Each chapter has different committee names, but the majority have a President, Hospitality Committee, and Education Committee. For a successful meeting, these board members work together to coordinate the needs for venue, speaker, members, and PAYO.
Planning
Let’s start with the Education Coordinator who is responsible for securing a speaker. Education needs to make certain the speaker is willing to attend the meeting by having them sign an agreement. Such agreement is similar to a contract and informs the speaker of the meeting details, and their deliverables such as providing their bio, photo, and presentation 30 days prior to the meeting. The next step for the Education is to request RCH Credits from PayrollOrg; to do this they must complete the RCH form and submit it along with the speaker’s presentation for approval. Once approval is received, the meeting can be advertised on the Chapter website, social media, and emails to members.
While Education works on the speaker, the Hospitality Coordinator secures the meeting venue. If refreshments are being served, they must make all efforts to ensure that menu choices cater to all attendees and account for any special dietary requirements. They must prepare the sign-in sheets (used for tracking RCH credits) and name badges. Prior to the meeting, Hospitality should reach out to board and committee members to recruit them to help with meeting and greeting attendees, especially new members. Committee members can also help to answer queries from attendees pertaining to the venue & refreshments. Hospitality is responsible for collecting the sign-in sheets. Final copies should be shared with the President and the Education Coordinator as RCHs for the meeting must be sent to attendees that have a certification.
As the President, you are emceeing the meeting. Before the meeting, make time to meet with the Education Coordinator to review the details. Confirm who the speaker is and their topic. It helps if you have a short description of the meeting topic to use for the introduction of the speaker. Review the speaker bio and photo; this will enable you to greet the speaker when they arrive. Be sure to thank the speaker for the time they are donating to speak for your chapter. Meet with the Hospitality Coordinator to review the venue and meal details. You should obtain the times for the food service and arrange the time that you will be at the venue.
As the emcee, you should consider having an ice breaker at the beginning of the meeting to get attendees to engage. (Consider having a small prize for the winner as this is a great motivator for people to mingle.) Also, allocate time for different committees to give their updates so they can encourage volunteering (and that aren’t only hearing updates from the President).
Before the Meeting
Prior to the meeting, the President should work with the board and committee members to prepare your welcome presentation. Be sure to include chapter events, PayrollOrg, committee news, and local events (Statewide, charity drives, proclamations etc.). The presentation should include the chapter photo or Logo as the opening slide. (Leave this on the screen while attendees enter the meeting.) If you have notes that accompany the slides, keep them on a separate presentation that is only visible to you either on paper or mobile.
One Week Before the Meeting
One week before the event, it is a great idea to have the Education Coordinator check in on the speaker. Review expectations including what time the speaker should arrive and where to check in.
Meeting Day
On the day of the meeting, it is important for the board and committee members to arrive early. When it is possible, members of the board should meet your attendees as they arrive and keep an eye out for the Speaker. Greet your speaker and explain to them the flow of the meeting.
After the Meeting
After the meeting, don’t forget to let your attendees know about the details of the next meeting. Take time to answer questions and provide assistance to attendees. If there is a buzz in the room where everyone is jubilated and feels that they will come back for more, you know the meeting has been successful.
Let us know what other tips work for your chapter in the comment section below!
Priti Rughani, CPP is Associate Director of Global Payroll for King & Spalding. She is Region 1 Board of Advisor and serves on various PayrollOrg committees including Ask an Expert, Social Networking Committee, and Government Relations Task Force (GRTF) Electronic Payments Subcommittee. Priti currently serves as President of the Greater Atlanta Payroll Association.
Submit Your Attendee Lists
All chapters must submit attendee lists for study groups, one-day events, multi-day educational seminars, and statewide/regional meetings within 30 days after the event to chapterrelations@payroll.org in Excel format. Email Chapter Relations for the latest Excel Template.
