Skip to content
Skip to main content
header search
ahihi OpenLearn
OpenLearn
Menu
sticky search

About this free course

Become an OU student

Download this course

Share this free course

Course content Course content
Hybrid working: digital communication and collaboration
Hybrid working: digital communication and collaboration

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

More free courses

9.6 Actions and review

After a meeting, you need to allow time for follow-up actions and reviewing meeting notes for any actions that may have been missed or information that is useful for further use.

While some meetings may not require a detailed review and only a short follow-up email, others may need a more formal set of actions to be considered and implemented.

The following table may be a useful checklist for you.

Table 11 Actions and review checklist
Item Guidance
Review actions and meeting notes

Make a list of actions and issues.

Review the meeting notes for additional information that needs to be captured or shared.
Meeting notes

Ensure meeting notes are written up and checked.

Good meeting notes will have the list of actions and issues at the top and the date of the next meeting (if one is required).
Recording and transcript of meeting
  • Check recordings and transcript of meetings.
  • This is important, although you should not need to amend these. It is worth checking if conversations continued after most of the participants left; check that the conversation did not evolve into a personal catch-up which may not be appropriate to share.
  • If you had participants attend for only part of a meeting and other topics are confidential or sensitive, you need to agree on a policy as to what information can be shared to all participants, and it needs to be in line with your organisation’s policies and processes. As a rule, if someone is a ‘guest’ for only part of a meeting, notes are not expected to be shared with them.
  • It is worth checking recording settings, as some systems will automatically share the recording.
  • If you need to continue a conversation after a meeting, good practice for virtual meetings is to leave the original meeting and start a new meeting.
Record actions

Depending on the nature of the meeting, you may have an online planning/tracking tool for actions and issues. These systems should be updated prior to meeting notes being circulated.

Ensure all actions have owners and expected timeframes for completion.
Set up the next meeting

If another meeting is required, arrange for it to be set up.

If it is a reoccurring meeting, check that the date is still suitable and all requirements for it have been confirmed.
Circulate meeting notes

Most meeting notes are shared either within a collaboration space or by email.

  • Thank participants for their time;
  • Provide a brief summary;
  • Highlight any important items;
  • Share the meeting notes and recording with participants – ideally as a link to the shared area or an attachment;
  • Confirm next steps;
  • Date and time of the next meeting.

If your meeting is classed as confidential/sensitive, you need to ensure that you follow the agreed process for saving and sharing meeting notes. Many workplace collaboration tools rely on permissions being set, and often you may find that your documents are visible to everyone in an organisation.

If you have participants external to your organisation, unless they have been given access to your systems, in most cases you will need to attach meeting notes in an email.

For those ‘guest’ participants who should not have access to the full meeting notes, follow up separately to thank them for their time and any actions required.