Effective meetings

Six adult male rugby players, covered in mud, hug each other in a lineup - they exemplify togetherness and happiness

Making meetings work for you

Meetings are a great opportunity to get everyone together. But what's involved? And how can you make the most of your time?

Here are some of the main types of meeting that you could hold.

You'll also find some job templates that will help you pick the best people for your team.

So go on, there's no time to waste...

Committee meetings

These are meetings where officers meet to discuss club business and related matters on a regular, recorded basis.

What you discuss will probably vary from meeting to meeting. Topics could range from who's coaching the team, to who's washing the kit.

Your constitution should tell you the minimum number of committee members needed to make decisions (quorum).

How often are they held?

Your constitution should say how often you'll meet. Every 3-4 months is recommended.

However you may need to meet more often, to start with.

What are the roles?

The club secretary is usually responsible for the meeting time and venue and for giving notice to committee members.

You should appoint someone to take minutes to make sure all key discussion points and decisions are captured and recorded.

The minutes should be reviewed and approved by committee members. If possible, they should also be circulated to the wider club too.

Annual general meetings

Annual general meetings (AGMs) are open to all club members. They're held to make decisions that affect what your club does and how it's run.

AGMs are an opportunity to:

Highlight the progress and achievements of the club over the past 12 months.
Elect the committee for the following year.
Discuss and vote on any changes to the constitution.
Produce (and review) the club's annual accounts.

The constitution should state the minimum number of members (or proportion of members) needed for the AGM to be 'quorate'. Being quorate means that you're empowered to make decisions.

How often are they held?

They're held at a set time, once a year.

What are the roles?

The secretary is normally responsible for coordinating the AGM.

They will need to:

Give everyone enough notice of the meeting (that's usually a minimum of 21 days, or as stated in the club’s constitution).
Invite members to nominate any officers for election.

Extraordinary general meetings

Extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) are called when a number of club members want to:

Amend a club rule.
Amend the constitution.
Discuss any important matters that can't wait until the AGM.

Your constitution should tell you how an EGM can be called, the notice required, and how it should be managed.

Top tips for holding your meetings

Here are some tips to help you host successful and enjoyable meetings...

Don't hold a meeting for no reason!

Before you hold a meeting, ask yourself whether the meeting is necessary.

If it's not, don't do it! Plan a social event instead.

Follow the constitution to the letter

Don't leave room for protests that the procedures weren't followed correctly.

Appoint a secretary

Someone needs to write down the points being discussed, any decisions that are made and actions agreed.

All of this information should be included in the minutes of a meeting. 

Involve others

Share the workload and the responsibility.

Following the meeting, ask your club chair or other committee members to review and sign the minutes, to show that they fairly represent the discussions.

You could then circulate them to your wider group to keep them involved and promote transparency around decisions.

Prepare everyone in advance

Don’t use the AGM to ‘surprise’ people with important issues that were not raised beforehand!

Make it sociable

Meetings are a great opportunity to make your members feel part of everything and get them more involved. Try to make it as fun as possible.

Make the business part as brief as possible and then follow it with some form of social gathering.