How to Organize a Meeting as a Secretary: A Step-by-Step Guide

In 2024, 67% of companies increased their budgets for board meeting organization, partly to accommodate the 59% of organizations returning to in-person formats. After years of remote work, this trend reflects a deeper need to foster collaboration and rebuild face-to-face connections.

Yet, coordinating busy directors with packed schedules is no mean feat. The board secretary must meticulously manage countless details to ensure the meeting process runs smoothly.

This article will walk you through the steps involved in organizing meetings — from preparation to session management and post-meeting follow-ups.  

We’ll also discuss common challenges when arranging a meeting and share best practices to make sure executive sessions are both productive and efficient. 

Pre-meeting preparations

When delving into the question of how to arrange a meeting, thorough and timely preparation is key. In North America, 55% of sessions are planned within one week to a month in advance, while in Europe, 46% are organized more than a month out. 

Careful handling of pre-meeting responsibilities makes the organizational logistics easier, keeps the meeting on track, and helps achieve the main objectives.

Step 1: Define meeting objectives and goals 

Start by identifying the purpose of the meeting. Is it to make decisions, review performance, set strategic goals, or resolve specific challenges? 

Practical tips:

• Write down the key outcomes you expect from the meeting.
• Ensure the objectives align with the board’s priorities and current initiatives.
• Share these objectives with participants in advance to set expectations.

Step 2: Create and distribute the agenda

A detailed agenda is a roadmap for the meeting flow. It allocates time effectively and ensures every topic gets enough attention. When drafting, set the next meeting date, specify discussion points, assign responsibilities, and set time frames for each section. 

Additionally, remember to include preliminary agenda items from the previous meeting. 

Practical tips:

• Use a consistent board agenda template to simplify preparations.
• Distribute the agenda and any supporting documents at least one week before the meeting.
• Use dedicated document management software with real-time notifications to send board meeting notices.

Step 3: Select and book the meeting space      

Choose a meeting space that supports the format and size of your gathering. If it’s an in-person meeting, prioritize a venue with comfortable seating, reliable technology, and a quiet environment. For hybrid meetings, ensure the meeting room has proper video conferencing tools. 

If the meeting is fully remote, select a reliable virtual meeting platform that provides essential features like screen sharing, chat functions, and high-quality audio and video.

Practical tips: 

• Check technologies and venue accessibility for all participants.
• Confirm the booking, sharing the location, date, and time with attendees.

Step 4: Prepare the necessary materials and equipment

Gather all the materials attendees will need, like reports, presentations, or other documents. PwC also recommends considering each director’s preferred way of receiving information to make sure it’s accessible and effective for everyone.

Finally, check that all equipment functions properly, and have backups in place to overcome disruptions.

Practical tips:

• For both offline and online meetings, use the board portal for efficient board pack management and easy distribution.
• Verify all documents are up-to-date and easy to access, whether they are distributed digitally through the portal or as printed copies for in-person use.

Communication with attendees

Effective pre-meeting communication is a good way to set a collaborative tone before anyone even joins the call or steps into the room. Here are the steps to do it properly:

• Send a note. Sending invitations well in advance shows respect for others’ time. Given good advance notice, board members can easily confirm attendance and adjust their schedules. 
• Share the agenda. Distribute the agenda a few days before the meeting, and clarify: what’s the goal, why these topics, and how can everyone contribute? 
• Clarify expectations. If you’re asking to review a document, prepare questions, or bring updates, say so — and say why. It allows attendees to show up prepared.
• Address technical concerns in advance. For virtual meetings, provide simple troubleshooting steps or designate a point of contact for technical support.

Duties during the meeting 

Overly long meetings make it difficult to keep the audience engaged from start to finish. Here are a few best practices to get meaningful input from a session while keeping timing under control.

Guide discussion and maintain focus

Keeping a meeting focused is about balancing structure with flexibility. Discussions should evolve naturally, but the facilitator must ensure they stay aligned with the meeting’s purpose.

This involves understanding the dynamics of the group, managing time, and knowing when to intervene. In an in-person meeting, this might mean reading body language or noticing when participants are disengaged.

However, a virtual setting comes with its own set of challenges – non-verbal cues can be harder to detect, for example. Therefore, make sure to stop and ask questions to engage your audience using polls or a chat window.

It’s also important to adapt. Sometimes a strict agenda doesn’t fit the flow of the discussion. That’s okay. The key is to keep things moving coherently while still keeping an eye on the clock. 

• Additional read: For more details about structured meeting flow, reference Robert’s Rules of Order.

Taking meeting minutes and notes

Effective board meeting minutes are official and legal records of what took place during the gathering. Additionally, regulators mandate that companies should properly document the board’s decisions and actions.   

Here are strategies to optimize the minute-taking process:

• Align with the agenda. Use a meeting minutes template that matches the agenda and simplifies meeting organization. Include sections for each topic, expected outcomes, and the names of speakers.
• Use board management software. This allows you to create, store, and access meeting agendas, documents, and minutes in one centralized location. Tools such as task assignment, progress tracking, and real-time collaboration make them highly useful for organizing board-level meetings.
• Create personal abbreviations. Use abbreviations and symbols for common terms to speed up your note-taking without missing important details.
• Outline action items. Specify what needs to be done, who is responsible, and what deadlines need to be met.
• Ask for clarification. If you’re unsure about something, don’t hesitate to ask for it to be repeated or explained.
• Summarize key points. At the end of each topic, briefly recap the main points and actions to ensure everyone agrees.
• Use tags and categories. Implement a system to label topics or projects, making it easier to find information later.
• Stay up to date on regulations. Be aware of any legal requirements for meeting records, especially for official or public meetings.

Additional read: Discover how to approve meeting minutes before the executive session. 

Post-meeting follow-up

The end of a meeting marks the beginning of the follow-up process — a crucial aspect of post-meeting responsibilities. 

Distribute meeting minutes and action items

Sending out clear and concise meeting minutes ensures responsibilities are understood. 

Focus on the essentials: 

1. Highlight key decisions. 
2. List action items.
3. Include deadlines and next steps.

Additionally, timing is just as important as the content. Therefore, aim to share approved minutes within 24 hours, while the discussion is still fresh in everyone’s mind.

Review meeting outcomes and gather feedback

A meeting’s success is ultimately measured by its outcome so it’s important to review what happens afterwards. Check if goals were met and if action items are being followed up effectively. 

It’s worth noting that consistent communication is key, especially when organizational changes are involved.

PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey found that 44% of workers reported not understanding why changes are necessary. This shows just how important it is to provide clear direction for the group and gather feedback after meetings.

• Tip: You can do this informally by asking people directly, or you can approach the task more formally using quick surveys. Whichever method you choose, feedback is the key to improving future meetings.

Tips for handling common meeting challenges

Sometimes meetings don’t go as planned, but with simple adjustments, the meeting leader can easily manage unpredictable situations.

• Dealing with dominant participants. Some people naturally take the lead in conversations, while others don’t get a chance to speak.

• Solution: Set the tone at the beginning by letting everyone know their input is valued. If one person starts to take over, gently redirect with, “Thanks for sharing — let’s hear from others.”. Also, ask quieter participants directly for their thoughts. 

• Keeping the meeting focused. It’s easy for discussions to drift away from the agenda, especially when enthusiasm is high or new ideas emerge.

• Solution: Keep the agenda visible and refer back to it if things stray. You might say, “This is a good point — let’s save it for later and stick with the agenda for now.” 

• Low engagement. Disengagement leads to silence, a lack of ideas, and a meeting that feels flat.

• Solution: Show why the meeting matters and how each voice adds value. Share prep materials ahead of time, then spark engagement by inviting feedback or ideas during the session. 

• Conflicts or debates. Disagreements drive a healthy discussion, but if they escalate, the meeting’s effectiveness may be compromised.

• Solution: Asking for facts or data can help ground the conversation in solutions instead of personal opinions.

• Time overruns. Few things frustrate participants more than a meeting that drags on past its scheduled time.

• Solution: Be clear about time limits from the start and stick to them. Focus on the most important topics first, and if you run out of time, schedule a follow-up.

Tools and resources for organizing a meeting

Organizing board meetings can be complex, but technology is transforming how board secretaries handle this important task, with, 70% of boards acknowledging the need for more technological innovations in the process. 

Tools like board portals perfectly meet this demand, making it easier to schedule meetings, create agendas, and communicate efficiently. These platforms have become essential for secretaries aiming to speed up the preparation process.

The benefits of board portal software are as follows:

• Enhanced security with role-based permissions to control access to sensitive documents.
• No need for manual document distribution and email chains.
• Centralized storage for documents and previous meeting minutes in one secure location with easy access.   
• Built-in agenda management capabilities allow easy creation, distribution, and updates.
• Messaging tools provide secure and instant communication between participants.

Tip: Board portal software can optimize many other processes outside the meeting setting. For example, discover how to write a board report as a secretary using technology.

FAQ

How soon should I start preparing for a meeting?

Typically, meeting preparations begin at least a week in advance. For complex meetings, especially those involving extensive data or multiple presentations, start several weeks ahead to ensure thorough preparation.

What should be included in a meeting agenda?

A well-structured meeting agenda includes the meeting’s purpose, a list of topics with set time limits, and any required pre-read materials. It should also list key participants or presenters for each item and provide a clear timeline, including start and end times, to help everyone stay on track.

How do I handle last-minute changes to the meeting agenda?

For last-minute changes, communicate with attendees to update them on the revisions. If possible, identify which agenda items are a priority or time-sensitive, so you can adjust the meeting flow accordingly. Use board portal tools, such as shared documents or real-time agendas to update and notify everyone of changes instantly.

What are the best tools for organizing a virtual meeting?

Board portals are the best tool for organizing virtual meetings. They offer secure, centralized access to agendas, documents, and communications tailored for board-level meetings.