What is an AGM?

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a mandatory yearly gathering of members of an organization, such as a university society, to discuss and vote on important matters such as approving financial reports, electing new leaders, and setting the agenda for the upcoming year.

For societies, your main focus will be on reviewing the past year and electing new committee members.

Why should we hold an AGM?

Holding an AGM is not mandatory. However, society committees should consider doing so if they have the time to organise one, and enough interest from their members. Here are a few reasons why:

- AGMs provide a platform for members to have their say in the direction and decision-making of the society

- AGMs ensure the transparency and accountability of society committees

- AGMs can aid the sense of community and belonging among members

- AGMs can help to establish goals and objectives for the society’s future

- AGMs can be an opportunity familiarise members with your society constitution, and to consider any potential changes

Actions to Prepare for Your AGM

These are just a few ideas for what you might want to get things ready for your AGM. Again, AGMs are entirely optional, so feel free to take whatever you think would be most helpful from this list, and leave out anything which doesn't feel necessary/relevant to your society.

1. Review Your Constitution

• Review your society aims and objectives
• Check the outline of each committee role – do the nominees know the full description of the role they are being elected for? Do any changes need to be made?
• Familiarise yourself with the safety section of your constitution, make sure this is upheld

2. Create Your Reports for the AGM

Some societies like to create a series of reports to present to members at their AGM, so the membership can get a sense of how the year has gone. Reports which societies often present include the following:

Annual Report

• Recruitment of members - how does your membership compare to last year? Are there any reasons for this?
• Events - plans for future events, and reviewing events from this year
• Participation: are you happy with the level of commitment and attendance from members? How could this be improved?
• Sponsorship and membership fees - does the society need to raise more money?
• Training/development: are the society’s current resources sufficient? Are you happy with your relevant equipment/coaches/teachers/etc?
• Publicity - has the society managed to grow their online presence? What lessons can be take going forward?

Financial Report

• Think about how you can present your finances in a way which will make sense to members
• Compare your balance at the beginning of the year with your current balance, with a breakdown of income and expenditure
• If there are any outstanding debts or loans, members should be made aware

3. Prepare Your Elections

NB: For the full article on how to conduct society elections, please see our Elections and Appointments Guidance (hyperlinked). 

• As per the instructions in the main article, your AGM should take place between the nominations period and the voting period of your election. 
• All nominees must have the opportunity to attend the AGM, and the event must provide equal opportunity for all nominees for each position to present their case for why they should be elected. 
• Each nominee should be invited to prepare a statement about why members should vote for them. These can be circulated to your members beforehand, and/or read out at the event itself.

Advertising Your AGM

Your AGM should be advertised to all society members via the newsletter function in the student leaders' portal, and any other channels which your society uses to communicate with members, such as group chats and social media. 

The announcement itself needs to include:

• The date, time and location of AGM
• An outline of what the AGM will cover
• Contact information for committee, in case members would like to contribute to the AGM outside of the outlined agenda

On the Day

Structure 

Again, AGMs are optional, so this is purely advisory, but here is what we would suggest your AGM looks like.

1. Fifteen-minute grace period at the start to allow for people arriving late, small talk, nominees preparing themselves, etc
2. Make sure the event begins on time – you will need it get through each candidate’s statement and follow-up questions
3. Someone on the current committee should kick-off with a run-down of what the AGM will entail
4. The President will give their annual report
5. Thanks should be given to all the people who helped to make the AGM happen
6. The Treasurer will give their financial report
7. Break for 5/10 mins
8. Hustings: each current committee member will open with a short statement describing their role
9. After the committee member has given their statement, the candidates for their position will then give their statements one by one - these should be timed so that no candidate has any advantage over another (unless they require extra time for a specified reason)
10. Allow time for questions after each nominee has spoken
11. Work your way through the roles, President typically being last - depending on the size of the committee, there should be a couple of five-minute breaks during this section
12. After the hustings has concluded, someone on committee should take members through the voting process: when voting opens, how to vote, when voting closes, and when they will find out about who has been elected

Suitable Space

• The space for the AGM should have enough seating, and a separate space where the nominees can to speak (ideally a stage)
• It is suitable to hold your AGM in an off-campus space, however this must be appropriately risk-assessed
• As with any society activity, AGMs cannot be held in a private residence, such as a committee member’s house
• We strongly recommend not having alcohol at an AGM as it could lead to heightened risk of aggression

Behaviour

It is strongly recommended that behavioural expectations for the meeting are laid out at the start, and it is made clear that anyone who needs to leave at any point is free to do so. These expectations should include:

• Zero tolerance of inappropriate questions or comments from members to nominees, and vice versa
• Zero tolerance of discrimination and bullying
• Appropriate measures to deal with any aggressive or inappropriate behaviour should be included in your risk assessment for the event, such as calling campus security

If you have any further questions about holding an AGM, please don't hesitate to email the activities team at activities@exeterguild.com.