Minutes are a critical aspect of any successfully run meeting. Before the start of the meeting a participant should be delegated the role of taking them down and emailing them out to the rest of the group after the meeting. This will provide all the participants with an easily accessible reference point. The rationale that everyone will remember all that is discussed during the course of the meeting is not valid and could lead to confusion in the future. Provided below are some of the key aspects which should be included in the minutes;

• Details regarding the date, time, participants and primary objective must always be included.
• Notes regarding every pointer on the agenda sheet provides a good framework for easy reference.
• Clearly outline the decision or consensus which was reached during the course of the meeting.
• List down delegated action items with proposed deadlines.

Another key aspect of successful meetings is the delegation of action items. When a consensus has been reached and an implementation strategy outlined action items need to be clearly and concisely delegated to members of the team. Some key points for successful delegation of action items are;

• Clearly and concisely state the action item to the delegated individual. A rationale behind the item and methodology to be used is essential.
• Action items need to have time constraints. It provides an outline in which the task needs to be completed in.
• Follow up action needs to be allocated if the action item is complicated. This helps to keep the team in the loop regarding the implementation. It also provides checkpoints which provide valuable feedback during the implementation process.

It is the meeting facilitators responsibility to ensure that the minutes and action items are successfully delegated. Incorporating them into your next business meeting will ensure that the responsibility for these tasks is efficiently delegated and discussion points are created for future references.