Write a meeting minutes email in 8 steps (with template)
Taking meeting minutes is one of the most important things a corporate secretary does. But what about after the meeting? The meeting minutes email is an essential step secretaries must make to maintain the meeting’s paper trail.
Consider this: board members gathered for a meeting and made critical decisions, and they want to keep the meeting's contents fresh as they travel back home. By sending an email with meeting minutes, corporate secretaries create a record that board members can refer to.
Because this email becomes part of the record, it’s important to write it effectively. Here, we’ll explain:
- What a meeting minutes email is
- The difference between a meeting recap and sending the meeting minutes
- What to include when you email the meeting minutes
- How to write a meeting minutes email (with a template)
What is a meeting minutes email?
A meeting minutes email summarizes what took place during the meeting. Typically sent by the corporate secretary, it acts as a written record of key discussions, decisions and actions, including relevant next steps.
Though board members will indeed have access to the minutes themselves — usually via the board portal — the email is an additional point of reference to keep all board members aligned and in the loop.
Meeting recap vs. sending meeting minutes
Meeting recaps and meeting minute emails document what occurred during a meeting, but their purpose and scope differ slightly.
- Meeting recaps: A recap offers a brief overview of the meeting and typically includes a list of discussions and action items. Recaps are informal and simply serve as a reminder.
- Meeting minutes email: This email also summarizes the meeting, but its primary purpose is to deliver the minutes. As a result, it’s more formal and is viewed as a formal record related to the meeting.
What should a meeting minutes email include?
Meeting minute emails are often rich with information, so they must be comprehensive and well-structured. Most emails of the minutes will include:
- Meeting information: Include the meeting’s date and time, location and list of all attendees. Note any absentees as well.
- Agenda: This should list the topics the board discussed during the meeting to give recipients context for the rest of the email.
- Summaries: For each agenda item, briefly summarize what the board discussed and/or decided. Highlight any particularly significant comments or questions that arose during the meeting.
- Action items: Specify which board member will address each task or action arising from the meeting and the deadline for each.
- Next meeting: If you have the next meeting date, time and location, notify recipients. You can also include preliminary agenda items.
- Attachments: Include any documents or presentations members shared during the meeting. Refer to the attachments within the body of the email.
How to write a meeting minutes email
Sending the meeting minutes can only happen after the meeting. Still, a corporate secretary must take many steps to prepare to hit “send,” including some critical processes before and during the meeting.
To write a meeting minutes email:
- Prepare for the meeting: Review the agenda beforehand and create a template for taking notes.
- Take meeting minutes: There won’t be minutes to email if you don’t take notes during the meeting. Follow your template to create a thorough record of the meeting.
- Organize the minutes: Review and clarify the notes you took and ensure the structure of the minutes aligns with the agenda. Get any meeting minutes approvals you need. Also, take time to highlight decisions and action items that you’ll need to call out in your email.
- Write a subject line: Most secretaries will use the same subject line every time. Make sure you customize the subject line to the meeting so it stands out to board members.
- Write the email body: Reference the meeting minutes to populate agenda items, summaries for each and any related action items.
- Add attachments or references: Insert links to resources or attach documents to the email. Ensure you indicate where and why the attachments are important in the body of the email.
- Proof the email: Read the email to ensure you’ve covered all important points.
- Send: Hit the “Send” buttons to distribute the email to the board.
Minutes of meeting email template
Subject: Meeting minutes: [Meeting topic] - [Meeting date]
To the Board:
Please find below the minutes for the [meeting topic] meeting held on [meeting date].
Date: [Meeting date]
Time: [Start time] - [End time]
Location: [Meeting location]
Attendees:
- [List of Attendees]
Absentees:
- [List of Absentees]
Agenda
- [Agenda Item 1]
- [Agenda Item 2]
- [Agenda Item 3]
Summary of discussions
- [Agenda item 1]:
- Discussion: [Brief description of discussion]
- Key Points: [Important points discussed]
- [Agenda item 2]:
- Discussion: [Brief description of discussion]
- Key Points: [Important points discussed]
- [Agenda item 3]:
- Discussion: [Brief description of discussion]
- Key Points: [Important points discussed]
Decisions Made
- Decision 1: [Detail of the decision made]
- Decision 2: [Detail of the decision made]
- Decision 3: [Detail of the decision made]
Action Items
- [Board member]: [Task] by [Deadline]
- [Board member]: [Task] by [Deadline]
- [Board member]: [Task] by [Deadline]
Next Meeting
- Date: [Meeting date]
- Time: [Meeting time]
- Preliminary Agenda: [Preliminary agenda items]
Attachments: [List of documents or resources]
Best,
[Your name]
[Your position]
[Your contact information]
Sample meeting minutes email
Subject: Meeting Minutes: Board Meeting - June 14, 2024
To the board:
Please find below the minutes for the board meeting held on June 14, 2024.
Date: June 14, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Conference Room A
Attendees:
- John Smith
- Jane Doe
- Mary Johnson
- Robert Brown
Absentees:
- Lisa White
Agenda
- Review of previous minutes
- Financial performance review
- Strategic goals for FY 2024-2025
Summary of discussions
- Review of previous minutes:
- Discussion: Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.
- Key Points: Minutes were approved without amendments.
- Financial performance review
- Discussion: Mary presented the financial performance for Q2.
- Key Points: Revenue increased by 10%, but expenses exceeded expectations.
- Strategic goals for FY 2024-2025
- Discussion: John outlined the strategic goals for the upcoming fiscal year.
- Key Points: Focus areas include market expansion and product innovation.
Decisions made
- Approval of previous minutes: Minutes from the previous meeting were approved.
- Financial performance: Approved to investigate cost-cutting measures.
- Strategic goals: Approved strategic goals for FY 2024-2025.
Action items
- Mary Johnson: Prepare a detailed expense reduction plan by June 21, 2024.
- Jane Doe: Conduct feasibility studies for new market opportunities by July 5, 2024.
Next meeting
- Date: July 12, 2024
- Time: 10:00 a.m.
- Preliminary agenda: Mid-year performance review, update on new business opportunities, review of strategic goals progress.
Attachments: Q2 Financial Performance Report, Strategic Goals Presentation
Best,
John Smith
Board Secretary
Sending minutes of meeting email
Distributing the minutes of a board meeting isn’t as easy as hitting “Send.” Cybersecurity threats have risen 341% over the past year, and boards are pressured to collaborate efficiently and effectively. While a meeting minutes email implies you would use a typical email account to send it, modern boards have other options.
- Sending minutes via email: Most board members will be familiar with email, making it easy to share and discuss documents. However, phishing and hacks are increasingly common, and email is the prime target. That means that sending meeting minutes by email increases the risk of a breach of sensitive information that could compromise the organization or its many stakeholders. You also can’t collaboratively update an email, making it difficult to keep track of the most recent versions if different board members request amendments.
- Sending minutes via a secure board portal: Many board portals include built-in tools to distribute and collaborate regarding meeting minutes. While there can be a learning curve, centralizing board and leadership collaboration into a single platform pays dividends. Portals use advanced encryption and security measures like access controls to protect sensitive documents. Since all documents are stored in a cloud-based environment, board members can view minutes and request amendments without complicating versioning. Regulators are increasingly favoring encrypted portals, so this is also the meeting minutes email tool of choice for boards that want to keep compliant proactively.
Master your meeting minutes
Meeting minutes emails aren’t just about sending a document. They’re the culmination of a series of activities that the board depends on for accuracy, timeliness and compliance. From preparing a meeting minutes template to taking the minutes, getting them approved, and finally sending them out, manually tracking your progress is both time-consuming and a potentially detrimental security risk.
Tools like Board & Leadership Secure Collaboration, part of the Diligent One Platform, offer an end-to-end solution for managing meeting minutes. Ensure you take effective and compliant minutes that are easy to easy to share and access and capable of equipping the board with the information they need to make better decisions.
