Working life and HR
Template: minutes from a department meeting
A minute template for department meetings, with status, priorities ahead, matters raised by the team and tasks with owner and deadline.
MINUTES: DEPARTMENT MEETING [department]
[date], [__.__]–[__.__] | [place or meeting format]
PRESENT
[Name, name, name]
Absent: [Name]
FOLLOW-UP FROM THE LAST MEETING
- [Matter]: [status]
STATUS IN THE DEPARTMENT
[Briefly. Deviations and what has changed, not everything running as usual.]
PRIORITIES AHEAD
1. [The most important thing, and what gives way if anything]
2. [...]
MATTERS RAISED BY THE TEAM
1. [Matter]. [What was decided or answered.]
DECISIONS
1. [What was decided]
TASKS
- [ ] [Name]: [task] — due [date]
- [ ] [Name]: [task] — due [date]
DEFERRED
- [Matter], to [date], because [reason]
NEXT MEETING
[date, time]
Minutes taken by: [name]How to use it
- Write what has to give way when something is prioritised up. A priority list without that is a wish list. The deprioritisation is the decision.
- Keep “matters raised by the team” even when the list is empty. A standing item that is sometimes empty still invites. An item that does not exist does not.
- Rotate who takes the minutes. Whoever writes follows along worst. If the job goes round, that cost is shared.
The meeting costs more than you think
A weekly one-hour department meeting with ten people costs a substantial sum over a year in employer cost. Work out your own number, and use it to decide who actually needs to be there.
Frequently asked questions
The department meeting is about the work: priorities, allocation and professional questions. The staff meeting is about the workplace: information from management, working environment and matters the employees raise. In small organisations the two often merge.
Every other week is common for departments where the work is interdependent. If the work runs in parallel tracks with little dependency, monthly is enough.
Put them somewhere other departments can find them if they want. Minutes that only circulate internally mean the same question gets asked again in the neighbouring meeting.