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Effective Meeting Execution
Virtual Meetings By Angela Musial, Meeting Manager
There's no doubt the current recession has changed the business communications landscape. With less income on both sides (associations and members), organizations are being smarter and savvier in their choices about how they spend their time and money. This year alone we all saw a significant decrease in meeting attendance, some up to 50%. The standard practice of sending 5-10 people from a given company to an association's annual meeting was thrown out the window. This year we considered ourselves lucky if there was one representative in attendance. While we are hopeful that 2010 will show a brighter forecast, we need to focus on doing more with less and at the same time continue our commitment to quality programming. Virtual meetings have found a home with associations as they provide the immediate access and enhanced communications that our members demand.
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Innovative Ideas to Host Better Meetings, by Jessica Widing, Executive Director
One of the most stimulating sessions I attended at a recent ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) meeting was entitled "Knowledge Strategies for Better Meetings" lead by Mickie S. Rops, CAE. The overall concept was a simple one, engage the audience. But not just at the meeting; start to grab their attention before the meeting, hold onto it during the meeting and keep your attendees involved long after the meeting is over. The wide variety of electronic and web based communications available today enables associations to reach out to conference attendees in an efficient and cost effective manner. It also allows attendees to interact with each other.
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It is not enough to plan the same meetings year after year for the same audience. The times, technology and our members are changing and so must our meetings. Audiences are now comprised of a unique group of members representing three distinct generations; Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Generation Y. Meeting planners must adapt the format and delivery of all standard components of meetings such as awards banquets, entertainment, and registration to reflect the varied preferences among the generations. Some associations are steering away entirely from printed materials and opting instead for strictly electronic communications with members. Meeting brochures with downloadable registration forms and/or online registration web links are widely accepted these days. Handwritten, manually tabulated post-conference evaluation forms are being replaced with online surveys that allow members to quickly and effectively offer their feedback with a few clicks of the mouse. These are just a few examples of how Fernley & Fernley is embracing the generational shift and responding with flexible, customized solutions to meet the needs of our client associations and their members. This article was authored by David Gabri, President & CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International.
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Planning an Effective Board Meeting
You might think that all meeting planning is equal. Not true. While it is true that a number of the key components required in planning a meeting are similar whether you are planning an annual conference for 1,000 attendees or a six person executive committee meeting, there are unique intricacies that must be carefully considered when planning a more intimate meeting such as a Board Meeting.
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The Right Blend of Ingredients to Insure a Successful Set of Minutes
Reading and writing board meeting minutes would probably never make the Top Ten list for most non-profit board members or staff. Even though the task will never be considered fun, it is important for everyone to realize the critical importance of crafting just the right amount of detail in your meeting minutes. You might relate minutes to mixing the ingredients to make a cake. Even if you use the best quality ingredients of details and discussion, too much or too little could have a disastrous result.
Hugh K. Webster, a Washington, D.C. based attorney specializing in non-profits, has developed a useful reference document for anyone responsible for taking meeting minutes. Just remember that the key ingredients to a successful set of minutes is to incorporate just the right blend of discussion summaries on board actions to allow the reader to know what happened. This article was originally published 10/9/06 and is being reprinted by permission.
To view the Nonprofit Legal Guide to Meeting Minutes pdf file click here.