What is a Committee Chair? (Overview, Roles, and Responsibilities)

The job of a committee chair is to oversee the committee’s activities. To do so, they must be familiar with the committee’s objectives, goals, and processes. They must also understand the role of each committee member and how they contribute to the group’s overall success. A good committee chair should communicate effectively with other committee members and work collaboratively.

The following are some of the critical responsibilities of a committee chair:

1. Plan Committee Meetings

The committee chair is responsible for planning committee meetings. This requires identifying the date and time of the next meeting, whether it should be held remotely or in-person, and a location (if needed). To ensure the meeting runs smoothly, the chairperson must also create an agenda and distribute it prior to the meeting. 

2. Schedule Cross-Committee Meetings

The chairperson is also required to schedule any necessary cross-committee meetings, which involves collaborating with other committee chairs to plan. These meetings are often used to discuss topics that require input from multiple committees.

For instance, a marketing board might want to hear feedback from the fundraising team regarding the effectiveness of current advertising campaigns. Similarly, a finance committee might want to know how much money will be needed to fund future projects.

3. Prepare and Distribute Meeting Minutes

After every meeting, the chairperson should prepare a summary of the proceedings. This document serves as a record of the meeting and helps keep everyone up-to-date on the latest developments. It also provides a handy reference tool for action items and future discussions. In addition to preparing the minutes, the chairperson should send copies of the minutes to all attendees.

4. Distribute and Manage Committee Documents

As the chairperson, you’ll need to manage documents related to the committee. These documents include reports, presentations, and other materials that help the committee reach its goals. To do so, you’ll need to organize them into folders and subfolders. Here are some things to think about when organizing these files:

• Keep all documents organized within their respective folders.
• Create separate folders for each project.
• Create folders for different types of documents. For example, you may want to create separate folders for presentation slides, meeting minutes, and financial statements.

5. Leverage Board Meeting Technology

An excellent committee chair will always strive to provide value to the committee members. That means being approachable and accessible, facilitating discussions, and helping the group stay focused on the task at hand. 

A board meeting technology solution like OnBoard makes it hassle-free for committee chairs to plan, run, and facilitate committee meetings. As a top-class board management software, OnBoard comes packed with features that streamline boardwork. From creating customized meeting templates to securely storing documents, OnBoard helps committees achieve more. 

Download OnBoard’s free template for board meeting minutes to enhance your post-board meeting communication.