Are meetings with your team a waste of your time and theirs? Do they wander and drag on? Do they fail to serve their purpose?
If you dread holding meetings, you are not alone. Most professionals hate them. But Elizabeth Dukes, writing for Inc.com, advocates these simple fixes to make them more bearable and productive.
-
Always book your meeting space. It’s hugely frustrating for everyone if they turn up to find another group already around the conference table. Be sure to reserve a suitable room. If there is no booking process in place in your company, invest in software that can do the job efficiently.
- Provide directions. Avoid latecomers by using wayfinding software to guide people to the meeting place promptly.
- Put time into your agenda and give attendees a chance to contribute. The last thing you want is a meeting overrunning when attendees bring up unscheduled topics. Set up your agenda in a live collaboration programme like Google Docs and share it ahead. The items others contribute can then be scheduled into the meeting time allowed.
- Record your meeting and distribute notes from the transcript by email soon afterwards. Those who couldn’t come can also get up to speed quickly. If you also operate a pen-and-paper only rule, attendees who claim they need their phone or tablet to take notes can be fully present in discussions.
Using technology to make small changes can reap dividends. You might still despise meetings, but at least they will be more focused and efficient.