A non-member secretary is an outside consultant who attends the client organization’s business meeting, such as a membership or shareholders’ meeting, a board meeting, a convention of delegates, or a committee meeting, and acts as recording secretary, in place of the usual officer.

As a first step, the consultant conducts a thorough review of the constitution, by-laws, and special rules of order of the client organization. This allows him to effectively take minutes and support the presiding officer at the meeting in way that is properly attuned to the particular client. Every organization is different, and uses parliamentary procedure differently, so he must be flexible.

Next, the consultant prepares for the meeting by reviewing and analyzing the notice or call of the meeting, the proposed agenda, the prepared script, the minutes of the previous meeting, all proposed by-law amendments, resolutions, and other known or anticipated motions, and all other relevant documents. This ensures that he is ready for whatever may occur during the meeting, and also gives him an opportunity to spot problems that can be addressed or corrected before the meeting even begins.

After completing his analysis, the consultant meets with the president, executive director, secretary and/or other leaders of the client organization, to report on any issues encountered in his preparation, to discuss plans for the meeting, and to make any final arrangements. This meeting can take place in person and/or over the telephone, and can also include a series of e-mail exchanges. This phase of the work is quite informal, and can be extremely helpful in aligning expectations and resolving problems before they become serious.

If the consultant detects a serious problem during his review, and if it would take a significant amount of time to correct or deal with, he will prepare a proposal for additional work to be done. Under no circumstances will he undertake additional billable work without the informed consent of the client. Fortunately, however, most problems can be handled quickly, easily, and at no extra cost.

On the day of the meeting, the consultant arrives with plenty of time to spare, and meets up with the chairman of the meeting. They discuss any last minute issues, and make sure the facilities are properly set up. Once the chair calls the meeting to order, the consultant acts as recording secretary until adjournment, providing competent clerical support for all aspects of parliamentary procedure that might arise, no matter how complex. The chair can therefore rest assured that the minutes of the meeting will fairly and accurately reflect the business transacted at the meeting.

After the meeting, the consultant follows-up with a phone call and/or letter to debrief the leaders of the client organization on how the meeting was run, and how to improve things for the next year. This may take the form of a proposal for additional work that could be done, but was not urgent enough to warrant investigation prior to the meeting. The consultant will of course also promptly deliver a draft of the minutes of the meeting.

For more information about these services, or to hire a professional consultant to serve your organization, please contact Raplyn Consulting.