Learn how to follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings, from assigning roles and deadlines to communicating and documenting changes.

Adding a funny or interesting detail to a meeting follow-up email can add a personal touch and make the email more engaging :)

Last updated on Sep 5, 2024

How can you follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings?

Meetings are essential for communication, collaboration, and decision-making in any organization. However, without proper follow-up, the action items and decisions made during meetings can get lost, delayed, or ignored. How can you ensure that the outcomes of your meetings are implemented and tracked effectively? Here are some tips to help you follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings.

1 Assign roles and deadlines

Before you end a meeting, make sure that everyone knows what they are responsible for and when they need to complete it. Assign clear roles and deadlines for each action item and decision, and document them in a meeting summary or minutes. You can use a tool like Google Docs, Trello, or Asana to create and share a meeting summary or minutes with all the participants and stakeholders. This way, you can avoid confusion, ambiguity, and accountability issues.

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Kristin Baer

Leadership Coach & Facilitator | Founder of Brave Boost Leadership | Mindful Outdoor Guide | TEDx Co-Organizer & Speaker Coach
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I use the question, "Who does what by when?" at the end of meetings to make sure that we are all clear on exact roles, goals, expectations, and deadlines. This Crucial Conversations phrase has helped give me and my teams clarity and accountability on tasks and helps ensure that everyone leaves the meeting with clear specifics in mind for what tasks they own and when they need to complete them by.

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Arslan Javaid

Team Lead - Mobile Application Engineer | Fintech
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Here are effective ways to follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings: - Send meeting notes containing a brief summary, listing key decisions and action items. - Clearly assign each action item to a specific person or team. - Ensure all tasks have clear deadlines or timeframes for completion. - Track progress in tools like Azure, Jira, Trello, etc. - Regularly include progress updates and remind team members of upcoming deadlines in daily scrums, emails, or chats. - Track and follow up on outstanding tasks to ensure accountability. - Offer assistance or resources to team members if needed for completion. - Review and discuss the results or status of tasks in subsequent meetings.

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2 Send a follow-up email

After you create and share the meeting summary or minutes, send a follow-up email to all the participants and stakeholders. The follow-up email should summarize the main points of the meeting, highlight the action items and decisions, and remind everyone of their roles and deadlines. You can also include a link to the meeting summary or minutes for easy reference. The follow-up email should be sent within 24 hours of the meeting, while the information is still fresh in everyone's minds.

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Daniel Dayan

Israel Employer Brand Manager at JFrog ðŸ¸ I'm Pushing Talents Frogward! I Founder @ Step-In I LinkedIn Lecturer & Content Creator I Diversity & Inclusion Expert
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Adding a funny or interesting detail to a meeting follow-up email can add a personal touch and make the email more engaging :)

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3 Monitor progress and provide feedback

Don't wait until the next meeting to check on the status of the action items and decisions. Monitor the progress of each task and provide feedback and support as needed. You can use a tool like Google Sheets, Airtable, or Monday to create and update a progress tracker that shows the status, owner, and deadline of each action item and decision. You can also schedule regular check-ins with the task owners to see how they are doing, offer help, and acknowledge achievements.

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Tim Simms

Builder of software things and teams that create them! | Engineering Director | Leadership Coach
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I love using tools that provide everyone real-time visibility into the status.. so +1 to Google Sheets or something like Notion. Also, are there ways to incorporate reminders into current processes, so you're not waiting for the next meeting -- daily standup, slack reminders, etc.? The key is to prevent action items from getting lost in the shuffle by preventing them from slipping out-of-sight.

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4 Review and evaluate results

At the beginning of the next meeting, review and evaluate the results of the action items and decisions from the previous meeting. Celebrate the successes, identify the challenges, and discuss the lessons learned. You can also use this opportunity to update or revise the action items and decisions based on the feedback and outcomes. This way, you can ensure that the action items and decisions are aligned with your goals and expectations.

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5 Communicate and document changes

If there are any changes to the action items and decisions, such as new tasks, revised deadlines, or different owners, communicate and document them clearly and promptly. You can use a tool like Slack, Teams, or Zoom to communicate the changes to all the participants and stakeholders. You can also update the meeting summary or minutes, the follow-up email, and the progress tracker to reflect the changes. This way, you can avoid confusion, misunderstanding, and inconsistency.

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6 Follow up until completion

Don't assume that the action items and decisions are done once they are reported or reviewed. Follow up until they are fully completed and verified. You can use a tool like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform to collect feedback and evidence of completion from the task owners and stakeholders. You can also use a tool like Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Canva to create and share a report or presentation that showcases the results and impact of the action items and decisions. This way, you can demonstrate the value and effectiveness of your meetings.

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7 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that donâ€™t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Dragomir D.

Empowering Teams
(edited)
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Microsoft Teams reminders! Think of Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Planner, and Microsoft To Do like your friendly project assistants. You assign tasks during your meeting, like "Sarah, draft the email," "John, create social media graphics," and "Emily, schedule social media posts." Microsoft Teams sends handy reminders - for example, the day before Sarah's email is due, she gets a nudge. John and Emily get reminders too. It's like having a virtual to-do list that keeps your team on the ball, all in one place.

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Directory

How can you follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Assign roles and deadlines

2 Send a follow-up email

3 Monitor progress and provide feedback

4 Review and evaluate results

5 Communicate and document changes

6 Follow up until completion

7 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Leadership

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Directory

How can you follow up on action items and decisions made during meetings?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Assign roles and deadlines

2 Send a follow-up email

3 Monitor progress and provide feedback

4 Review and evaluate results

5 Communicate and document changes

6 Follow up until completion

7 Hereâ€™s what else to consider

Leadership

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

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