An AGM might be the biggest event in the business year, but for many of the attendees, going to an Annual General Meeting is a boring affair, and something they’d rather get out of if at all possible. Due to this, it can be a difficult event to organise and run. We’ve put together our checklist of what you should do to ensure that yours is a success.
Delegate
If you don’t delegate some tasks, organising the AGM will take up all of your available time. Create a task list and split it between members of your team so that they know exactly what they need to do and for what date. Having clear roles and responsibilities will ensure that it all runs smoothly.
Choose Your Venue
The venue for your AGM is one of the most important factors that you need to decide on. You need to make sure that it comfortably fits everyone that you think will attend. You also need the venue to be suitable for presentations. There are loads of auditoriums for hire in London for exactly this purpose. Alternatively, you can go for a more creative space to liven up your AGM a little! If people are travelling from all over, try and have a central location that will be suitable for everyone.
Pick A Date
Once you have found the perfect venue for your needs, it’s time to pick a date. Make sure that you are giving yourself enough time to prepare, but that it is around the same date as you have used previously. Consider the people travelling for this, as it might affect what day of the week you choose to hold the meeting on.
Promote
Do you know who you are inviting? Is it just the key members or are you extending the invite list even further? Once you have the date set, let everyone know as soon as possible so that they can put it in their calendars! If they don’t know about it early, they probably won’t come.
Encourage
Explain in your correspondence what an AGM is all about and emphasise the importance that it has within your business. Stress the time of the AGM – and the ending time, so that everyone know that it won’t be a long-winded affair. Other encouragements include mentioning the refreshments provided, and that this is a great networking opportunity for everyone involved.
Accounts and End of Year Reports
These are just some of the items that are expected to be finalised by the AGM. Having them complete, and the data analysed, is a must, so that you can provide a summary to everyone involved. Your accounts department will already know this, but actually getting the data into a presentation format is the tricky part. Take your time looking at the key takeaways from this year and how it compares to previous years.
Agenda
Get together an agenda for the meeting as soon as you can. Lay it out with all of the key points, and you can even add time frames for each part if you think that it’s applicable. Send this out to everyone as soon as it is finalised so that they have a clear idea of what they can expect from the meeting.
Minutes
It’s important that you assign someone to take the minutes of the meeting, as they will be the document that everyone refers to afterwards. It will be a record of the results of voting, and any issues raised in the meeting. This should be typed up and sent out the everyone who attended (as well as those who didn’t) within the week. Make sure that contact details are recorded for everyone. Some members may have questions about parts of the minutes or additions to them, so this may go through multiple drafts.
Elections/Voting
An AGM is where any important elections or other votes regarding the company will occur. All of those attending should be aware of what they will be voting for in advance of the meeting so that it doesn’t take them by surprise. Make sure that you have good voting software set up to make this process as simple and straightforward as possible. Using software will speed up the process dramatically and results can be saved easily.
Other Tips:
Sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest difference when organising an AGM. Think about the following carefully and how they might make your meeting better than usual.
Introductions
While the majority might know the main members taking part, it’s important to introduce your Committee so everyone is clear on their roles.
Catering
It’s always encouraged to have some refreshments at an AGM. After all, many people have travelled from far away and might not have had a chance to eat.
Welcome
Have a member of staff greet people as they arrive and take their names. Not only is it important to welcome people, but you will then get a list of all of the attendees.
Test
Make sure that you have an equipment test before the AGM gets underway. No one likes a tech mishap!
Keynote
If you can get someone influential in your business area to say a few words, this will encourage attendance and spark everyone’s interest.
Network
Think about having a wine reception after the formalities so that everyone can relax and talk to one another.
If you follow this advice, your AGM will soon become something to look forward to, instead of just another meeting that people have to attend. Remember that this is important for your company, so stress that to your attendees and try to make it into a chance for everyone to get together, as well as discussing important matters.
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