The prospect of scheduling a meeting may evoke many things in an organizer.

I would like to share my thoughts that I hope will speak to Secretariats, members of a governing bodies (in this case we will use a Board of Directors for illustration), Management and other staff.

A deeper reach in understanding how concepts are actualised in corporate governance has been helpful to me in my humble practice as a Secretary.

As I had indicated in an earlier post, it is recommended that a meeting calendar is drawn and agreed as a tentative instrument for planning purposes.

It is recommended that a Secretariat identifies the different consultation stages before a final notice of meeting is issued and I share some experiences as follows;

1. Consultation with the Chief Executive Officer – As head of the C-Suite responsible to the Board, it is important that the Secretariat obtains a confirmation from the CEO that Management would be ready with reports and submissions to the Board on the date proposed. Should there be any considerations that would affect the scheduling, this is the opportunity to obtain instructions on what date to engage the Chairperson of the Board with, for consultation.

2. Consultation with the Chairperson- With the guidance received from the C- Suite on readiness, the Secretariat would then engage the Chairperson with the proposed date for clearance to engage the rest of the members of the Board. At this point, the Chairperson may accept the proposal or vary it. In the event that it is varied, it would be prudent to timeously communicate same to the CEO for necessary adjustments or further intimations.

3. Prior Notice to the Board – Upon clearance from the Chairperson, the Secretariat would issue a prior notice of meeting to all members, which is a precursor to the final notice. The purpose is to obtain an indication as to whether the date proposed is convenient for at least a quorum of the members for transaction of business. The prior notice would not contain the business to be transacted but will have the date and time for the proposed meeting.

4. Notice of Meeting – A final notice would be issued after confirming the likelihood of formation of a quorum , containing the business to be transacted. It would accompany the reports and submissions to be considered by the Board.

5. Meeting reminders – This is a critical part to the run up of the meeting. With the advent of technology, automated prompts can be sent to the Board members at intervals.

6. Meeting day – Being prior prepared for the meeting in terms of mindset and all administrative matters such as registers, minute taking tools and meeting remuneration arrangements is always a calmer!
You may have to follow up members a few minutes before the meeting, especially if they confirmed attendance and they are not showing up on time.

With this, you should be on your way to a well scheduled meeting!