Gwen Campbell: Talking Minutes
There’s nothing like hosting your first board meeting at
Fitwise Management Ltd!
The build-up…
During the weeks prior to the board meeting, the telephone conference needed to be arranged and the agenda, papers and reports needed to be collated and sent out together with other supporting documents. A flurry of travel and accommodation requests needed to be completed and communication to everyone regarding the arrangements was needed to allow for car sharing and to give the opportunity for individuals to link in to arrange any sub meetings whilst they are all together.
There were also the tasks of arranging lunch, refreshments, IT equipment and the meeting room. A spot of luck as I ended up hosting my first board meeting on site which meant that I had the support of my colleagues who kept me right and were there to help on the day which was greatly appreciated!
I went from having weeks to pull everything together to… EEK! It’s tomorrow!
There was a big build up to getting everything coordinated and pulled together to telling myself that everything will run smoothly and the day will just need to play out.
The biggest challenge for me wasn’t the organising and learning the processes, but identifying who was who and understanding what each person does. It’s a long day for all concerned and there was massive amounts to cover during the meeting.
On the day…
On the day, I’m there to support the Chair and minute the meeting. The biggest tasks for me was putting names to faces, listening to gain an understanding of what was being discussed, and picking out the key points. Minute decisions were taken and note actions were completed.
Lunch time for me consisted of the co-ordination of taxis for lifts to the airport and railway station for homeward journeys, as well as expense claims.
As I waved the last person off, I breathed a sigh of relief – everything seemed to go without a hitch. It was now operation Clear Up but my colleagues were already half way through clearing everything away! I’m lucky to have joined such a supportive team!
I believed a good night’s rest was in order prior to typing back the minutes and circulating them to the board members.
All in all, the day was a success and I’m pleased to have experience my first board meeting at Fitwise! The day gave me a chance to see a more in-depth look at the company and our clients. It was also really good to finally meet everyone in person; it was just a shame there was very little time to mingle… but hey, there’s always next time because before I know it, it will be time to do it all over again!