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Creating meeting minutes after each meeting is a tedious task
We know going back to create minutes can be painful and time-consuming. Even more so, they are usually delivered long after the meeting, often left unread, gathering dust or misrepresenting the decisions or actions after the fact.
Necessary evil: (Ok, evil might be a stretch). Meeting minutes help to keep us all aligned, recording decisions so we don’t keep going backwards while taking a record of actions for accountability.
Let's overhaul the process, take out the leg work and room for interpretation and misrepresentation with a new way of creating meeting minutes, one that happens in real-time. This will not only save you time but also increase collaboration, real-time agreement, and clarity.
This week's Twork (tweak for better work) - take real-time collaborative minutes
Use whatever online tool you are most comfortable with. We love using either a Miro Board (a type of online, collaborative whiteboard) or Google Docs, both of which allow multiple people to view and input information at the same time, making it a collaborative, efficient, and more accurate way of recording minutes. Not only that, but the process of real time minutes, helps keep focused on the purpose of the meeting and helps prevent meandering irrelevant conversations and rabbit holes 🐇🕳.
First, define a simple format. Of course, we are here to make work better so we have a simple template that you can duplicate and use for your next meeting. Even if you don't use miro, feel free to pop in and take the format and headings for whatever tool you like to use.
Using a shareable document, such as Google Docs, is another great option for creating meeting minutes in real time.
To ensure that the process runs smoothly, assign a scribe who will be responsible for recording the minutes. This doesn't mean that they're the only person contributing, but they will take the lead in making sure that everyone's inputs are captured accurately. NOTE - This role rotates each time, everyone takes a turn regardless of level or authority, so everyone understands what’s involved and takes responsibility.
For the Miro Board we recommend using a simple, visual template to create your minutes in real-time, including information about the attendees, agenda, desired outcomes, decisions, actions, notes, and resources. This will ensure that everything you need is captured in one place, making it easy to refer to later.
If you have regular meetings or an ongoing project, you can easily copy the same format and move it down to create an ongoing record of all the outputs, decisions, and actions made. This will ensure that you always have a clear record of what has been agreed upon and what actions need to be taken ahead of the next meeting.
Whether you choose a Miro Board or Google Docs, this approach to capturing minutes in real-time will ensure you have a clear record of all the outputs, decisions, and actions from your meetings, making it easier to streamline your future meetings and focus on the work that really matters.
Creating meeting minutes in real-time can save you time, increase collaboration and ensure that everyone knows what is happening in actual time.
If you are currently a meeting minute taker (scribe), this means no more rushing to review pages of handwritten notes just before your next meeting, you will now have the minutes ready to go at the end of the meeting. If you are an attendee you can begin planning for your next meeting and carrying out any actions straight away. What’s not to like?
Start creating collaborative meeting minutes in real time and see how they can transform your meetings and increase productivity.
Let’s make work better together
Note: this blog was written by Michelle Wallace and Stephen Cogan asynchronously (we both got to work on it at times that suited us in a way that helped our copywriting and creativity without the need to meet throughout. (Learn more about asynchronous communication here)
Click to download the "Real-time minutes template" and share it with your team.
Let's make work better, one Twork at a time.
Michelle Wallace
Founder
A Better Work
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