Another key aspect of having an effective meeting is capturing the attendance to the meeting. Many folks upon the mention of this cringe a little due to the implications and potential frictions involved. But the value of having an attendance list far outweighs any potential negatives.
Foremost, having an attendance list provides and avenue for people who were unable to attend the meeting, or who weren't directly invited but somehow obtained the minutes, to determine who to ask follow up questions to. Of course the facilitator can be the default in these scenarios, but what if they're on vacation, in a different time zone or maybe even on a different work shift? Having a list of potential people to follow up with, eases the effort to reach out and begin this conversation. And in some circumstances, you won't want to follow up with the facilitator anyway, but instead maybe someone related to a particular project, part of a team or simply someone you already know.
Secondarily, having an attendance list allows some social pressure for attendees to join the meeting. If someone knows that attendance is regularly tracked, then they're more likely to attend not only to be counted, but to ensure that at least socially, they're seen as providing positive momentum for the meeting effort. Remember, attendees always have the option of declining an invite if the meeting has low return on investment for their time.
For those of you who might have originally cringed a bit at the thought of tracking attendance, most of the time this comes down to this action forcing accountability. This can be an awkward spot for many, especially if you're junior, new to a team or if this simply isn't in your nature. But as most hard things go, it's generally just the first few times that are the hardest and then things get easier thereafter. And in the case of meetings, within just a few instances, everyone will understand the expectation that attendance will be taken and this will become a less stressful endeavor.
The other difficultly is that by tracking attendance, you're automatically doing some form of performance management. You're capturing who showed up to do the work and who didn't. Some folks, especially those that might be skating by in their jobs, may not appreciate this level of visibility. Management will have yet another indicator on who's put forth the effort to drive towards the company's or team's deliverables and who hasn't. And although this might be rare, there could be performance management conversations that stem out of this. As hard as these discussions might be, sometimes having them is a positive endeavor. Maybe someone never attends because it conflicts with their kid's school drop off in the mornings or some other personal or business engagement. This can be a lead-in, to maybe adjusting the meeting start time, day or some other compromise or accommodation.
Ultimately by tracking attendance, you're keeping a tight ship so to speak, for your meeting and everyone who's involved. It might be uncomfortable at first, but just like with many other aspects of effective meetings, lots of small actions in the right direction will lead to large gains towards success.