Welcome to 2016: Conducting Effective Strata Meetings

Welcome to 2016 ! We hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with lots of fun and good-cheer. Now that the first week of 2016 has come and gone, many of us are probably thinking about our New Year’s resolutions. If your resolution involves finding ways to be more effective this year, then we have some handy tips to improve the conduct of your body corporate meetings, in particular, improving the effectiveness and compliance with the ever increasing demands of corporate governance and legislation:

1. Being Organised and Prepared Is the Key to Any Successful Meeting

i) Research and read all documentation before the meeting takes place.

ii) Turn up before time and if you are attending by skype/phone, check connection five minutes before.

iii) Respectfully listen to others and direct your queries through the Chairperson.

iv) If you will be submitting motions at the meeting, ensure they are forwarded with quotes and/or supporting documents 21 days prior to the meeting.

2. Chairperson Tips for Effective Conduct

i) Chairperson should contact members that have submitted requests/motions before the meeting takes place to clarify any ambiguities.

ii) Chairperson/Secretary should liaise with Body Corporate Manager to ensure BCM can research necessary advice/documents for emergent discussion items.

iii) Ask attendees to put phone away, nothing is more distracting to a presenter than people sending texts/phones ringing during a meeting.

iv) Chairperson should not allow extensive debate on adhoc topics introduced without prior notice or supporting documentation.

If you have questions about your body corporate meetings, please contact your local Archers office.

This article was contributed by Frank Griesau. Frank has been in the Strata Management Industry since 2010. In 2014 Frank moved into the position of Townsville Branch Manager where he successfully oversees the day to day running of the office and management of the varied Townsville portfolio.