Finding the Right Minute Taker: What Your Board Should Actually Look For
After years of taking minutes for condominium boards, one thing hasn't changed: boards — and sometimes even property managers — aren't always sure what a minute taker actually does, or what to look for when hiring one. We've seen what happens when that gets overlooked entirely: a board forgetting to book a minute taker, then proceeding straight through the meeting with no one there to capture any of it.
Minutes aren't optional. Hiring the right person to take them shouldn't be either.
So, what should a board look for in a minute taker? And just as important, what should a skilled one know to leave out?
Skill, Judgment, and Governance Experience
Good minutes aren't a transcript. A capable minute taker identifies the decisions, resolutions, and action items buried inside a meandering discussion, and summarizes the rest accurately and neutrally — without editorializing and without losing what matters.
That's harder in a condominium boardroom than it sounds. Someone can be an excellent general minute taker and still face a real learning curve on their first condo file. Motions, quorum, conflicts of interest, in-camera discussions, reserve fund matters — these come with their own conventions, and getting them wrong doesn't just look sloppy, it can leave the corporation's record incomplete or inaccurate on the points that matter most.
Virtual meetings have added a new wrinkle. Some condo managers now ask the minute taker to also run the slideshow — advancing the meeting agenda on screen while simultaneously tracking motions and decisions in real time. That's not a reasonable ask. Tracking a board's decisions accurately requires full attention, and splitting that attention with slide-clicking duties is exactly how a motion gets missed or a decision gets recorded incorrectly. A minute taker's job is the record — not screensharing, not tech support. If a meeting needs a slideshow operator, that's a separate role.
Temperament and Independence
Condo board meetings aren't always calm. A minute taker needs to stay neutral and discreet through disagreement, difficult personalities, and the occasional genuinely contentious meeting — while having the confidence to ask for clarification when a motion or decision isn't clear. Guessing isn't an option; an unclear motion recorded incorrectly becomes part of the corporation's permanent record.
Independence matters just as much. The minute taker isn't there to represent management, the board president, or any individual director. They're producing the corporation's record, not anyone's personal account of the meeting — and that distinction should be visible in how they work, not just how they describe themselves.
What Not to Record
This is where the real skill shows up, and it's easy to get wrong in either direction. Recording every heated exchange or inflammatory comment can turn the minutes into a liability — a detailed record of conflict that serves no one. Sanitizing too heavily has the opposite problem: minutes so thin they fail at their basic job, which is preserving what the board decided and the material context necessary to understand the record.
The right balance is a professional judgment call, made in real time, meeting after meeting. It's also one of the harder things to evaluate from the outside — which is exactly why it's worth asking about directly.
We hear from property managers fairly often, and the first questions are almost always about rate and availability. Both matter. But when you're recommending a minute-taking provider to your board, they shouldn't be the deciding factors — price and availability tell you very little about the two things that ultimately protect the corporation's record: judgment and experience.
A Few Questions Worth Asking
Before hiring — or recommending — a minute-taking provider, it's worth asking:
What condominium or governance experience do their minute takers have?
How are minute takers trained?
How do they handle unclear motions or resolutions?
How do they approach contentious discussions?
What confidentiality practices are in place?
Is there backup coverage if the regular minute taker is unavailable?
What quality-control process happens before minutes are delivered?
What turnaround time should the board expect?
The Bottom Line
A good minute taker is easy to overlook when they're doing the job well — which is precisely the point. The measure of a strong one isn't how memorable they are in the room. It's how solid the record looks when someone reads it back two years later.
— Patricia & Katherine
Reviewing your board's minute-taking arrangement?
Let's talk.
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Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional corporate governance advice. While we strive to provide accurate information based on the Ontario Condominium Act, legislation and tribunal rulings are subject to change. Condominium boards should always consult with a qualified condominium lawyer, engineer, or Chartered Professional Accountant before making formal legal or financial decisions for their corporation.
