Can a client force me to transfer my (digital) notes to him? [closed]

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I'm in a lot of meetings on a daily basis. So I usually take notes to help me remember what we discussed during the meeting and to have a backlog of any tasks I might need to perform.

Recently I've been taking digital notes with OneNote (in stead of just writing them down in a paper notebook). Everyone knows I take digital notes (it is kind of hard not to notice) and so often I'm asked to share my notes on a particular meeting because my colleagues didn't take any, or insufficient notes. Considering they always ask in a friendly manner, I'm happy to share my notes with them.

But, this has got me thinking; can my client force me to hand over my notes to them (against my will)?

Some background information:

• I am an independent contractor for my client


• I work on my own laptop (professionally, provided by my own company)


• Most of the information that is discussed during meetings is of a sensitive nature. Thus, I take care to protect my notes and I only share my notes with colleagues who are also entitled to this information.


• I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement so I cannot share the notes with anyone else (other than people working for my client who have my level of authorization), but this is not the subject of the question nor does my NDA or contract say anything about me having to share my notes with my client.


• The fact that my notes are digital are not that relevant to the question, the same would apply to paper notes, but digital notes are a lot easier to share (and considering my bad handwriting) a lot easier to read


• Some of my notes might contain personal thoughts or tasks. Nothing NSFW or anything like that, but things I'd prefer not to share with my client.

meetings clients

share|improve this question

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

closed as off-topic by gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan Aug 26 at 16:01

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." – gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:44
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 12:51
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:54
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 13:03
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
  – IDrinkandIKnowThings
  Aug 24 at 17:48
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

1

I'm in a lot of meetings on a daily basis. So I usually take notes to help me remember what we discussed during the meeting and to have a backlog of any tasks I might need to perform.

Recently I've been taking digital notes with OneNote (in stead of just writing them down in a paper notebook). Everyone knows I take digital notes (it is kind of hard not to notice) and so often I'm asked to share my notes on a particular meeting because my colleagues didn't take any, or insufficient notes. Considering they always ask in a friendly manner, I'm happy to share my notes with them.

But, this has got me thinking; can my client force me to hand over my notes to them (against my will)?

Some background information:

• I am an independent contractor for my client


• I work on my own laptop (professionally, provided by my own company)


• Most of the information that is discussed during meetings is of a sensitive nature. Thus, I take care to protect my notes and I only share my notes with colleagues who are also entitled to this information.


• I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement so I cannot share the notes with anyone else (other than people working for my client who have my level of authorization), but this is not the subject of the question nor does my NDA or contract say anything about me having to share my notes with my client.


• The fact that my notes are digital are not that relevant to the question, the same would apply to paper notes, but digital notes are a lot easier to share (and considering my bad handwriting) a lot easier to read


• Some of my notes might contain personal thoughts or tasks. Nothing NSFW or anything like that, but things I'd prefer not to share with my client.

meetings clients

share|improve this question

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

closed as off-topic by gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan Aug 26 at 16:01

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." – gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:44
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 12:51
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:54
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 13:03
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
  – IDrinkandIKnowThings
  Aug 24 at 17:48
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

1

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

1

1

I'm in a lot of meetings on a daily basis. So I usually take notes to help me remember what we discussed during the meeting and to have a backlog of any tasks I might need to perform.

Recently I've been taking digital notes with OneNote (in stead of just writing them down in a paper notebook). Everyone knows I take digital notes (it is kind of hard not to notice) and so often I'm asked to share my notes on a particular meeting because my colleagues didn't take any, or insufficient notes. Considering they always ask in a friendly manner, I'm happy to share my notes with them.

But, this has got me thinking; can my client force me to hand over my notes to them (against my will)?

Some background information:

• I am an independent contractor for my client


• I work on my own laptop (professionally, provided by my own company)


• Most of the information that is discussed during meetings is of a sensitive nature. Thus, I take care to protect my notes and I only share my notes with colleagues who are also entitled to this information.


• I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement so I cannot share the notes with anyone else (other than people working for my client who have my level of authorization), but this is not the subject of the question nor does my NDA or contract say anything about me having to share my notes with my client.


• The fact that my notes are digital are not that relevant to the question, the same would apply to paper notes, but digital notes are a lot easier to share (and considering my bad handwriting) a lot easier to read


• Some of my notes might contain personal thoughts or tasks. Nothing NSFW or anything like that, but things I'd prefer not to share with my client.

meetings clients

share|improve this question

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

I'm in a lot of meetings on a daily basis. So I usually take notes to help me remember what we discussed during the meeting and to have a backlog of any tasks I might need to perform.

Recently I've been taking digital notes with OneNote (in stead of just writing them down in a paper notebook). Everyone knows I take digital notes (it is kind of hard not to notice) and so often I'm asked to share my notes on a particular meeting because my colleagues didn't take any, or insufficient notes. Considering they always ask in a friendly manner, I'm happy to share my notes with them.

But, this has got me thinking; can my client force me to hand over my notes to them (against my will)?

Some background information:

• I am an independent contractor for my client


• I work on my own laptop (professionally, provided by my own company)


• Most of the information that is discussed during meetings is of a sensitive nature. Thus, I take care to protect my notes and I only share my notes with colleagues who are also entitled to this information.


• I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement so I cannot share the notes with anyone else (other than people working for my client who have my level of authorization), but this is not the subject of the question nor does my NDA or contract say anything about me having to share my notes with my client.


• The fact that my notes are digital are not that relevant to the question, the same would apply to paper notes, but digital notes are a lot easier to share (and considering my bad handwriting) a lot easier to read


• Some of my notes might contain personal thoughts or tasks. Nothing NSFW or anything like that, but things I'd prefer not to share with my client.

meetings clients

share|improve this question

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

asked Aug 24 at 12:39

ElGringoMagnifico

3651311

3651311

closed as off-topic by gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan Aug 26 at 16:01

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." – gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

closed as off-topic by gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan Aug 26 at 16:01

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." – gnat, IDrinkandIKnowThings, DarkCygnus, The Wandering Dev Manager, OldPadawan

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:44
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 12:51
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:54
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 13:03
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
  – IDrinkandIKnowThings
  Aug 24 at 17:48
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:44
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 12:51
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
  – Snow♦
  Aug 24 at 12:54
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
  – ElGringoMagnifico
  Aug 24 at 13:03
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
  – IDrinkandIKnowThings
  Aug 24 at 17:48
  

  
  
  
  

3

3

Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
– Snow♦
Aug 24 at 12:44

Why would you want to withhold information that's already been discussed in the meeting with the people who were actually in the meeting?
– Snow♦
Aug 24 at 12:44

I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
– ElGringoMagnifico
Aug 24 at 12:51

I wouldn't necessarily. But as I said in the question, I might have personal notes in there that are of no concern to them. Some employee of my client might request to see my notes while they might not have access to that level of information (my client is the company, not the people that work for the company). It could be any of a number of other reasons too; at this point I don't have a specific reason in mind.
– ElGringoMagnifico
Aug 24 at 12:51

5

5

So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
– Snow♦
Aug 24 at 12:54

So you somehow can't remove your own personal notes before distributing the rest of the minutes? I guess I'm just misunderstanding things here.
– Snow♦
Aug 24 at 12:54

For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
– ElGringoMagnifico
Aug 24 at 13:03

For the sake of the question: imagine I can't. In reality: yes, I would be able to. The thing is that I have such a high number of notes that it would take a lot of time to correct them for the particular person asking for the notes. Consider that I'm asking about transferring all of my notes to the client (when my job is finished for example) instead of just the notes for one meeting. If an employee would ask me to transfer all of my notes I would just rather decline (because of the amount of work that would be) rather than verifying and adapting all of my notes.
– ElGringoMagnifico
Aug 24 at 13:03

1

1

I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
– IDrinkandIKnowThings
Aug 24 at 17:48

I think as asked this question is off topic. But if you were to ask how to address your client demanding to see your notes it would be on topic.
– IDrinkandIKnowThings
Aug 24 at 17:48

 | 
show 3 more comments

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

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up vote
15
down vote



accepted

Taking notes for yourself is very different than creating official notes for a meeting. My personal notes often contain private thoughts, lots of abbreviations, strange pointers to related issues and references to context that's incomprehensible to anyone else.

Official notes are something very different: Good notes have a consistent format, contain list of participants, agenda, issues discussed, decisions, action items, next steps, etc. That's a sizable chunk of work. If you are asked to do this, you should allocate official work time for it (and bill it accordingly).

IMO a decent reply to the request could be

I don't think it makes sense to share my personal notes. I use a
personalized style of note taking that would be really hard to read by
anyone else and would hardly make any sense to you. If we want to have official meeting notes, we should
decide on format and requirements of the notes and figure out the best
way to go about it. If you want me to be the note taker, I will have
to add this to my task list, since it typically takes an extra half hour
or so to properly format, organize and publish good notes.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
  – Neuromancer
  Aug 25 at 13:19
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

As a general rule you should never hand over rough or draft anything. Someone who doesn't like you or your company could obtain a copy and claim it's an example of the shoddy work you do. You shouldn't even give them to colleagues who "ask in a friendly manner." You shouldn't dig in your heels and refuse, though. Just tell them your notes need smoothing, and they'll have to wait.

As for whether they can force you: they can't, unless there's something in your contract that specifically says what you should hand over. In Government contracts it's common for the contractor to provide a data accession list, a list of the tangible data products prepared in the course of the contract that aren't required to be delivered. The government, for a price, can order copies of them.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Excellent first sentence
  – Kilisi
  Aug 25 at 8:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

One is a neutral / objective profession or job description (secretary, minute / note taker) the other is your personal notes.

The former is expected to inform all attendees / non-attendees, the latter is NOT.

If someone asks, you may still agree out of courtesy.

BUT:

Always create a transcript of your notes more in the form as one would expect from a note taker (remove all personal remarks etc.)

1) it is a more professional format

2) unless specified by contract you're not obliged to disclose your opinions or personal thoughts you wrote down.

NDA's often have a clause however to destroy or deliver all data / copies after the project, so follow that contract carefully.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

add a comment | 

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

Taking notes for yourself is very different than creating official notes for a meeting. My personal notes often contain private thoughts, lots of abbreviations, strange pointers to related issues and references to context that's incomprehensible to anyone else.

Official notes are something very different: Good notes have a consistent format, contain list of participants, agenda, issues discussed, decisions, action items, next steps, etc. That's a sizable chunk of work. If you are asked to do this, you should allocate official work time for it (and bill it accordingly).

IMO a decent reply to the request could be

I don't think it makes sense to share my personal notes. I use a
personalized style of note taking that would be really hard to read by
anyone else and would hardly make any sense to you. If we want to have official meeting notes, we should
decide on format and requirements of the notes and figure out the best
way to go about it. If you want me to be the note taker, I will have
to add this to my task list, since it typically takes an extra half hour
or so to properly format, organize and publish good notes.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
  – Neuromancer
  Aug 25 at 13:19
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

Taking notes for yourself is very different than creating official notes for a meeting. My personal notes often contain private thoughts, lots of abbreviations, strange pointers to related issues and references to context that's incomprehensible to anyone else.

Official notes are something very different: Good notes have a consistent format, contain list of participants, agenda, issues discussed, decisions, action items, next steps, etc. That's a sizable chunk of work. If you are asked to do this, you should allocate official work time for it (and bill it accordingly).

IMO a decent reply to the request could be

I don't think it makes sense to share my personal notes. I use a
personalized style of note taking that would be really hard to read by
anyone else and would hardly make any sense to you. If we want to have official meeting notes, we should
decide on format and requirements of the notes and figure out the best
way to go about it. If you want me to be the note taker, I will have
to add this to my task list, since it typically takes an extra half hour
or so to properly format, organize and publish good notes.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
  – Neuromancer
  Aug 25 at 13:19
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

up vote
15
down vote



accepted

Taking notes for yourself is very different than creating official notes for a meeting. My personal notes often contain private thoughts, lots of abbreviations, strange pointers to related issues and references to context that's incomprehensible to anyone else.

Official notes are something very different: Good notes have a consistent format, contain list of participants, agenda, issues discussed, decisions, action items, next steps, etc. That's a sizable chunk of work. If you are asked to do this, you should allocate official work time for it (and bill it accordingly).

IMO a decent reply to the request could be

I don't think it makes sense to share my personal notes. I use a
personalized style of note taking that would be really hard to read by
anyone else and would hardly make any sense to you. If we want to have official meeting notes, we should
decide on format and requirements of the notes and figure out the best
way to go about it. If you want me to be the note taker, I will have
to add this to my task list, since it typically takes an extra half hour
or so to properly format, organize and publish good notes.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

Taking notes for yourself is very different than creating official notes for a meeting. My personal notes often contain private thoughts, lots of abbreviations, strange pointers to related issues and references to context that's incomprehensible to anyone else.

Official notes are something very different: Good notes have a consistent format, contain list of participants, agenda, issues discussed, decisions, action items, next steps, etc. That's a sizable chunk of work. If you are asked to do this, you should allocate official work time for it (and bill it accordingly).

IMO a decent reply to the request could be

I don't think it makes sense to share my personal notes. I use a
personalized style of note taking that would be really hard to read by
anyone else and would hardly make any sense to you. If we want to have official meeting notes, we should
decide on format and requirements of the notes and figure out the best
way to go about it. If you want me to be the note taker, I will have
to add this to my task list, since it typically takes an extra half hour
or so to properly format, organize and publish good notes.

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answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

answered Aug 24 at 13:11

Hilmar

23.3k65772

23.3k65772

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
  – Neuromancer
  Aug 25 at 13:19
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
  – Neuromancer
  Aug 25 at 13:19
  

  
  
  
  

Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
– Neuromancer
Aug 25 at 13:19

Good point but an expensive contractor is not very cost-effective as a note taker suggest they use a Secretarial /Support resource to do this and doing notes/minutes will take longer than 1/2 an hour for any non trivial meeting.
– Neuromancer
Aug 25 at 13:19

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

As a general rule you should never hand over rough or draft anything. Someone who doesn't like you or your company could obtain a copy and claim it's an example of the shoddy work you do. You shouldn't even give them to colleagues who "ask in a friendly manner." You shouldn't dig in your heels and refuse, though. Just tell them your notes need smoothing, and they'll have to wait.

As for whether they can force you: they can't, unless there's something in your contract that specifically says what you should hand over. In Government contracts it's common for the contractor to provide a data accession list, a list of the tangible data products prepared in the course of the contract that aren't required to be delivered. The government, for a price, can order copies of them.

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answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Excellent first sentence
  – Kilisi
  Aug 25 at 8:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

As a general rule you should never hand over rough or draft anything. Someone who doesn't like you or your company could obtain a copy and claim it's an example of the shoddy work you do. You shouldn't even give them to colleagues who "ask in a friendly manner." You shouldn't dig in your heels and refuse, though. Just tell them your notes need smoothing, and they'll have to wait.

As for whether they can force you: they can't, unless there's something in your contract that specifically says what you should hand over. In Government contracts it's common for the contractor to provide a data accession list, a list of the tangible data products prepared in the course of the contract that aren't required to be delivered. The government, for a price, can order copies of them.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Excellent first sentence
  – Kilisi
  Aug 25 at 8:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

up vote
3
down vote

As a general rule you should never hand over rough or draft anything. Someone who doesn't like you or your company could obtain a copy and claim it's an example of the shoddy work you do. You shouldn't even give them to colleagues who "ask in a friendly manner." You shouldn't dig in your heels and refuse, though. Just tell them your notes need smoothing, and they'll have to wait.

As for whether they can force you: they can't, unless there's something in your contract that specifically says what you should hand over. In Government contracts it's common for the contractor to provide a data accession list, a list of the tangible data products prepared in the course of the contract that aren't required to be delivered. The government, for a price, can order copies of them.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

As a general rule you should never hand over rough or draft anything. Someone who doesn't like you or your company could obtain a copy and claim it's an example of the shoddy work you do. You shouldn't even give them to colleagues who "ask in a friendly manner." You shouldn't dig in your heels and refuse, though. Just tell them your notes need smoothing, and they'll have to wait.

As for whether they can force you: they can't, unless there's something in your contract that specifically says what you should hand over. In Government contracts it's common for the contractor to provide a data accession list, a list of the tangible data products prepared in the course of the contract that aren't required to be delivered. The government, for a price, can order copies of them.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

answered Aug 24 at 20:19

stretch

887210

887210

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Excellent first sentence
  – Kilisi
  Aug 25 at 8:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Excellent first sentence
  – Kilisi
  Aug 25 at 8:46
  

  
  
  
  

Excellent first sentence
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 8:46

Excellent first sentence
– Kilisi
Aug 25 at 8:46

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

One is a neutral / objective profession or job description (secretary, minute / note taker) the other is your personal notes.

The former is expected to inform all attendees / non-attendees, the latter is NOT.

If someone asks, you may still agree out of courtesy.

BUT:

Always create a transcript of your notes more in the form as one would expect from a note taker (remove all personal remarks etc.)

1) it is a more professional format

2) unless specified by contract you're not obliged to disclose your opinions or personal thoughts you wrote down.

NDA's often have a clause however to destroy or deliver all data / copies after the project, so follow that contract carefully.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

One is a neutral / objective profession or job description (secretary, minute / note taker) the other is your personal notes.

The former is expected to inform all attendees / non-attendees, the latter is NOT.

If someone asks, you may still agree out of courtesy.

BUT:

Always create a transcript of your notes more in the form as one would expect from a note taker (remove all personal remarks etc.)

1) it is a more professional format

2) unless specified by contract you're not obliged to disclose your opinions or personal thoughts you wrote down.

NDA's often have a clause however to destroy or deliver all data / copies after the project, so follow that contract carefully.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

up vote
1
down vote

One is a neutral / objective profession or job description (secretary, minute / note taker) the other is your personal notes.

The former is expected to inform all attendees / non-attendees, the latter is NOT.

If someone asks, you may still agree out of courtesy.

BUT:

Always create a transcript of your notes more in the form as one would expect from a note taker (remove all personal remarks etc.)

1) it is a more professional format

2) unless specified by contract you're not obliged to disclose your opinions or personal thoughts you wrote down.

NDA's often have a clause however to destroy or deliver all data / copies after the project, so follow that contract carefully.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

One is a neutral / objective profession or job description (secretary, minute / note taker) the other is your personal notes.

The former is expected to inform all attendees / non-attendees, the latter is NOT.

If someone asks, you may still agree out of courtesy.

BUT:

Always create a transcript of your notes more in the form as one would expect from a note taker (remove all personal remarks etc.)

1) it is a more professional format

2) unless specified by contract you're not obliged to disclose your opinions or personal thoughts you wrote down.

NDA's often have a clause however to destroy or deliver all data / copies after the project, so follow that contract carefully.

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

answered Aug 25 at 14:59

DigitalBlade969

2,1551314

2,1551314

add a comment | 

add a comment |