8 Things You Should Always Include In Your Meeting Minutes

Businessby Arnab Dey03 June 2022

Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes are a management must-have, but knowing what to include can be a challenge. As an essential tool for project and time management, meeting minutes document the results of a productive discussion among teammates.

When you create your minutes, aim to document key decisions, details, and next steps as you pursue your projects. To get started on your journey to high-quality meeting documentation, be sure to include these eight components in your meeting minutes.

Let’s Checkout 8 Things You Should Always Include In Your Meeting Minutes:

1. When the Meeting Occurred

meeting decisions

Noting when the meeting occurred may feel like a no-brainer. But tracking the date when discussions and decisions took place is essential for creating a project timeline.

Document the date and time your team met in a prominent place in your meeting minutes. This important timestamp can help you organize project milestones and serve as a reference point for decisions.

Related Resource: 6 Meeting Mistakes You’re Probably Making (and How to Avoid Them)

2. Who Attended

Log who attended the meeting so you’ll have a record of whether key subject matter experts and stakeholders were present. If anyone is missing, you can reach out to them to get them up to speed on project happenings.

If an important decision-maker was unable to attend, you can use the minutes to update them on progress. Use the minutes to apprise them of any lingering decisions or direction changes. Noting who was present and who wasn’t can also protect your project from misinformation and disengagement.

3. Where Attendees Participated

attend the meeting

Whether you met in a conference room, virtually, or off-site, document where your team met to review your project. Note whether your discussion was recorded through collaboration software and if so, provide a link for later viewing.

If a team member was unable to attend the meeting, they can view the discussion to get a rich perspective. Plus, other team members can reference the recording to recall key decisions and conversations.

4. The Intention of the Meeting

Your meeting should always have a goal in mind, and this should be identified in your minutes. State the purpose or intention of your gathering to center the narrative of your meeting minutes.

It may be a weekly project update where deliverables are reviewed. Other times, it may be to discuss options or make a decision on vendors or timeline. No matter the purpose, be sure to include it in your minutes as the official reason for your gathering.

5. A-List of Discussion Items

Meeting Discussion items

Categorize your discussion items, mirroring your meeting agenda within your minutes. This matching list can help team members reference the initial purpose of the conversation with the outcomes.

Identify speakers by name and title to attribute ideas or decisions. This call-out can serve as a helpful guide as you review the minutes and revisit ideas and suggestions. Team members can save time knowing whom to reach out to with questions as the project moves forward.

6. A Log of Takeaways and Assignments

Most meetings result in assignments or decisions, so any major moves should be documented with the what, who, and when. Make sure the individual charged with drafting the meeting minutes confirms decisions in real-time. Encourage active conversation during your meeting and confirmation of decisions with a vote or a verbal acknowledgment.

Identify the person or team responsible for implementing each assignment and the deadline agreed upon during the meeting. When you send the meeting minutes out for review, you’ll be able to confirm both the assignments and their deadlines.

7. Documentation of Next Steps

Meeting Documentation

A single meeting isn’t likely to be the last step in a project. Identify what’s next for the team within the minutes to help move the project forward. This may be scheduling a future meeting, getting more information, or engaging outside resources. Whatever it is, log what the next steps are for your group.

During your meeting, it may be unclear as to what these next steps are. Request a pause to ask what the group believes its next move should be. If the team is unsure, encourage a discussion that ultimately ends in a decision. If none is determined, note that non-decision and request a follow-up meeting to be scheduled soon.

8. Where to Find Relevant Files and Data

Often, teams present data sets, research, and other findings during a meeting. As groups have reduced paper printing or shifted to virtual settings, a PowerPoint easily becomes lost from memory. Provide links to shared folders where team members can later reference meeting files and presentations.

If you’re concerned about version control, make sure to share a PDF version or protected file. If your team uses collaboration software, create a workspace to house the most recent versions of files. To reduce confusion, provide access only to the team members that need it.

Use Meeting Minutes to Drive Projects Forward

Meetings can generate an avalanche of ideas that aren’t always easy to implement. Use meeting minutes to help drive projects forward by identifying who’s responsible for what tasks and when they’re due.

Commit to following up on deadlines and setting the expectation of on-time delivery. When you incorporate meeting minutes into your project management processes, you gain another tool for delivering projects on schedule and to quality.

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Arnab Dey

Arnab is a passionate blogger. He is very much passionate about social media. His special interests are in current affairs, business, lifestyle, health, food, fitness, etc. If you want to read refulgent blogs so please follow The Daily Notes.

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