Zoom AGM meeting

[MuddyOldEngineer]

Afternoon everyone

This coming Saturday (04 July) I am due to attend a shareholder meeting as 1 of 11 shareholders in a limited property management company. The individual who has called the meeting is, shall we say, a bit scatty and tends not to think anything through. However they put through a letter calling the meeting instead of doing the sensible thing and waiting until a physical meeting could be organised, so we are where we are.

Among a lot of blunders, she has not nominated anyone to take the minutes of the meeting. I am second guessing when I say that the most likely outcome is that a recording of the meeting will be used as an alternative.

As someone who has not used Zoom for this purpose before, I emailed Zoom customer inquiries a few days ago but have had nothing in return. Its against a tight timeline that I am asking a few obvious questions. If anyone has any answers to the questions below or any additional information, a reply with a link to the relevant document / site would be greatly appreciated. ( I cannot stress enough how strained the meeting is going to be so anything I decide to raise will have to be backed by links)

1) As this upcoming call is scheduled for two hour business meeting, will there be a requirement to pay to Zoom and if so who is responsible to pay for it?

2) Is there an obligation to notify all attendees that the meeting will be recorded?

3) In advance of the meeting, is there a legal requirement to get all attendees written/email permission to agree to a recording as an alternative to producing minutes?

If there are any other blindingly obvious points that I need to be aware of, again any help would be great

Cheers

MoE

 

[pimpernel]

Having attended a number of Zoom meetings including an AGM here is my take on what you are asking.

1. Zoom is free for public users for up to 45 mins, companies and Charities to my knowledge need to have a subscription which is about £16 per month. That said it has been known for companies to use it and to ring off at the 45 min stage and then log in again.
2. Yes, all attendees need to told its recorded, I would be seriously unimpressed if I found out after the event. There is a potential legal minefield here if it happens.
3. A head of the meeting all attendees need the standard agenda, last meetings minutes and any variation to the meeting will need to be communicated at that stage.
If you have concerns you could when you accept the meeting ask how minutes will be taken, that will flush her out!

Enjoy your Zoom, be careful not to eyeball them and you are hard pressed to understand the body language, for me it's a bit like being one of the Old Chaps in the Muppet's!

 

[sniper_bob]

We had a Board meeting on Zoom last month. The company sec organised a 15 minute dress rehearsal two days prior so anyone unfamiliar with the platform could get to use the mute button, waving hand and thumbs up buttons etc. 26 attendees, 2 hours - all went off without a hitch. Very important you have an agenda, last meeting minutes and any reports to be presented a week in advance. If you can't trust the co-ord to sort it out in an efficient manner best to step in and get a delay rather than risk an omnishambles.

 

[Mr Happy]

As others have said

1. the organiser should have a paid account at zoom, as it is 2 hours with XX attendees Zoom will not have let them organise this without having that subscritpion so you are golden Or should be..

2. I think anyone can record the meeting onto their HD, not just the organiser. So crack on. Failing that use your iphone besides the PC to record the audio. The pain for me for minutes is who has to write the ******* things.

3. I think Zoom sign up process includes the recording bit so no need to go down that route for yourself.

also

don't expect a reply from zoom, theyre too busy counting their $$$$ after the Covid bonanza.

Lastly,

If the meeting is going to be strained, you can always invite outside counsel to join you in room to hear and listen. Or maybe into the meeting itself formally.

 

[MuddyOldEngineer]

We had a Board meeting on Zoom last month. The company sec organised a 15 minute dress rehearsal two days prior so anyone unfamiliar with the platform could get to use the mute button, waving hand and thumbs up buttons etc. 26 attendees, 2 hours - all went off without a hitch. Very important you have an agenda, last meeting minutes and any reports to be presented a week in advance. If you can't trust the co-ord to sort it out in an efficient manner best to step in and get a delay rather than risk an omnishambles.

Thanks to you and Pimpernel for the feedback

Believe me I have emailed her about dozens of little details that she has overlooked and its fallen on deaf ears. At this point I have all the other aspects of the structure and details of a proper meeting squared away, Zoom is the only part that I haven't got to grips with.

In a nutshell its going to be a train wreck but the person who called it has a long history of pushing an agenda. It sounds mercenary to type this but at this point all I can do is step back, gather all the information I need to chair a proper meeting, and then post disaster, pick up the pieces and do it properly a second time.

For anyone else reading this, please have a look at my original post and questions. I need to find a link to sites or documentation to back up the questions.

 

[Mr Happy]

I think you are missing what has been said, you don't need to worry about the meeting length, zoom recording announcement or written permission as this is all in the Zoom permissions.

If you would like, you can jump on a zoom with me and test the record process?

 

[MuddyOldEngineer]

I think you are missing what has been said, you don't need to worry about the meeting length, zoom recording announcement or written permission as this is all in the Zoom permissions.

If you would like, you can jump on a zoom with me and test the record process?

I am not missing anything, I said in my original post that I would like a link to anything that could clarify the situation.
Do you have a link to Zoom permissions that you could upload ?

Thanks

 

[Mr Happy]

no I don't its there when each user downloads and installs Zoom, for everyone to see. For those that haven't DL and are joining over the web it probably is.

The point, for the third time, is that your concerns are unfounded and Zoom has it covered in the small print. If YOU want to prove for someone else that they have to do it, then you are asking us to prove a negative. As I understand it, it is YOU that thinks more should be done, but you won't accept anyone's word that it doesn't need it...

Anyway using google and typing Zoom+GDPR tells you everything you have already been told, but now you have proof that we're not lying to you Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

 

[Border_Reiver]

I was involved in a Microsoft Teams meeting a couple of days ago and the E Mail detailing the Agenda also contained a statement that the meeting was to be recorded and stored securely for easier creation of Minutes and after the Minutes had been approved the recording would be deleted .

I have also used Zoom for meetings .

Both packages seem easy to use mind you we too did trial runs before the first real use to eliminate any initial user problems .

 

[FrosteeMARIA]

We've got institutional site wide licencing for Zoom - I'm just trying to locate the GDPR statement

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[MuddyOldEngineer]

Thread bump

Thanks to everyone for replying. Just to bring this thread up to date, the planned online meeting mentioned above was a train wreck with the individual who called it throwing a strop and flouncing quite soon in to the meeting.

That means I have stepped up and called a meeting for the near future. To avoid a repetition of the last mess, in addition to the agenda, I am looking to push out some rules (etiquette) to make sure everyone acts like a grown up when the next meeting is held.

I have looked at the first 2 pages on google and cherry picked the most pertinent points. But for the most part they all bring up the same points again and again.

For those of you reading this, especially those who have been involved in organisation or chairing online meetings, do you have any etiquette recommendations that would have been beneficial for everyone prior to your meeting being held ?

Cheers

 

[XPara Mugg]

A few lessons to be learned here perhaps.

I did wait until the grown-ups had had their chance to be serious.

 

[bobthebuilder]

Thread bump

Thanks to everyone for replying. Just to bring this thread up to date, the planned online meeting mentioned above was a train wreck with the individual who called it throwing a strop and flouncing quite soon in to the meeting.

That means I have stepped up and called a meeting for the near future. To avoid a repetition of the last mess, in addition to the agenda, I am looking to push out some rules (etiquette) to make sure everyone acts like a grown up when the next meeting is held.

I have looked at the first 2 pages on google and cherry picked the most pertinent points. But for the most part they all bring up the same points again and again.

For those of you reading this, especially those who have been involved in organisation or chairing online meetings, do you have any etiquette recommendations that would have been beneficial for everyone prior to your meeting being held ?

Cheers

Does the company not have a constitution that defines how meetings are to be conducted? What rights does the individual who called the meeting have to call a meeting? Is the meeting in accordance with the constitution?

I’m assuming this is a management company limited by guarantee to manage the common parts of a development in which all owners are shareholders? Are there not covenants to the Freehold which define responsibilities?

The default is The Companies Act 2006 and its provisions for members meetings. Any meeting not organised in accordance with the Act has no legal standing.

I’ve been here myself; I own a house in a development of 55. Rarely in 20 years have the Directors acted constitutionally and on several occasions they have acted illegally.

 

[MuddyOldEngineer]

Does the company not have a constitution that defines how meetings are to be conducted? What rights does the individual who called the meeting have to call a meeting? Is the meeting in accordance with the constitution?

I’m assuming this is a management company limited by guarantee to manage the common parts of a development in which all owners are shareholders? Are there not covenants to the Freehold which define responsibilities?

The default is The Companies Act 2006 and its provisions for members meetings. Any meeting not organised in accordance with the Act has no legal standing.

I’ve been here myself; I own a house in a development of 55. Rarely in 20 years have the Directors acted constitutionally and on several occasions they have acted illegally.

Yes its a management company for a development of flats, all owners are shareholders and there is a covenant. We have a manager director who ensures that what we do is in accordance with the Companies Act.

As I said above I have been left to organise what is no more than a (informal) General Meeting. The purpose of this is to get through a lot things that have built up due to covid and a number of new owners over the last 12-18 months. We want to clarify -confirm a lot of points raised about our residence.

The problem with the last informal meeting was the individual who called it has, shall we say, issues with a few of her neighbours, so it descended into a public vendetta very quickly.

Myself and other directors have been a lot more sensible and taken our time getting the upcoming meeting organised. As I will be pushing out the agenda, I would like to lay down some common sense points on how the informal meeting will go.

If you have any points outside of the covenant and companies act, i.e. more pragmatic than legal, that you have picked up from your previous meetings, it would be great

Cheers

 

[bobthebuilder]

Yes its a management company for a development of flats, all owners are shareholders and there is a covenant. We have a manager director who ensures that what we do is in accordance with the Companies Act.

As I said above I have been left to organise what is no more than a (informal) General Meeting. The purpose of this is to get through a lot things that have built up due to covid and a number of new owners over the last 12-18 months. We want to clarify -confirm a lot of points raised about our residence.

The problem with the last informal meeting was the individual who called it has, shall we say, issues with a few of her neighbours, so it descended into a public vendetta very quickly.

Myself and other directors have been a lot more sensible and taken our time getting the upcoming meeting organised. As I will be pushing out the agenda, I would like to lay down some common sense points on how the informal meeting will go.

If you have any points outside of the covenant and companies act, i.e. more pragmatic than legal, that you have picked up from your previous meetings, it would be great

Cheers

I’ve owned three properties over the years with similar structures and have twice been a Director. I think the biggest issue I’ve seen is lack of clarity of what the company is for. I’ve seen Directors act as bullying enforcers and I’ve seen Members float the most bizarre grievances. I’ve also seen basic financial incompetence break a Company.

So my advice would be to act entirely in accordance with your constitution. Address only those issues that are the Company’s responsibility and shut down side debate that isn’t and do so only in the forum prescribed by your constitution. You are there to manage the building and it’s common parts in accordance with your constitution, not to run a residents association that gets involved with residents neighbourly disputes. If the other members don’t like it, they can always vote you out as Directors at the AGM and stand themselves.

So pragmatic approach; agenda in accordance with your constitution. Call for AOB in accordance with your constitution and don’t allow points that aren’t the Company’s business. Directors well prepared for any reports they are to make. Effective chairmanship; the Chair needs to be crystal clear on the Company’s responsibilities and needs to be forceful in holding the meeting on agenda. Basic stuff really.

Bottom line, there’s no such thing as an informal company meeting; either it’s a company meeting run in accordance with the constitution or it’s an informal meeting of owners / residents that has nothing to do with the Company.