When I'm at work: Working on a committee - Learner's workbook

What happens during committee meetings?

Committee meetings need to be run properly. For this to happen, there are things that are part of every meeting. Here are some of those things.

Agenda

An agenda is a list of everything that will be talked about during a committee meeting. If you want something discussed at a committee meeting, you should contact your team representative or the secretary of the committee. That person will add it to the agenda for discussion.

Here is the agenda for a safety committee meeting at Evergreen Industries.

Minutes

Minutes are notes of everything that happens during a committee meeting. The secretary of the committee usually writes these notes down. This is called taking the minutes. After each committee meeting, the minutes are sent to everyone on the committee.

Parts of a committee meeting

For committee meetings to be run properly, they should follow an order.

• The chairperson opens the meeting and welcomes everyone to the meeting.
• The secretary writes down the names of everyone there. This is called taking the attendance.
• The secretary writes down the names of the people who said they could not attend the meeting. This is called taking the apologies.
• The chairperson asks everyone to agree that the minutes of the previous meeting of the committee are correct. This is called accepting the minutes of the previous meeting.
• Sometimes, the chairperson reports on any important committee activities. This is called the chairperson's report. Other people, like the treasurer, may give reports too.
• Anything from the previous minutes that needs to be discussed is called business arising from the previous meeting, and is listed on the agenda. The committee now discusses these things.
• The committee now discusses any new agenda items. These items are called new business. They can include issues that workers have asked their team representatives to discuss.
• After all the discussion is finished, the chairperson lets everyone know when the next meeting of the committee will be.
• The chairperson then thanks people for attending. This is called closing the meeting.

Making decisions during meetings

Decisions that committees make have to be fair because they affect everyone in the workplace. That's why making decisions during committee meetings involves several steps.

• The chairperson reads the agenda item to be discussed.
• The committee members take turns to talk about the agenda item.
• When the discussion has finished, a member of the committee suggests that the committee makes a decision about the agenda item. This is called moving a motion.
• Another committee member agrees. This is called seconding the motion.
• The chairperson asks each committee member if they agree with the motion. This is called voting for the motion. If they do not agree with the motion, this is called voting against the motion.
• If more people vote for the motion than against the motion, the motion is carried. This means that the committee has made a decision about that agenda item.