Chapter 6: Clear meeting venue

6.1 Meeting materials sorting

When a meeting ends, the room is full of paper and small items: copies of the agenda, reports, handwritten notes, draft minutes, signed attendance sheets, name tents and loose handouts. Sorting means separating these into groups before anything is filed, shared, stored or thrown away, so that each item gets the handling it deserves. The secretary or administrative assistant who sorts carelessly can leak a salary proposal into a waste bin or lose a signed document among scrap paper.

Example: after the quarterly management meeting of a hypothetical logistics company, the table holds a fleet maintenance report, a disciplinary case summary, a supplier price comparison, blank notepads and used pens. The disciplinary summary and the price comparison must be sorted apart from the notepads and pens at once, because they are the items that can do harm if they are seen by the wrong person.

6.1.1 What to consider when sorting meeting materials basing on confidentiality

Confidentiality is how strictly an item must be protected from people who are not entitled to see it. It is the first test applied to every item, because the answer decides where the item goes next: a locked file, an ordinary file, a recycling box or a shredder. Work from the top of the table to the bottom, picking up every item and asking the same questions.

Consider the following when sorting.

• Classification marking: Check the header, footer or cover for words such as Confidential, Restricted or Internal use only. A marked document keeps its level until the person who issued it changes it.
• Who was entitled to receive it: Papers prepared for the chairperson or for named members only are not treated like general handouts. If a copy is numbered or named, account for that exact copy.
• Personal information: Staff salaries, appraisals, disciplinary matters, medical or family details and contact details are personal data. Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019 requires organisations to protect personal data, so these papers go to a secure file and never to open waste.
• Commercial sensitivity: Supplier prices, tender evaluation scores, strategy notes and unpublished plans can damage the organisation if a competitor or supplier sees them.
• Draft or final status: Unapproved draft minutes and working notes may be incomplete or wrong. Keep them controlled until the approved version replaces them.
• Need to keep: Ask whether the item is a record that must be kept, such as a signed attendance sheet, or only a convenience copy that can be destroyed once the master is filed.
• Extra copies: Count copies against the number issued. A missing numbered copy is reported to the secretary or chairperson before the room is released.
• Items left in odd places: Check under chairs, in meeting folders, on the projector table and in the printer tray, because confidential papers are often left there.

Once each item has been judged, place it in one of four groups.

Never sort by guessing. When you cannot tell whether an item is confidential, treat it as confidential until the chairperson or the issuing officer confirms the level.