Annual General Meeting

All local institutes across the UK, with the exception of London, hold their Annual General Meeting in March, April or May.

Numerous decisions are taken at these meetings, including the election of a president, deputy president and all other members of council.

The institute’s annual report and accounts will be discussed and adopted. The new president also has the opportunity to discuss their plans and key objectives for the coming 12 months.

The AGM gives your members a voice in relation to the running of their local institute and the associated local membership proposition, allowing them to ask any questions to council regarding the direction the institute will take in the future. So be prepared.

Knowing what to do during the AGM as both incoming and outgoing president is essential to make sure the AGM runs smoothly and each institute should work closely with their secretary to make sure the meeting runs smoothly.

An overview of a secretary’s typical responsibilities can be viewed here.

To remove the requirement for nomination forms, hold a council meeting prior to your AGM to discuss forthcoming roles. This should be held after your eflyer notification is issued, in case any new members wish to join council. Agree your council roles, subject to ratification at your AGM, ensuring that this receives a majority council vote and is minuted. This process removes the requirement for nomination forms.

Key documents for running your AGM can be found below. If you have any questions at all please contact your RMM.

The regional membership will promote the importance of your AGM within The Journal giving members forewarning of your institutes AGM date.

Following the AGM a number of forms and pieces of information known as annual returns will need to be submitted prior to 31st May. This includes:

  • officer returns form
  • annual dinner date
  • annual accounts
  • AGM minutes
  • CPD accreditation renewal
  • next year’s AGM date.

Running your AGM online?

If you are running your AGM online - we advise the following:

Prepare – find the right platform for your institute and make sure you are aware of how the platform works in order to get the best out of your online AGM. Try ZOOM, SKYPE or MICROSOFT TEAMS - your RMM is on hand to offer advice.
Practice run – ask people with speaking parts to attend a practice run of the AGM so everyone feels comfortable and is aware of what is expected on the day.
Make your attendees aware - remember to let your council members and members who want to attend your AGM aware of your platform by sending relevant links and passwords a couple of days before your AGM. We advise you log in ten minutes before your start time.
Keep attendees engaged - a visual in the background could be considered to engage with attendees. This could be a simple presentation – giving an overview of key speakers, immediate Past President achievements, objectives & goals of the incoming President or information or how to get in contact / involved.
Housekeeping is key - set rules out at the start of the meeting for example: 'All attendees booked online will have received a copy of last year’s annual report, today’s agenda and last years minutes by email', 'All attendees will be muted with no web cam during formalities', 'To ask a question please use Q&A or chat – we will read out your name and question and then answer at an appropriate time to do so' etc
Stick to the working agenda – this will achieve your set formalities. Allow time at the end for any informal chat, this would be an ideal time for members to engage.
More hands make less work - there can be a lot going on, ensure there is someone taking the minutes separately to someone controlling the slides.
Record the meeting if possible - this could help to refer to what was said.

Central Support

Your Regional Membership Manager is your key contact - any support you require please get in touch and we can discuss how the team can help.

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