Agenda template old business

Agendas are important because an effective one increases team productivity An effective agenda increases the productivity of the overall meeting because it establishes expectations on what needs to occur before, during, and after a meeting. What should be included in the agenda? Agendas most often include: Informational items - sharing out updates regarding a topic for the group. For example, a manager may provide an update on the year-end planning process.

Action items - items that you expect the group will want to review during the meeting. For example, performance against a specific time period or trajectory on a product launch. Discussion topics - items that you want the group to provide feedback on. For example, collecting input on an upcoming commute policy change and questions that the team has about it.

Agendas can be very short or very long How formal should your agenda be? Executive Business Review 1. Housekeeping - standing items at the conclusion of the meeting - Clyde - Announcements - Review of action items - Date of the next meeting - Etc. It guides the flow and structure of the meeting or program. There is no doubt that it can reap productive results.

In association to this, Agenda Templates can match up your well-formatted agenda. Simple Meeting education. Committee Agenda Minutes Template In organizations, committees are created to micromanage certain aspects and objectives of the organization. You can use this template to record your minutes. A quorum of an assembly is such a number as must be present in order that business can be legally transacted.

The quorum refers to the number present, not to the number voting. The quorum of a mass meeting is the number present at the time, as they constitute the membership at that time. The quorum of a body of delegates, unless the by-laws provide for a smaller quorum, is a majority of the number enrolled as attending the convention, not those appointed.

The quorum of any other deliberative assembly with an enrolled membership unless the by-laws provide for a smaller quorum is a majority of all the members.

In the case, however, of an organization, like many religious ones, where there are no annual dues, and where membership is for life unless it is transferred or the names are struck from the roll by a vote of the organization the register of members is not reliable as a list of the bona fide members of the organization, and in many such organizations it would be impossible to have present at a business meeting a majority of those enrolled as members.

Where such organizations have no by-law establishing a quorum, the quorum consists of those who attend the meeting, provided it is either a stated meeting or one that has been properly called. In all regular organizations the by-laws should provide for a quorum as large as can be depended upon for being present at all meetings when the weather is not exceptionally bad. In such an assembly the chairman should not take the chair until a quorum is present, or there is no prospect of there being a quorum.

The only business that can be transacted in the absence of a quorum is to take measures to obtain a quorum, to fix the time to which to-adjourn, and to adjourn, or to take a recess. Unanimous consent cannot be given when a quorum is not present, and a notice given then is not valid. In the case of an annual meeting, where certain business for the year, as the election of officers, must be attended to during the session, the meeting should fix a time for an adjourned meeting and then adjourn.

In an assembly that has the power to compel the attendance of its members, if a quorum is not present at the appointed hour, the chairman should wait a few minutes before taking the chair.

In the absence of a quorum such an assembly may order a call of the house [ 41 ] and thus compel attendance of absentees, or it may adjourn, providing for an adjourned meeting if it pleases. In committee of the whole the quorum is the same as in the assembly; if it finds itself without a quorum it can do nothing but rise and report to the assembly, which then adjourns.

In any other committee the majority is a quorum, unless the assembly order otherwise, and it must wait for a quorum before proceeding to business. Boards of trustees, managers, directors, etc.

Their power is delegated to them as a body, and their quorum, or what number shall be present, in order that they may act as a board or committee, cannot be determined by them, unless so provided in the by-laws. While no question can be decided in the absence of a quorum excepting those mentioned above, a member cannot be interrupted while speaking in order to make the point of no quorum. The debate may continue in the absence of a quorum until some one raises the point while no one is speaking.

While a quorum is competent to transact any business, it is usually not expedient to transact important business unless there is a fair attendance at the meeting, or else previous notice of such action has been given. Care should be taken in amending the rule providing for a quorum. If the rule is struck out first, then the quorum instantly becomes a majority of all the members, so that in many organizations it would be nearly impracticable to secure a quorum to adopt a new rule.

The proper way is to amend by striking out certain words or the whole rule and inserting certain other words or the new rule , which is made and voted on as one question. No matter what the reason, sometimes too few members show up for a meeting. When this happens, you have options however they are limited. All is not lost if you are quorumless. Four measures can be taken during a meeting in which a quorum is not present. You can:. Fix the time to which to adjourn. Doing so makes it possible for the meeting to continue on a later day, after you have chased down enough people to achieve a quorum.

You can call it quits for the time being and wait for the next regular meeting. Sometimes achieving a quorum is as simple as taking a short break to go out into the hall and round up more members; then you can proceed with the business of the assembly. Recess is often used when attendees wander out of the meeting room in the middle of a meeting and suddenly somebody notices that there are not enough members in the room anymore. Take other measures to assemble a quorum.

You can, for example, appoint a committee to go make calls and round up enough members for your business meeting. While you are waiting for additional members to arrive, you can continue with the program or a scheduled speaker. A motion to do something to achieve a quorum is treated as a privileged motion and takes precedence over a motion to recess. Even if you have to make a decision about an urgent issue in the absence of a quorum, any action you take is at your own risk and not binding on the organization.

If the membership does not agree that you had taken the right action, or even if they agree but vote against a motion to ratify your action, you are at risk for any of the consequences; financially, legally, or otherwise!

The motion to ratify allows the group to approve, by majority vote at a regular meeting or properly called special meeting with a quorum, your action and adopt it as the action of the group.

After that happens, you and the others are off the hook, and your action is no longer null and void. Notes On A Quorum. But, with the exception of a body of delegates, it is seldom that a vote as great as a majority of the total membership of a large voluntary organization call be obtained for anything, and consequently there has been established a common parliamentary law principle, that if a bare majority of the membership is present at a meeting properly called or provided for, a majority vote which means a majority of those who vote shall be sufficient to make the act the act of the body, unless it suspends a rule or a right of a member as the right to introduce questions and the right of free discussion before being required to vote on finally disposing of a question and that a two-thirds vote shall have the power to suspend these rules and rights.

This gives the right to act for the organization to about one-fourth of its members in ordinary cases, and to about one-third of its members in case of suspending the rules and certain rights. But it has been found impracticable to accomplish the work of most voluntary organizations if no business can be transacted unless a majority of the members is present. In large organizations, meeting weekly or monthly for one or two hours, it is the exception when a majority of the members is present at a meeting, and therefore it has been found necessary to require the presence of only a small percentage of the members to enable the assembly to act for the organization, or, in other words, to establish a small quorum.

Congress in decided this to be a majority of the members chosen. Where the quorum is so small it has been found necessary to require notice of all bills, amendments, etc. This principle is a sound one, particularly with organizations meeting monthly or weekly for one or two hours, and with small quorums, where frequently the assembly is no adequate representation of the organization.

The difficulty in such cases may be met in organizations adopting this Manual by the proper use of the motion to reconsider and have entered on the minutes as explained in It is customary for every organization having a permanent existence to adopt an order of business for its meetings. When no rule has been adopted, the following is the order:.

The minutes are read only once a day at the beginning of the day's business. The second item includes the reports of all Boards of Managers, Trustees, etc.

The fifth item includes, first, the business pending and undisposed of at the previous adjournment; and then the general orders that were on the calendar for the previous meeting and were not disposed of; and finally, matters postponed to this meeting that have not been disposed of. The secretary should always have at every meeting a memorandum of the order of business for the use of the presiding officer, showing everything that is to come before the meeting.

The chairman, as soon as one thing is disposed of, should announce the next business in order. When reports are in order he should call for the different reports in their order, and when unfinished business is in order he should announce the different questions in their proper order, as stated above, and thus always keep the control of the business.

If it is desired to transact business out of its order, it is necessary to suspend the rules [ 22 ], which can be done by a two-thirds vote But, as each resolution or report comes up, a majority can at once lay it on the table, and thus reach any question which it desires first to dispose of. It is improper to lay on the table or to postpone a class of questions like reports of committees, or in fact anything but the question before the assembly.

When it comes to creating efficient and effective meetings, one key tool is to prepare and make good use of an agenda, which is essentially a program or listing of the events and items of business. The agenda may be adopted that is, be made binding on the meeting , or it may simply be a guide to keep the meeting on track. Adopting your agenda is sometimes a good idea because it gets everybody in agreement with the meeting plan at the beginning of the meeting.

Robert's Rules gives an order of business but doesn't mandate any particular agenda.