Minutes out while the meeting is still fresh.
Writing up the minutes usually means a blank page, a pile of notes and a fortnight’s delay. Here the agenda is already set out, with who came and who sent apologies, so the Secretary only fills in what was decided under each item. Anything somebody agrees to do comes back at every meeting until it’s done.
From the agenda to the actions.
Before
Every kind of meeting has its usual items. Members can put something on the agenda from the invitation, and are told what happens to it. One button makes the meeting pack: the agenda and every quote, plan and photo, as one document to print or read on a phone.
The minutes
No blank page. When you sit down with your notes, the agenda is already set out, one item at a time. Members who said they were coming are listed as present and those who sent apologies as apologies, so you only change anyone who didn’t do what they said. Each motion records who moved it, who seconded it, and whether it carried.
After
The minutes go out by email, with each person’s own jobs at the top of their copy. Whoever raised an item is told what was decided, and anything not reached moves to the next agenda by itself.
Nothing quietly disappears.
Every job agreed at a meeting has a name and a date on it. It comes back at every meeting until the committee marks it done, hands it over or drops it, and whoever has it can say how it is going from an email, without logging in.
- Items marked in confidence show only their heading to members
- Accepted minutes are locked and filed in the shed’s library
- Or type the minutes as one document, or upload a PDF, if you prefer
The new committee in one form.
Every member is invited, the notice given is recorded, and a proxy form comes on the shed’s letterhead. Hold the election in the room as you always have. Afterwards, one form records who holds each office: the new office holders get their sign-ins, and those stepping down keep theirs for a handover period, then it stops by itself.
When the Treasurer changes, nothing goes missing.
Whoever holds an office gets what the job needs, and hands it on when they step down. There are no passwords to pass around, and “who was Secretary in 2023?” always has an answer.
The documents a shed should have.
The library starts with the twelve every shed needs, from the rules and the code of conduct to the grievance procedure, so a missing one stays in sight. Members tick that they have read a policy, and are asked again when it changes.
What secretaries ask
Try the next meeting with it.
About 45 minutes on a video call. Bring the Secretary.