Meeting Scheduling SOP for Healthcare & Allied Health

# Meeting Scheduling SOP - Healthcare & Allied Health

## Purpose
Adopt to reduce unnecessary meetings, make essential meetings more productive, and ensure action items are captured and followed up.

## When to Use
A procedure for scheduling, preparing for, running, and following up on meetings with agenda requirements, time limits, and documentation standards.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your healthcare & allied health business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (Zoom or Slack)

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## Meeting Scheduling Standard Operating Procedure

### 1. Purpose and Scope
This SOP defines the standard for scheduling, preparing for, running, and following up on all internal and external business meetings. The average professional spends 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings. This procedure ensures meetings are necessary, well-run, and produce actionable outcomes. It applies to all scheduled meetings, including in-person, video (Zoom), and phone meetings.

### 2. Roles and Responsibilities
- **Meeting Organiser:** The person who schedules the meeting. Responsible for the agenda, logistics, and follow-up.
- **Meeting Chair:** The person who runs the meeting (may be the same as the organiser).
- **Note-Taker:** Assigned at the start of each meeting. Captures key discussion points, decisions, and action items.
- **All Attendees:** Come prepared, participate actively, and complete assigned action items.

### 3. Prerequisites
- Zoom account configured with company branding (logo, waiting room enabled)
- Meeting notes template available in Notion
- Calendar sharing enabled for all team members
- Slack channel for follow-up and async communication

### 4. The Meeting Decision Test
Before scheduling any meeting, ask:
1. Could this be resolved via email, Slack message, or a shared document? If yes, do not schedule a meeting.
2. Is a real-time discussion or decision required? If yes, proceed.
3. Do all proposed attendees need to be there? Only invite people who will contribute or who need the information firsthand.

### 5. Procedure

**Step 1: Schedule the Meeting**
1. Check attendees' calendar availability before sending the invite
2. Default meeting lengths: 25 minutes (short) or 50 minutes (standard). Avoid 60-minute defaults.
3. Include in the calendar invite:
   - Clear, descriptive title (not "Catch-up" or "Quick chat")
   - Agenda with specific items and time allocations
   - Pre-reading or preparation required (linked, not attached)
   - Zoom link (for remote or hybrid meetings)
   - Expected outcome: what the meeting should achieve
4. Send the invite at least 24 hours in advance (48 hours for meetings requiring preparation)

**Step 2: Prepare**
All attendees should:
- Review the agenda and any pre-reading materials
- Prepare their input on agenda items they are responsible for
- Note any questions or points to raise
- Join on time (1-2 minutes early for video calls)

The Meeting Organiser should:
- Confirm the room booking or Zoom link is working
- Have any required documents or presentations ready to share
- Identify the note-taker

**Step 3: Run the Meeting**
The Meeting Chair follows this structure:
1. **Start on time.** Do not wait for latecomers. Begin with a 30-second recap of the meeting purpose.
2. **Review the agenda.** Confirm the items and adjust if needed.
3. **Work through each item.** Keep discussion focused. If a topic expands beyond its allocation, park it for a separate discussion or async follow-up.
4. **Capture decisions.** The Note-Taker records each decision made.
5. **Assign action items.** For each action, record: what, who, and by when.
6. **End 5 minutes early.** Allow time for clarifying questions and to summarise next steps.
7. **Confirm the next meeting** (if recurring) or confirm whether a follow-up is needed.

**Step 4: Distribute Meeting Notes**
Within 4 hours of the meeting, the Note-Taker posts the meeting notes in Notion and shares a summary in the relevant Slack channel. The notes must include:
- Date, attendees, and absentees
- Key discussion points (brief, not verbatim)
- Decisions made
- Action items with owner and due date
- Next meeting date (if applicable)

**Step 5: Follow Up on Actions**
The Meeting Organiser is responsible for ensuring action items are completed:
- Action items are tracked in Asana or the team's task management tool
- Follow up on overdue items via Slack
- At the next meeting, review the status of previous action items first

### 6. Meeting Etiquette
- Be on time. Consistent lateness wastes everyone's time.
- Stay present. Close other applications and silence notifications.
- Contribute constructively. Avoid tangents and side conversations.
- Respect the chair. Raise your hand or use the chat for questions in larger meetings.
- Use video for Zoom meetings where possible (builds connection and attention).

### 7. Recurring Meeting Hygiene
Every quarter, review all recurring meetings:
- Is this meeting still necessary?
- Are the right people attending?
- Is the frequency appropriate?
- Can the meeting be shortened?

Cancel or restructure any meetings that are no longer serving their purpose.

### 8. Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
|---------|------|--------|---------|
| 1.0 | [Date] | [Author] | Initial release |

### 9. Related Documents
- Meeting Notes Template (Notion)
- Calendar Booking Guidelines
- Action Item Tracking Process

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**Complexity:** simple | **Setup time:** 10 minutes | **Tools:** Zoom, Slack, Notion

Note: This template has been tailored for healthcare & allied health businesses in Australia. Adjust terminology and compliance references to match your specific context.