Category: Professional Development

Posted on

Taking Minutes – STL Case Study

Organisational Profiles

As part of our Public Schedule portfolio, STL offers a course on Taking Minutes, delivering high-value content along with a significant amount of practical exercises which allows minute-takers to remember, write and record in meetings without anxiety and tiredness.

Minute taking is required across the spectrum of industry: large organisations government departments, councils, law and administration offices, courts, schools and the NHS; anywhere where reports have to be kept and presented to management across the board and many of which can be held as legal documents.

Purpose of the course

An organisation needs to ensure its staff are made aware of the purpose of minutes, and the value they bring. An effective way of recording and presenting minutes, either formally or informally, is a pre-requisite for the efficiency of the business, particularly if it wants everyone to understand what is happening within it.

The biggest complaints minute-takers have is that they are :

  • Often ignored
  • Secondary to proceedings and
  • Unable to know exactly what to take down
  • Writing as soon as someone speaks and then find they tire quickly, truly missing most of what the speaker has said

Their anxiety levels are increased when:

  • Delegates are unknown to them
  • International meetings often result in listening to different accents, foreign spellings and over-talking which means they must write a lot
  • They look back at their work and can hardly read their own notes

Person on a Taking Minutes Course Using Yellow and Black Pen

Benefits

The course gives them wonderful tools to:

  • Know how to slow down and listen to the words spoken before writing to get the feel of the communication
  • Record the key points and relevant facts
  • Prepare for and lead the Chair and Attendees to advise you when using any acronyms, foreign names or spellings etc.
  • Fashion your report to the intended recipients
  • Know when to use which style of minutes required
  • Design a colour coded way of reading back your reports
  • Summarise and consolidate
  • Reflect and record necessary dialogue accurately
  • Demonstrate the transparency and historic thread of decision making, laws, and motions and provide a snapshot of the course and progress of a meeting/hearing
  • Use keywords which will help you to remember the gist of a communication if there has been a delay in writing up the minutes.
  • Techniques learned lead to an increase in working efficiency which leads to higher productivity

Learning Deliverables

Without actual practise we cannot correct the mistakes we may be making when taking minutes. Naturally therefore, the course will offer several minute-taking exercises to try out the new skills and methods demonstrated. This can be slightly uncomfortable at times, but it can also provide excellent insight into areas of improvement.

The coupling of professional trainers delivering the material and the gleaning of feedback on the day ensures that STL can provide a course that features what the majority of people having to take minutes are looking for: new ideas, useful and effective models and full hints on preparing for sessions which build your confidence.

Key skills such as conducting sessions, listening, critical thinking and organisation are also examined.

Feedback

We have been running this course for many years, and it’s being constantly ‘upgraded’ to reflect the changing needs of the market. Inevitably, our feedback has been excellent across the board with delegates recommendations:

“Remembering techniques highly useful. I now have a way to recall a scenario given to me even after a few days of the meeting.”

“Everyone got involved in the exercises. It showed us all what traps we were falling into and how to prevent common mistakes.”

“As secretaries, we have so much on our plate that the fear and boredom of taking down and writing up minutes adds to the turmoil of our day. This course has helped take away that anxiety and I actually look forward to using the techniques I learnt. The chore has been turned into a challenge”

Finally…

As a trainer I have seen many minute takers undervalue the role they play, that they are just observers. Yet they are second in importance to the chair, if not more so, because it often depends on them to set the agenda, organise and run the meeting as well as to keep everyone abreast of what was said and the motions and tasks put forward.

The course instils in the delegate the confidence to take accurate notes, inform participants of the minute-taker’s requirements and to conduct the meeting in a way helpful to ensuring accurate notes are taken. Dry notetaking becomes a way of telling a story to the reader, even in formal presentation.

There are many training companies offering courses on Taking Minutes. Hopefully this case study illustrates how STL can uniquely improve the productivity and efficiency of taking minutes, without the stress!

Other necessary skills for minute takers are a high proficiency in core Microsoft Office applications, and we can help with our Word, PowerPoint and Excel courses.

 

 

Posted on

What Does a Project Manager Do?

Project management is the process of delivering projects to a high standard on time and budget. But, it’s not as if every project goes to plan. Some go off-piste while others hit their mark and goals effortlessly. What’s the difference? Usually, the answer centres on the person in charge. An excellent project manager can work with tight time and money restraints and maintain their employees’ rates of productivity and output.

To learn more about how they do it and what makes a fantastic project manager, take a look at the key points underneath.

project management training

What Does A Project Manager Do?

Primarily, a PM oversees a project and ensures it doesn’t go off track in the process. However, that’s the simple version. The role of the project manager has changed in the last decade, often for the better, which means it has become more complicated. Whereas old PMs used to work with vague directives, the strategy is more in-depth today. Not only is a project manager informed of specific targets, but they are involved in the strategy meeting in lots of businesses.

As a result of the boom of project management in recent years, PMs have become crucial cogs in the wheel of the industry. And, as technology and the economy continues to change in the future, the role is bound to become more complicated and valuable.

Main Tasks And Responsibilities

Because every project is different, there is no one-size-fits-all-policy regarding a project manager’s responsibilities. That’s why the best project management courses teach a varied range of skills that will come in handy in several situations and scenarios. Of course, there are general tasks that occur throughout most projects.

  • Create and log a plan: While directives are less vague now than they used to be, projects aren’t fully fleshed out and handed out to a manager. Therefore, the PM has a lot of independence regarding delivering outcomes, which means they have to craft and log a plan. This includes planning what work needs to be done, when, and by whom, as well as understanding the non-negotiable requirements.
  • Create a timeline: One thing that is almost always included is a deadline; clients have strict time restraints and want results by a specific date. To ensure this deadline is met, the PM will plot out the tasks. By doing this, it enables them to see what needs completing and when and the possible risks.
  • Manage the risks: Spotting the risks isn’t enough – a project manager has to manage them effectively. A prime example is going over budget. This is very dangerous as it means either asking the client for more money or using the company’s to cover costs, the latter of which is unacceptable. The PM, then, must track every expenditure, from materials to labour, and make changes in real-time to stop charges from building up.
  • Bring a team together: Firstly, the PM builds a team that they believe has the best skill set for the project. But, as necessary is the task of motivating the employees so that they maintain a high standard and level of output. To do this, they need an understanding of how people work and what drives them to succeed.
Man Looking at White Project Papers on the Wall
project management courses uk

What Skills Does A Project Manager Need?

Working with a broad range of people to hit targets that are always changing means the project manager must have an electric range of skills. Here are the most essential.

Leadership

The team must follow the leader to ensure goals are achieved. Inspiring others means using a variety of tactics to get the best out of people. Fantastic man managers know when to shout and when to be sympathetic.

Scheduling

Scheduling is a core value of project management as things change at a rapid pace. The ability to deal with glitches and put them right involves crafting a thorough schedule from the beginning. That way, there is a foundation, a reference point, to rely on in a crisis.

Critical Thinking

As the leader, no one is going to make decisions on a manager’s behalf. Critical thinking allows a PM to weigh up the pros and cons come to an informed conclusion. The greatest can react in a matter of minutes.

Communication

Without the ability to explain their strategy, a project manager can’t rally the troops. No will understand their job and how to complete tasks effectively.

Project Managers

The most famous project manager at the moment is Sundar Pichai, the new CEO of Google. However, they come in all shapes and sizes. Check out this excellent post to find out more about project managers and their mentality, and to build your skills consider attending our Project Manager Training London.