Date: 23-Jul-2020
The announcement of an upcoming meeting can make employees’ eyes roll — after all, we’ve all been to meetings that feel like a waste of time. Holding effective meetings isn’t hard, though; it just takes a little discipline.
Here are six tips to help you hold fewer meetings and make the ones you do have worth everyone’s time.
Many managers and departments hold daily or weekly meetings to check in and see how everyone is doing. While holding a standing meeting can be useful, don’t be afraid to cancel one if you don’t have anything to say. “Meetings should only be held when there is something to talk about and should be as short as possible,” business coach Diane Helbig says. “I like the idea of 15-minute meetings where everyone has something they report on succinctly.”
An agenda sent out before a meeting can help keep everyone on track, and sharing notes and action steps afterward can reinforce key points, says Jen Goldman, president of My Virtual COO. Hand out copies of the agenda or project it onto a screen during a meeting. This sends the message that the agenda is important.
Sending out notes from the meeting and listing people’s responsibilities makes it clear what everyone should be doing to follow up, Goldman says. “It acknowledges the progress that was made so everyone feels the meeting was productive.” In addition, documenting everything creates a trail of accountability and a reminder of what was decided.
Sometimes managers invite or require attendance from as many people as possible in an attempt to be transparent. That’s nice in theory, but in practice can make it harder to accomplish anything and waste people’s time if they aren’t directly affected by the topics discussed.
Only invite people you need direct input from to make a decision, says Christopher G. Fox, founder of Kindness Communication. Look at your agenda’s action steps and go from there: “People who are not on the agenda do not need to be invited to the meeting.”
Meetings that aren’t led or managed carefully can quickly spiral out of control. “Meetings can often lose productivity when participants don't feel that their contributions will be valued,” organizational consultant Stephen Elliott-Buckley says. In addition, some attendees may try to use a meeting for their own agenda, derailing the conversation.
If you call a meeting, either run it yourself or designate an effective leader to be in charge. Department leaders need to control the flow of discussion and ensure people don’t get off topic, Elliott-Buckley says. They can also encourage people to participate so they get everyone’s perspective.
Effective meetings give people a chance to ask questions, learn more and share their perspectives. They should walk away with key takeaways and understand what's expected of them next, says Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. “If the goal is a data dump or for everyone to simply give their to-do lists, go with email instead.”
A couple of tricks can help keep people focused during a meeting. Holding meetings right before lunch will ensure people don’t let it run long, Hird says. And not allowing phones keeps people on task, Helbig adds.
Subscribe to our Ebix blog or curate your subscriptions for the most relevant content and never miss a single article! Industry driven thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox with the click of a button. What could be easier?
