Effective Meetings: Simulated Exercise for Chairing & Minute Taking

Summary

In a monthly meeting, the team discusses various issues including staff absences, parking disputes, and a new HR manager's introduction. A significant focus is on low staff morale, attributed to factors like restructuring, job losses, and inadequate training on new software. Suggestions for improvement include priority parking, staff questionnaires, and team-building activities. Additionally, IT issues are addressed, including a power cut and the need for better communication and training.

Takeaways

• 😀 The meeting begins with apologies for absence, including Frank Lyons, Gary Cope, Carl Madden, Joey Ballen-Weasley, Clive, and Janet Bowers.
• 👋 Rita introduces Jason Somerville, the new Project and Program Manager for Marketing, who recently transferred from the US office.
• 🚗 Lucy Stokes raises the issue of car parking problems due to the new office spaces occupied by Orchard and Shipment, leading to arguments among staff.
• 🛠️ Julian Gillis suggests priority parking for staff who need their cars for work, which is agreed upon after some discussion.
• 📊 Sue Carpenter addresses the decline in staff morale, citing low sales figures and increased sickness absence, particularly on Mondays and Fridays.
• 💻 The launch of Comet software has caused confusion and demotivation among staff due to insufficient training and support.
• 🗳️ It is proposed to conduct a new anonymous questionnaire to understand staff preferences for team-building activities to boost morale.
• 🔌 Frank discusses an IT issue where the F drive backup recovery disassociated from the main framework, which was caused by a power cut.
• 💡 There is a suggestion to hold a separate meeting to discuss the training issue and the introduction of a new appraisal system.
• 📈 Gary's financial report indicates a tough year with an even balance sheet and good contract sales, but a loss in handset sales abroad.
• 🍽️ The meeting concludes with a discussion about cleanliness issues, including dirty dishes in the kitchen and the state of the shower room.

Q & A

Who is the new HR manager mentioned in the meeting?

Julian Gillis is introduced as the new HR manager.

Why is Frank Lyons running late for the meeting?

Frank Lyons is running late because he texted the meeting organizer in the morning to inform about his delay.

What personal issue is Joey Ballen facing that prevents her from attending the meeting?

Joey Ballen is dealing with a foot-related issue, which is causing her to miss the meeting.

What is the main problem discussed regarding car parking?

The main car parking issue is the shortage of spaces due to the new offices at the back, leading to arguments and conflicts between staff.

What solution is proposed to address the car parking problem?

The proposed solution is to implement priority parking for staff who need their cars for work and to allocate three spaces for visitors.

Why is there a concern about staff morale in the company?

There is a concern about staff morale due to low sales figures, increased sickness absence, and issues with the new IT system and restructuring.

What is the suggested approach to improve staff morale?

Suggestions include conducting a separate meeting to discuss the issues, introducing a new appraisal system, and organizing team-building activities such as go-karting or party pilates.

What IT issue was reported in the meeting?

The IT issue reported was a problem with the F drive backup recovery disassociating from the PCP main framework, which was caused by a power cut and an overlooked component during reinstallation.

What is the financial status of the company according to Gary's report?

The financial status is that the company has had a tough year with the balance sheets being about even, but there is a loss of revenue in handset sales abroad.

What additional issues were raised during the meeting that need to be addressed?

Additional issues raised include the lack of washing up in the kitchen and poor cleanliness in the shower room, which need to be scheduled for discussion in the next meeting.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Meeting Introductions and Apologies

The meeting begins with apologies for absences, including Frank Lyons, Gary Cope, Carl Madden, Joey Ballen Weasley, Clive, and Janet Bowers. Rita, the managing director, introduces Jason Somerville, the new project and program manager for marketing, who expresses excitement for his new role and condolences for the loss of the HR manager, Sarah Bryant. Lucy Strokes and Sue Carpenter introduce themselves as the HR manager and sales director, respectively. Julian Gillis is introduced as the new HR manager. The meeting moves on to matters arising from previous minutes, with no issues raised, and then to a discussion about car parking problems caused by the move of Orchard and Shipment, leading to arguments among staff. Lucy suggests informing staff about the limited parking spaces and considering priority parking to resolve disputes.

05:01

🚗 Car Parking Issues and Staff Morale

The discussion continues with car parking issues, where it's suggested that priority parking should be given to those who need their cars for work. Julian supports the idea, and it's agreed that Sue and Jason should be allocated parking spaces. The meeting also addresses staff morale, with Sue highlighting low morale in some departments, reflected in low sales figures and increased sickness absence. The introduction of a new IT system, Comet Software, has caused problems due to insufficient training. An anonymous questionnaire reveals issues such as lack of training, poor management, and job security concerns. Suggestions are made to improve morale, including team-building activities like go-karting, awards nights, and party pilates. The meeting decides to gather more ideas and put them to a company vote.

10:02

💡 Ideas for Boosting Morale and IT Issues

The meeting discusses ideas for boosting staff morale, such as go-karting, awards nights, party pilates, darts, and drinking evenings. It's decided that everyone will come up with four ideas and email them for consideration at the next meeting. The meeting then turns to IT issues, where Frank explains a power cut that affected the mainframe and sub feeders due to an overlooked component during a recent reinstallation. The solution involves contacting the electricity supplier and ensuring bills are paid on time. There's also a mention of a need for effective communication skills training. The meeting concludes with a financial report from Gary, which shows a tough year with a balance sheet that's about even, but with a loss in revenue from handset sales abroad. The meeting ends with a discussion about cleanliness issues in the kitchen and shower room, which are scheduled for the next meeting's agenda.

Keywords

💡Apologies for Absence

This term refers to the polite acknowledgment of the absence of certain individuals from a meeting. In the video, it sets the tone for the beginning of the meeting by recognizing those who are not present. Examples include Frank Lyons running late, Gary Cope and Carl Madden emailing apologies, and Joey Ballen being absent due to personal issues.

💡Car Parking Issues

Car Parking Issues refer to the disputes and arguments arising from limited parking spaces and their allocation among employees. In the context of the video, it is a significant problem that has led to staff conflicts and is discussed as a matter needing immediate resolution, with suggestions such as priority parking being proposed.

💡Staff Morale

Staff morale is the collective mood, confidence, and satisfaction of employees within an organization. In the video, it is identified as a growing problem, with low sales figures and increased sickness absence being indicators. The discussion revolves around finding ways to improve morale, such as through team-building activities and addressing concerns about job security.

💡Restructuring

Restructuring in a corporate context involves reorganizing the company's structure, which can include layoffs, departmental realignments, or changes in management. In the video, it is mentioned as a cause for concern among staff, leading to low morale and questions about job security.

💡Priority Parking

Priority Parking refers to the allocation of certain parking spaces for specific individuals or purposes, often based on need or status within an organization. In the video, it is proposed as a solution to the car parking issues, with suggestions to reserve spaces for those who need their cars for work or are in management positions.

💡New Team Member

The introduction of a new team member signifies the addition of a new employee to the organization. In the video, the new HR manager, Julian Gillis, is welcomed, and the team is encouraged to introduce themselves to integrate the newcomer.

💡Anonymous Questionnaire

An anonymous questionnaire is a survey where respondents can provide feedback without revealing their identity. In the video, it is used as a tool to gather honest feedback from staff about issues affecting morale, such as lack of training and poor management.

💡IT System

The IT system refers to the technology infrastructure and software applications used by a company. In the video, the launch of a new IT system, Comet Software, is mentioned as a source of problems due to insufficient training, leading to mistakes and demotivation among staff.

💡Appraisal System

An appraisal system is a process by which employee performance is evaluated and feedback is provided. In the video, it is suggested that a lack of effective appraisals may be contributing to low staff morale, and there is a discussion about the need for a new appraisal system.

💡Financial Report

A financial report is a document that provides an overview of a company's financial performance. In the video, Gary provides a financial report indicating a tough year with revenue losses in certain areas, despite doing well in contract sales.

💡Cleanliness

Cleanliness refers to the state of being clean and free from dirt, germs, or unwanted substances. In the video, it is mentioned as an issue with employees not washing their plates in the kitchen and poor hygiene in the shower room, indicating a need for improved cleanliness standards.

Highlights

Frank Lyons is running late, and several team members like Gary Cope, Carl Madden, and Joey Ballen Weasley have sent apologies for absence.

Jason Somerville introduces himself as the new project and program manager for marketing, having just transferred from the US office.

The car parking issue is raised, with problems arising since Orchard and Shipment moved into new offices at the back.

Priority parking is discussed as a potential solution to parking disputes, with certain staff members needing their cars for work.

Discussion shifts to staff morale, with a report highlighting low sales figures and increased sickness absence in certain departments.

The launch of new software, 'Comet', is identified as a challenge for employees, as many have not received enough training, leading to mistakes and demotivation.

An anonymous questionnaire reveals issues with poor management, lack of training, and concerns about job security following restructuring.

A discussion about organizing team-building activities such as go-karting, awards night, party Pilates, and darts to improve staff morale takes place.

Lucy and Jason agree to draft a list of activities to put to a company-wide vote for team-building exercises.

IT issues from Friday are discussed, where an external energy source problem prevented the mainframe from powering up, causing a disruption.

The company decides to ensure that utility bills are paid on time after a power outage is found to be caused by an unpaid bill.

A financial report shows the company is in the black but down on last year's revenue, especially in handset sales abroad.

There's concern over cleanliness in the office, particularly regarding unwashed plates in the kitchen and the state of the shower room.

Frank’s technical jargon about IT problems is humorously simplified as a 'power cut' to help the team understand.

The meeting concludes with discussions on utility bills, financial reports, and maintaining general cleanliness in the office for the next meeting.

Transcripts

thanks for coming to today's monthly

meeting

uh let's start with apologies for

absence

oh and before i forget uh frank lyons is

running a bit late

he texted me this morning and

gary cope and carl madden emailed

apologies

anyone else joey ballen weasley can't

make it she's struggling with some

personal issues

i think she's got some sort of foot

thing that she's got okay

thank you where's clive oh i completely

forgot

yes uh he can't be here he's had to go

to a meeting elsewhere

damn it oh and janet bowers is off sick

as well

oh that's a surprise to tell you the

truth i forgot what she looked like

and i'm delighted to announce we have a

new

team member with us and specialist

minute taker

so for the benefit of the new addition

to the team shall we all introduce

ourselves and what we get up to

yeah okay i'll start hello i'm rita

managing director as you know

hi i'm jason somerville i'm the new

project and program manager for

marketing i just transferred over from

the us office and i just want to say how

excited i am

about this new role especially with some

of our new products coming on board

and i also wanted to say how sorry i am

to hear about the loss of our hr manager

sarah bryant i think that's going to be

incredible loss to the team

oh yeah i'm lucy strokes p o t rita

i'm sue carpenter with a d and i'm the

sales director

and i'm julian gillis the new hr manager

okay on to the next item are there any

matters arising from the previous

minutes

no fine

well next item on the agenda i'd like

lucy to

talk us through her thoughts on this

yeah well there's been an actual problem

with car parking you know ever since

orchard and shipment moved into the new

offices at the back

um and we knew this was going to happen

eventually but um you know our staff

have got used to the extra spaces

and what's happened there's been a few

arguments there was a really bad one

where one of our lot can play to one of

their lot

um which is really bad because we're

trying to like we just started just with

a bad reputation

so what we need to do is let one you

know our lot know that

the spaces belong to them actually i'm

sorry are you saying there is a problem

with car parking lucy i didn't quite

catch all of what you said

yeah i mean also a number of the sales

team need their car throughout the day

and they want to know what the company

proposes to do about this issue

i'm not sure we need to send an email

letting all the staff know there are

only five spaces that belong to us

well i think we should think about

priority parking as well it's the only

way we're going to stop people rowing on

a regular basis

sorry i i got held up in a

previous meeting okay it's okay we're

just discussing

car parking issues right i ride a bike

yes i do too you ride a bike yes

oh really and does it have a bell on it

actually yes it does

please can we get back okay i mentioned

priority parking so we need to make a

decision on this i witnessed a fight

last week between two members of staff

stop exaggerating it's just a heated

discussion i was perfectly in my rights

to stand up for myself

some loser came up to me and said my car

is taking up two parking spaces now

that's just ridiculous

well you do drive a tank and it does

take up two spaces

i think priority parking is a good idea

julian thank you

you know i think that anyone that needs

their car for work and uses it during

work hours should be given priority

at the sales team can i what happens if

one of them is off sick

so can we just decide on the priority

spaces first well

i can think of about four people on the

on the sales team that use their cars

regularly

i'll get back to off the meeting but i'm

pretty sure it's full and well that

should leave enough space for management

uh provided that is that jason gives up

the tractor

uh how about two car parking spaces for

visitors as well

respective clients might need their

spaces completely forgot about that

actually yes let's make it three three

oh please would you both put your phones

away it's very distracting

okay right three spaces

uh as it's a difficult area to part with

a two-hour restriction and client

meetings are always running over

that would leave us with two spaces left

to be allocated

have i got a space rita rita client

meeting shouldn't be running over two

hours i mean around 40 minutes max

well i have different types of meeting

from you yes but if meetings overrun i

mean clients just switch off and get

bored

really yeah can we please get back to

the agenda item i do have another

meeting to go to

the car park is not an issue for me as i

travel by bicycle as does frank

look i suggest sue and jason are

allocated the two spaces

i don't mean to be petty but but jason

really does take up two spaces excuse me

listen if he parks by the garages in the

corner where he normally parks he's

normally okay there

so let's have him have that parking

space listen forgive me this is just

you need to park by the garages and i'll

coordinate letting the next priority

member know if anyone is off sick

okay great so can we all agree that we

send a list to all staff

advising them about the priority parking

is that okay great

if anyone was listening i'll send it

also think that if anybody parks

inconsiderately that they should lose

their car parking privilege

oh what's everyone think about that

lucy what do you think

yeah he's right okay that settles that

um settles what loss of privilege or

parking by the garage

right all right so i'll i'll put a sign

up with my name on it my parking space

yeah oh can you put a sign up on all the

spaces jason

oh okay why don't i get a list and then

i'll circulate it so there's no

confusion

fine jason you do it so can i just say

okay okay

moving on to the next item on the agenda

uh

staff morale sue can you explain the

background to this

sue has identified a growing problem

with staff morale

can you all refer to the issued report

i i wish clive was here i mean actually

he really needs to be here

no doesn't i'm here why does he need to

be here

please carry on well there is a

concern in some departments that there

is low staff morale this is indicated by

the recent

low sales figures and also increased

sickness absence

in some of the departments i'm sorry i

don't seem to have the reports

right well there seems to be a

significance problem um with staff

morale in in the sales team and also

sickness absence

um and also company-wide particularly on

mondays and fridays

there is definitely low morale in the

company in certain departments um

new changes have been introduced like

the it system

people just want to know why certain

people have left why there's been

restructuring

and whether their jobs are safe yeah

isn't this just gossip sounds like

excuses and laziness to me anyway it

clearly is

the case that sales figures are at their

lowest since february last year

and it's mainly to do with the amount of

absences from the sales team

um the recent launch of comet software

has caused problems too because it seems

that people haven't had enough training

and are therefore making a number of

mistakes i've done my best

it's a big department i would like to

say that

the basic instruction handout was given

out and everyone was shown step-by-step

easy

steps about how this should be done and

everyone was provided with uh

well should have been provided well no

actually they were provided with

a password that would allow them to log

into the new system yes okay so

what has this got to do with staff

morale is what people struggling with

new software you know they're making

mistakes it slows them down

it demotivates them anyway if you could

all look

at the second report um lucy and i

produced a anonymous questionnaire to

get feedback from staff about

issues um if you have a look you'll see

um

very clearly the feedback statistics

and lucy i don't mean to pick on you but

you were given a password and like

everyone else you seem to have

mislaid it or or lost it and then and

then you emailed

me what is this losing or forgetting

passwords got to do with low morale and

also

everyone puts down poor management when

you talk about morale it's just a waste

of time

these questionnaires there are issues

that have been

raised things like lack of training um

you know lack of effective appraisals

i do appraisals well when was the last

time you conducted a staff appraisal

anyway the point is that we need to be

working a little harder to get people on

site and

we also found out from the questionnaire

that um

some of the issues are to do with the

recent restructuring the job losses

poor management in some departments and

also as i've mentioned

the uh the lack of training on the new

software

well thank you for that soon you do seem

to have taken on a lot recently

look as there are a few reasons what

would you say was the predominant reason

so that we begin to tackle one at a time

maybe start

work on the major one first well i i

think it might be a good idea if you and

i had a a separate meeting about that

um why don't we move on to the uh the

second issue now

well okay we can hold on that but maybe

we could have one after this meeting

okay but you know so these issues really

need to be dealt with now

okay i'll take your point but i do wish

clyde was here

okay maybe we could discuss the new

appraisal system now we could have an

awards night

some sort of evening to boost morale

yeah yeah get your company expense

perfect

or some sort of teen challenge get

everyone pulling together maybe in the

daytime first

yeah what about uh go-karting is that a

team

challenge what about party pilates what

darts guys like darts everyone's a

winner it's quite a good idea actually

yeah

and i like darts no i don't i don't like

darts i think we should send a

questionnaire rather than management

deciding what

motivates the team starts no no i might

kill someone

i'm glad you consider everyone jason

okay so we'll ask the staff then we'll

put it through a vote

yeah great idea so get them some options

put it to a vote

and then there'll be no excuse for any

complaints

okay and time's ticking on uh can we all

have a think come what

some ideas for the next meeting and then

at the meeting we can decide on about

six and put it to a company vote

yeah why don't we decide on those things

now while they're still fresh in

everybody's minds

yeah and those issues do need addressing

now okay so what have we got

we have go-karting awards tonight

party pilates darts and drinking

evenings we need more than that

let's all come up with four and email

them over in the next two days and i'll

take it from there

so moving on yes i t

issue so what are the i.t issues i heard

there was a problem on friday and i was

in saint albans with a new client um

friday's issues took me quite a long

time to investigate

in fact it took me pretty much all of my

afternoon the uh

f drive backup recovery disassociated

itself somehow from the pcp main

framework

i found that this was a problem dating

back to the beginning of last month when

the pcp was originally reinstalled

somehow quite a large component from the

logative remix

hadn't been installed in the

reinstallation um

indeed this was also a problem with the

uh external energy source

administration detail being um

overlooked

frank just try explaining that back to

us as a five-year-old would you

oh geez and shall i continue

um the there was an external energy

issue preventing us from powering up our

mainframe and sub feeders

do you mean there was a power cut frank

yes in simple terms

thank you so how can we avoid this

happening again

i guess it would be a matter for

contacting the electricity supplier

pay the electricity bill yes can we

minute accounts

please play the electricity bills on

time agreed

i agree thank you and maybe we should

have sent frank got an effective

communication skills course

yeah agreed yeah right moving swiftly on

what about the training issue oh i've

been thinking about that and i've got an

idea but i want to run it past clive

first

um maybe we could say that for the next

meeting oh

uh okay but i mean i think we should

have that meeting sooner rather than

later

okay in the next two weeks but not

everybody needs to be there

i'd like myself and clive and frank

because it's relevant to them

but i think i should be there as well

that's my final decision sue thank you

i'll speak with clive

and let you know date frank moving on

yes

gary couldn't attend today so he's

provided us with a

financial report which in summary

well we've had a tough year the balance

sheets about even

and we're doing pretty well in contract

sales so thanks very much for that

on the downside loss of revenue in

handset sales abroad

how much are we down on last year i mean

gary's layout here is quite confusing

this figure here

52 or 21 i mean i'm not familiar with

this

this uh kind of financial report he

seems to have changed it

that's a big difference let me just have

a look i've got a bit of

accounting experience thanks julian you

know that's a lot

seriously i mean what's good it's

actually neither of those numbers it's

11.

are we in red or black well i think if

we can't pay a utility bill i think

we're in the red

actually we are in the black but we're

down on last year okay well thank you

for that

i think that's about all for this

meeting um just leaves us with any other

business

um yeah the uh people are leaving

plates not washing up their plates in

the kitchen

but it is it's an issue it stinks on the

same note actually

at the shower room recently

seen the state of the shower room yeah

okay can i just say a little bit in

there

yes you should because you ride your

bike okay we've got a

general cleanliness problem and as far

as those issues are concerned you must

make sure they're scheduled for the next

meeting

all right everyone happy is the

dishwasher not working

you