Recent surveys suggest that businesses spend approximately 15% of their work hours in meetings and that 71% of those meetings are unproductive.
When planned meetings are unproductive, you waste time, money, and much more. It can be draining your revenue for many reasons.
That does not mean that meetings are not necessary. They are crucial for success. Your company must learn to master the art of productive meetings.
Creating a productive meeting is easier than you think. Follow these tips and use the right technology. You’ll be more efficient than you ever thought possible!
1. Set a Goal For Workplace Meetings
You are gathering for a purpose. If you cannot explain the meeting’s goal to those in attendance, then the reason for the meeting will fall flat.
Employee meetings should always start with a mission for what you plan to accomplish in that time. Whether it is informational, brainstorming, checking in, or for other reasons, clearly label the meeting on the calendar invitation what the reason is for the meeting.
When you begin the meeting, the first statement from your team should be the goal of the meeting. This will ensure that all people involved are ready for workplace productivity.
2. Create an Agenda
The goal is essential, but so is documenting what to expect. The agenda provides thorough details on how the meeting will go. It also keeps the conversation on course.
When you write down what needs to be discussed, you can maintain the flow of information in that direction. It’s a lot like a roadmap. The most crucial part is that you won’t forget to discuss an item, which could cause a second meeting.
With an agenda, you do not need to rely on your memory. It also prevents getting sidetracked.
3. Assign a Facilitator
Have you heard the old expression, “Too many cooks in the kitchen?” When you do not have someone to keep the meeting on task and steer its direction, others could take over and go off on a pathway that is far from the goal.
A facilitator has the role of overseeing the meeting and making sure that everyone involved sticks to the meeting plans.
4. Enter Planned Meetings With the Right Mindset
When participants enter the meeting, they must go in ready to pay attention and stick to the subject. Distractions create issues. Also, if your meeting attendees are not paying attention, the meeting is pointless.
Everyone who enters the meeting must be ready to engage. They must set aside anything distracting, including emails, cell phones, etc.
5. Stick to the Time
A planned meeting is a time that is scheduled on the calendar. It has a start and end point. This means the agenda should flow according to the agenda and set time slots. Things may not always work out as you have planned on paper, and that is okay.
Pad in some buffer time. This will accommodate hiccups and eliminate frustrations. Still, keep to the schedule, and the meeting should not go over the end time.
Although, it is vital to strike a balance. Too much pressure on time can stifle productivity. As long as meeting members are engaged and productive, keep going with the flow while working according to the agenda.
6. Do Not Smother Ideas
Meetings are fantastic opportunities to drive creativity among teams. The concept of an agenda is to keep on schedule, not build walls that block out ideas. If you worry that you are derailing the timeline significantly, but there is an excellent track of brainstorming occurring, add a new calendar invitation to continue down that path.
7. Add in Time For Questions and Answers
When you’re looking to boost productivity, you need Q&A. You may even want to devote a good chunk of the agenda towards this. Another option is adding short question-and-answer sessions throughout the meeting.
It engages the people involved by asking those attending the meeting to come forward with questions. This brings enthusiasm, too, when they feel a part of the team that is actively involved in the agenda.
8. Conclude With Actionable Items
Before you officially end the meeting, review your decisions during your time together. Plus, revisit the actions that must be taken, including who is responsible and when it should be completed.
9. Schedule Follow-ups
Meetings can begin with ideas. They are only that, concepts until your people bring them to fruition. By assigning tasks, you breathe life into your creative thoughts.
Use chats, emails, phones, and more to check in throughout the process. An even better solution is to build an app for project management purposes.
Most important, it is good to schedule a meeting for the future to see how everything develops or upon completion. Furthermore, future meetings offer a sense of accountability for everyone involved.
You can celebrate team members’ hard work and bring anyone who may have dropped the ball. Still, when tasks are not complete, there can be good reasons. Future meetings can discuss snags in the process and find ways to fix them collectively.
Software For Productive Meetings
You can do all this, including scheduling meetings, creating agendas, assigning tasks, and following up with the correct application builder. It’s a way for organizations to perfect productive meetings every time.
Nizek can help. They build best-in-class software to make life easier. Projects and meetings will skyrocket with efficiency!
Their professionals write elegant code custom-tailored to the needs of your organization. Let your meetings generate innovative concepts that can change the world. Nizek can help.
Get started with Nizek today!
