Making Effective Meetings
Learn to use your time wisely with these quick tips!
According to a study by the Annenberg School of Communications at UCLA and the University of Minnesota's Training & Development Research Center, 40 to 50 percent of company executive's working hours are eaten up by meetings. Badly organised meetings wastes company resources and dollars and most importantly, time.
Here are some guidelines on making meetings effective:
Identifying the meeting's purpose.
The objective of the meeting needs to be set for attendees to understanding its importance. This objective must be crafted in a way that will benefit the invitees.
Prepare properly.
The duration of a meeting can be reduced after setting the agenda and identifying the information required from each other for the meeting to be carried out effectively. Useful information can be posted on the bulletin board or the company intranet before a meeting for everyone to browse through it. The actual meeting time can then be used to discuss and form suggestions on how to solve new problems.
Keeping the meeting on track.
The meeting chairman must lead the meeting, keep it on schedule, control the communication, and ensure the purpose of the meeting is fulfilled.
Be decisive.
Meetings should result in decisions made and action points assigned. Each decision should identify: What is to be done? Who is to do it? When is it to be done?
Distribute meeting minutes promptly and stick to the decisions made.
In most cases, the secretary is assigned to do the minute-taking. She can take notes on a laptop during the meeting and the notes can be handed out at the end of the meeting. In this manner, the participants can read the notes immediately and voice any need for corrections.
In 'Meeting Improvement Checklist', which was created by workplace expert Kerry Gleeson , he suggests the following:
Meeting Preparations
1. The need for the meeting is clear.
2. Appropriate persons are attending.
3. A meeting location is reserved.
4. Needed material has been ordered and is available.
5. Meeting invitations have been sent out on time.
6. The invitation cotains the following:
One-on-One meetings
Managers can leverage on the power of one-on-one meetings. These meetings between the boss and his or her direct reports make for efficient contact time between busy coworkers who have to maintain close contacts in their work.
One-on-one meetings should be scheduled for the same time every week. If it is not scheduled, subordinates may choose inappropriate times to carry out discussions. If business travels or holiday periods make it difficult for you to keep to the same schedule, make it a point at the end of your one-on-one to schedule the next one-to-one meeting, taking the holiday into account. It is important to remember that these meetings are scheduled to resolve issues that do not demand and immediate solution.
Published on Entreprenuers' Digest Nov/Dec 2009 issue
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