Tailored training ensures consistency for healthcare organisation
We provided tailored minute-taking training for 14 executive assistants and other staff from Health Direct, a government-funded provider of health information. As a result, Health Direct was able to ensure processes were uniform across the organisation, and staff were up-to-date on procedures for accurate minute-taking.
The challenge: a need for consistency and practicality
Given their role in providing quality healthcare advice to the Australian public, staff at Health Direct hold a significant number of committee meetings. The organisation wanted to ensure minutes from these meetings were accurate and also consistent across departments, so they would stand up to legal or regularly scrutiny if necessary.
And, even though many of their executive assistants were seasoned professionals with many years of experience, Health Direct knew it would be worthwhile freshening up their skills.
Health Direct had tried to train their staff in minute-taking before, but other courses did not offer the practical skills they need, such as how to take notes and what to include in the final minutes.
The solution: tailored but scalable
We developed a tailored training course and delivered it as a mixture of face-to-face and video conferencing to accommodate various working locations due to COVID.
And, while the course was specific to the healthcare industry, we designed it so participants understood that minutes can always be written efficiently if there is adequate and proper preparation.
We also encouraged questions and discussions to extend the participants’ benefit from the course. Questions included industry-specific ones like how to record health information that is subject to professional privilege, and more general ones like how to take minutes when there has been a difficult conversation.
Result: a fresh perspective on minute-taking
Afterwards, participants told us they had enjoyed the interactive format and they had learnt many technical tips and updates on best practice. They also said it covered areas they hadn’t previously considered; for example, one participant said the course clarified how much time should be spent writing minutes versus the length of the meeting.
Many of the participants said they realised they should be taking meeting minutes far more seriously, particularly if they need to refer back to them as a single point of truth at a later date.
In the client’s words…
“This course provided insight into taking minutes and some great tips to improve,” said one participant, Caterina.
“The content was good and the trainer was well spoken, easy to understand and had great experiences to share,” she added.
“Informative and well-presented…lots of questions and information sharing which was very beneficial,” said another participant.