by Lindsey Lanning, RHIA
We’ve all attended meetings—virtual and in-person—and wondered to ourselves, “Why am I here?” Well I am here to tell you, we have found a way to avoid this mindset and ensure a successful, efficient meeting!
Last week, I had the privilege of attending AHIMA’s CSA Leadership Symposium where I attended an early morning coffee chat on Roberts Rules of Order with Cecily Pew. As OHIMA’s newest board member and a young professional participating on a number of different professional boards and committees, this guy Robert and his rules kept popping up in my life and I needed to know more! In all seriousness, I recognized the value it would bring to both my personal and professional life to learn and understand what these operational rules were and how to use them. What I didn’t expect was to be inspired by their necessity in our professional lives as we transition to this new hybrid world and the critical need they seem to address: how to conduct a meaningful meeting.
Robert’s Rules of Order is a manual of parliamentary procedure that governs most organizations with boards of directors. In 1876, Henry Martyn Robert adapted the rules and practices of Congress to the needs of non-legislative bodies and wrote them in his book, which is still in use today. So, I finally found out who Robert was, and I quickly learned why his method has lasted this long.
The rules of order provide the meeting leader with an organizational strategy on how to ensure their meeting is organized, efficient and meaningful. It promotes the use of an agenda template. A typical agenda template looks like:
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Minutes
- Reports to Officers
- Committee Reports
- Unfinished Business
- New Business
- Adjournment
This keeps the meeting on track and lets all participants know what to expect. Cecily also stressed the importance of sending meeting materials out at least one week prior to the meeting for review. This allows participants to be well-prepared and armed and ready for meaningful discussion.
The other unique to Robert’s Rules of Order is the ability to make a motion. A motion is a formal proposal made to the group and there are different types to be used in different scenarios. Cecily covered the different types of motions and how to make one, but what I found fascinating was the concept of organized requests. Using motions, you don’t have others constantly talking over each other or fighting for a chance to speak, there is just organized communication.
Bottom line, we’ve all attended meetings that could have been skipped entirely. Before you schedule another one, do us all a favor and use Roberts Rules of Order!
About the Author
Lindsey Lanning, RHIA is the current Director of Compliance on the OHIMA FY 2022-23 Board of Directors. Lindsey is a Healthcare Compliance Consultant.
