UNIT 11.

THE FUNCTION OF CHAIRPERSON

DIFFERENT ROLES IN MEETINGS

I.A meeting can range from a couple of people to a roomful. If you are having a very small, informal meeting, it is likely that there will not be different roles, but any meeting over four people needs managing through the use of differently attributed roles.

Typically, meetings will have the following:

Ø The chair or Chairperson

Their job is to keep the meeting on track. They may be a part of the meeting or they may be completely separate. The role of the Chair is to ensure that the meeting sticks to the agenda, moves swiftly, and that everyone has an opportunity to speak The Chair will interject to move topics on or ask people to stop and clarify certain points. The person undertaking this role needs to be able to scan the room for body language and notice where and when people want to speak. The Chair also has to be quite firm in identifying actions to be highlighted at the end of each agenda topic and make sure decisions are recorded. Following on from the meeting, the Chair also has

a crucial part in ensuring the minutes are correct and distributed.

Ø The minute taker

Although not all meetings have a separate minute taker, all but the most informal meeting will need minutes taken. The minute taker is there to provide a written

representation of the meeting that can be distributed later.

When a meeting is over, the minutes are the only record of what was discussed and the outcome, and therefore it is important to ensure they contain sufficient detail for anyone not able to attend to be able to follow them and see the implications for their

part of the business.

If the meeting is a large negotiation, each party may have their own minute taker so

that the final minutes can be compared for any errors in interpretation.

Ø The timekeeper

Not every meeting has a separate timekeeper and this role may be doubled up with another role. Essentially the job of the timekeeper is to ensure that the meeting

runs to time and covers all the topics. This can be crucial: if there are six items to cover in the meeting and each overruns by just ten minutes, this will add another hour to the meeting. The timekeeper will have the full permission of everyone present to interject if the topics are not being covered fast enough or to interrupt if the agenda looks like it may not be covered in time.

Ø Guests presenters

The meeting may need guest presenters. They are people who will not be present for the entire meeting but will come into the room at certain points and present their information or topic. It may be that they present formally or they may just join the

table and talk through the information they have to share.

Ø Devil’s advocate

At some meetings there may be someone acting as ‘devil’s advocate’.

This means that they will look at the situation from the other perspective.

This is to ensure that everyone is aware of the negatives as well as the

positives. For example, if someone was describing the benefits of a new

scheme, the devil’s advocate might point out that the meeting should also

identify the disadvantages of introducing the scheme.

Ø Attendees (or ‘ participants’)

All meetings need contributors who will attend and actively take part in the meeting

discussions. Usually participants fall into two categories: regular attendees and invited attendees. Regular attendees make up the meeting at every session, while invited attendees attend only when specially invited. This may be because some of the agenda items cross over into their subject areas or perhaps because they are influential and have a view or opinion to contribute that would affect any decision.

 

A typical meeting cycle.

Meetings can take any forms but a typical format is as follows:

1.Welcome by the Chair – the Chair usually welcomes everyone, particularly any guests who may be present. At this point they may also deal with any ‘housekeeping’ points such as where the toilets are or whether there will be a break for refreshments and so on. The Chair may also confirm everyone’s availability to check who can stay

for the full meeting.

2. Previous minutes –minutes from the previous meeting should have been circulated in advance and therefore everyone should have a copy either in paper form or on their

laptop / electronic pad. It is usual to rush through these in the assumption that everyone should have read them thoroughly before the meeting. Everyone is expected to say if there are any aspects that have not been correctly recorded.

3 Review of the agenda – the agenda is received by the Chair to …

Ø clarify that everyone who needs to be present, is there

Ø check that there are no late entries

Ø confirm the time that any visiting speakers or presenters should arrive

Ø calculate the time for each agenda item (so that the entire length of the meeting

can be calculated)

If there are too many items on the agenda or it looks like the meeting is going

to overrun, the Chair may take a decision to cut the meeting into two or to carry

some agenda items over.

4.Items or topics – at this point the meeting actually stars and the items are taken in the order agreedearlier. It is good practice to allocate a time for each speaker by each agenda item as this gives them a ‘slot’ of time to allocate to their subject – but not all

meetings do this.

5.Any other business (AOB) –AOB is traditionally a ‘catch all’ for small item

that emerged after the agenda was distributed. However, overuse can lead to lazy planning and the meeting overrunning. If attendees think they can put anything in the AOB section, then they will not bother to come up with topics or items for the agenda- after all they can always add them in the meeting. This can become the start of sloppy planning.

6.Round up/conclusion/confirmation of key actions – depending on how the meeting is run, before the meeting ends the Chair may wish to make a concluding statement and agree any outcomes or actions with the relevant parties, especially key ones that

perhaps link to the outcomes of a project.

7. Date of next meeting –unless the meeting is a regular one (e.g. every week)

the Chair will generally ask everyone to agree the date of the next meeting. It is usually done at the meeting itself because it is generally understood that participants will have come prepared with their diary or electronic organizer so that they can schedule in any action. The next date can be arranged via email after the meeting, but this can become confusing when only certain attendees can make some dates andnot others.

8Thanks –generally the meeting ends with the Chair thanking everyone for attending.

9.Minutes – these follow on after the meeting has finished. Ideally you should expect

them within one week of the meeting, but, because they rely on the Chair signing

them off, this may take a little longer. Everyone should check the minutes for accuracy before noting any personal actions and filing them for the following meeting.

Not all meetings will include every one of these ‘steps’ but many meetings will follow a very similar format. Having a format to your meeting gives it structure and ensures all areas are covered. Whatever your format, it needs to be helpful rather than

restrictive.