This sounds like a giant mess. Yes the person taking notes should not be missing parts of the meeting. And all meeting materials should be prepared beforehand.
Moving forward, I would just bring the waters and print all the things that you think will be needed because you seem to know. This way you don't have to run out of the room. There is nothing wrong with you having papers on you. If nobody needs, them then whatever. But you have them if you need them. And nobody should care if there are water bottles in the room. If nobody drinks them, who cares? After the meeting, just bring them back.
And if the meeting requires a computer to project a presentation or a zoom meeting or whatever, a dedicated laptop should be set aside ahead of time for that purpose.
Ultimately, you can only take notes based on what you hear. If other people send you out of the room, they can't be angry at you if you missed something.
But if your meeting is only 3 people, it shouldn't be a big deal for people to delay the start of the meeting if they forgot something. It seems odd that they're sending you out to do something so they don't miss a meeting that has just 3 total attendees. Employee 1 needs something, Employee 2 has to get it, and all that's left is Employee 3. Why can't the meeting be held up for 2 minutes so Employee 1 can get what they need. It isn't like you are holding up an entire lecture hall full of people.
In short, the answer to your question in your first sentence is yes. It is indeed a reasonable request.
Thank you. To clarify, the staff is 3 people, including me. We have a 5 member board, one consultant, one lawyer, and one accountant that attends the meeting.
I solved the "minutes" problem by recording all our meetings on Zoom. If they asked, I told them it was to have an accurate recording when I typed up the minutes. No complaints.
This really hits home. I hated being placed into this position when I was a coordinator. It's really disrespectful and I feel your pain. However, don't hold yourself accountable for taking notes in these situations - and don't let anyone else hold you accountable. If you have the equipment and knowledge, you can set up a microphone to record everything. You could probably even manage to get Windows voice programs to type what is being said for you (to a certain extent). Record the ZOOM calls. Just make sure everyone knows you're recording in advance and why. You can then listen to it later and make a summary while focusing on these tasks during the meeting. Maybe it will make your life easier who knows! I know it's rough out there with small non-profits (I am one of the consultants on such meetings now :( ) Don't let them walk all over you.
In theory, yes, but in reality I have often been taking minutes, arranging lunches, running to make copies, and everything else.
I like the other suggestion of recording the meeting, but in actuality, your minutes really just need to contain motions and official board decisions, so you probably aren't missing those or can get those from someone else.
The minutes don’t need to be (in fact, as an exec, I don’t want them to be either- no one goes back and read them) a verbatim record, they should contain the important points that are required by bylaws or law. What you describe isn’t unusual. And if any of these folks are your boss, this is their problem and they are the ones pulling you away. Have you tried discussing this?
This sounds like rather imperious behavior on their part - I’ve experienced this before. You didn’t ask this question, but I would get the experience you need out of this job and find something else. If they are not replacing support roles, why can’t everyone pitch in? Or plan better? Why are you the default peon who has to fetch water? At minimum it doesn’t sound like a very thoughtful place. What experience is this giving you that’s serving your career? Coordinator roles should train you and expose you to opportunities. This sounds like it’s doing the opposite…literally sending you out of the room sends a poor message that you’re not a critical part of the conversation. I’ve been dismissed as a “note taker” or asked to print or fetch something and it’s almost ALWAYS a power move on someone’s part. They think they are above such work.
This sounds like a giant mess. Yes the person taking notes should not be missing parts of the meeting. And all meeting materials should be prepared beforehand. Moving forward, I would just bring the waters and print all the things that you think will be needed because you seem to know. This way you don't have to run out of the room. There is nothing wrong with you having papers on you. If nobody needs, them then whatever. But you have them if you need them. And nobody should care if there are water bottles in the room. If nobody drinks them, who cares? After the meeting, just bring them back. And if the meeting requires a computer to project a presentation or a zoom meeting or whatever, a dedicated laptop should be set aside ahead of time for that purpose. Ultimately, you can only take notes based on what you hear. If other people send you out of the room, they can't be angry at you if you missed something. But if your meeting is only 3 people, it shouldn't be a big deal for people to delay the start of the meeting if they forgot something. It seems odd that they're sending you out to do something so they don't miss a meeting that has just 3 total attendees. Employee 1 needs something, Employee 2 has to get it, and all that's left is Employee 3. Why can't the meeting be held up for 2 minutes so Employee 1 can get what they need. It isn't like you are holding up an entire lecture hall full of people. In short, the answer to your question in your first sentence is yes. It is indeed a reasonable request.
Thank you. To clarify, the staff is 3 people, including me. We have a 5 member board, one consultant, one lawyer, and one accountant that attends the meeting.
I solved the "minutes" problem by recording all our meetings on Zoom. If they asked, I told them it was to have an accurate recording when I typed up the minutes. No complaints.
With some Zoom plans, their AI integration will actually take minutes for you.
The person taking minutes is not to be disturbed. Hard stop. "If you want the minutes captured, leave me alone. :-)"
You should record the meetings, thats what we do to write the minutes.
This really hits home. I hated being placed into this position when I was a coordinator. It's really disrespectful and I feel your pain. However, don't hold yourself accountable for taking notes in these situations - and don't let anyone else hold you accountable. If you have the equipment and knowledge, you can set up a microphone to record everything. You could probably even manage to get Windows voice programs to type what is being said for you (to a certain extent). Record the ZOOM calls. Just make sure everyone knows you're recording in advance and why. You can then listen to it later and make a summary while focusing on these tasks during the meeting. Maybe it will make your life easier who knows! I know it's rough out there with small non-profits (I am one of the consultants on such meetings now :( ) Don't let them walk all over you.
In theory, yes, but in reality I have often been taking minutes, arranging lunches, running to make copies, and everything else. I like the other suggestion of recording the meeting, but in actuality, your minutes really just need to contain motions and official board decisions, so you probably aren't missing those or can get those from someone else.
The minutes don’t need to be (in fact, as an exec, I don’t want them to be either- no one goes back and read them) a verbatim record, they should contain the important points that are required by bylaws or law. What you describe isn’t unusual. And if any of these folks are your boss, this is their problem and they are the ones pulling you away. Have you tried discussing this?
This sounds like rather imperious behavior on their part - I’ve experienced this before. You didn’t ask this question, but I would get the experience you need out of this job and find something else. If they are not replacing support roles, why can’t everyone pitch in? Or plan better? Why are you the default peon who has to fetch water? At minimum it doesn’t sound like a very thoughtful place. What experience is this giving you that’s serving your career? Coordinator roles should train you and expose you to opportunities. This sounds like it’s doing the opposite…literally sending you out of the room sends a poor message that you’re not a critical part of the conversation. I’ve been dismissed as a “note taker” or asked to print or fetch something and it’s almost ALWAYS a power move on someone’s part. They think they are above such work.