Spread the Word!
Review minutes for accuracy and clarity before distribution, ensuring action items and deadlines are unambiguous.It's important that everyone knows what the safety committee is doing. Sharing information helps increase understanding and that's good for everyone.
How to Run an Effective Meeting
Here are some other ideas to help spread the word effectively:
- Distribute minutes to relevant parties within 3-5 days of the meeting to maintain momentum:
- Committee Members: Ensure all members receive a copy to review their responsibilities and prepare for follow-up. Distribute to members who were present and those who were absent.
- Management: Provide leadership with insights into safety issues and committee progress, fostering their support for corrective actions.
- All Employees: Share a summary or full minutes (as appropriate) with the broader workforce to promote engagement and awareness. For example, post a summary on a safety bulletin board or intranet. Send a copy of the minutes to employees at mobile worksites or field offices.
- Post the minutes on a bulletin board in the lunch room or busy location. Emphasize the safety committee's accomplishments. Let people know how the safety committee has helped to save lives and improved the company's bottom line profitability through effective safety and health.
- To increase readership and interest, you can reformat the minutes to look like a newsletter or poster.
- Another great idea is to develop a program that rewards employees who read the minutes and can answer questions.
- Make sure management responds to recommendations within a reasonable period of time.
- Use accessible formats, such as email, PDF attachments, or shared drives, depending on the organization’s communication practices.
- Consider summarizing key points for non-committee members to make the information more digestible.
- Keep the minutes for at least three years. You can file them in a notebook or a computer.
Example: After a meeting discussing a recent equipment malfunction, the Chair emails the minutes to committee members and management, attaches a PDF version, and posts a one-page summary in the break room highlighting the decision to schedule equipment maintenance training.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
7-3. What can you do to increase readership and interest in the safety committee minutes?
You forgot to answer the question!