recommendations
The chairperson’s dilemma, when sub-committee reports are presented is to prevent the main body re-running the sub-committee’s discussion, particularly where no recommendation for action is received. It seems right that a member of the main body should be able to ask a question and be answered by the chair of the sub-committee but it is important not to slide from there into renewed general discussion.
To avoid confusion it is important to be clear:
· What authority was given or what powers are delegated to the sub-committee or working group
· What is presented as information and what as recommendations for a decision
Where power has been delegated the main committee cannot make a different decision and really there is no reason to discuss content of such a report. Responsibility for distinguishing between information and recommendations lies with the person presenting the report. If conventional minutes are used recommendations should be underlined. Useful too would be a list of motions arising from the full report.
Members of a sub-committee should be loyal to that group’s recommendations and findings but it is not unusual for them to oppose them at the main meeting.
How East Dunbartonshire CVS can help?
· EDCVS have staff that can help your organisation to prepare a constitution, write an action plan and give advice on applying for charitable status.
· We have The Directory of Grant Making Trusts in the office. Contact us to make an appointment and you will receive help in using the Directory.
· We have a number of funding books that you may browse.
· We can give advice on capacity building i.e. strengthening your organisation to make you better placed to apply for funding e.g. procedures, administration and finance.
· We can suggest funders who are most likely to fund your type of organisation.
· We run seminars and training on various topics of interest to voluntary organisations.
· We may be able to help you find statistics to back up your funding application, or advice you where to obtain them.