How To Conduct Effective Work Meetings?

Effective meetings are an important part of a successful business. They help ensure communication between teams, discuss strategies, make important decisions, and solve problems. But poorly organized meetings can become inefficient, wasting time and resources, as well as reducing productivity.

We suggest you take into account following useful tips to help ensure effective teamwork and achieve your goals.

1. Determine the purpose of the meeting

The meeting objective is what you need to accomplish during the meeting. It includes topics to be discussed and decisions to be made during the time you spend synchronizing with your team.

This first step will allow you to understand whether you need to have the meeting at all. To do this:

• Focus your team’s attention on a precise and achievable goal for the meeting.
• Prepare and list all the topics that need to be discussed.
• Evaluate and prioritize the topics that need to be discussed to achieve the meeting objective.

2. Identify those attending the meeting

A limited number of participants equals an effective meeting. All participants should be necessary to make decisions in order to achieve the objectives of the meeting that you have previously defined.

Before the meeting, it is also important to define the role of each participant, who is responsible for what, and clarify what materials each employee needs to prepare.

After the meeting, you should also send your notes to colleagues who need to be aware of the situation, but who do not necessarily need to make any decisions in line with your goal.

3. Prepare an agenda for the meeting

Preparing a meeting plan will help you achieve goals such as controlling the time of the meeting and providing information to participants on what they should prepare to accomplish the objectives during the meeting. It is important to remember that the meeting plan should be provided to participants at least 24 hours before the meeting.

What to include in the plan?

• The purpose of the meeting
• Meeting participants and their roles
• Topics and decisions you need to make during the meeting
• The duration and time for each topic
• Supporting materials needed

4. Set a time frame for the meeting

Time limits are key to keeping everyone focused. Some studies have shown that people stay focused for 30 minutes in online meetings, while in-person meetings allow employees to stay focused for 45–60 minutes. So, this is important to consider.

5. You can send invitations!

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How to check if the planned meeting will be effective?

To find out, ask yourself a number of questions and answer them:

When scheduling a meeting

1. Are the purpose and topic of the meeting formulated accurately? Are they clear to participants?
2. Do you really need a meeting? Perhaps it is better to replace it with another format of interaction?
3. Do you have a ready structure, meeting regulations?
4. How long is the meeting? Does it not exceed 30 minutes (45 minutes)?
5. What result should be achieved as a result of the meeting?
6. Is there a list of people whose presence is mandatory? Are they available at specific times?
7. Are there people on the list who do not have to be present, but it is enough to receive a letter with the results of the meeting?
8. Will there be a moderator at the meeting? Do they understand their responsibilities?
9. What information must the participants familiarize themselves with in order to understand the topic of discussion? Are all the documents that contain it ready and attached to the description in the invitation?
10. Have all mandatory participants responded about their planned attendance?

During the meeting

1. Do the participants follow the rules of the meeting?
2. Is every thought heard and recorded? Is one of the participants dominating, imposing his opinion on others and preventing them from expressing themselves?
3. Is the question solved, and can we move on to formulating an action plan based on the results of the meeting?
4. Are all the main ideas, proposals, questions that need preparation recorded?
5. Further actions formulated?
6. Are those responsible appointed?
7. Are the deadlines for actions set?
8. Do all participants understand what is required of them?

After the meeting

1. Is the meeting agenda solved? Are there any questions that need to be discussed and resolved in writing?
2. Do the tasks based on the results of the meeting require additional approval from the manager? Have they been sent a letter with a brief agenda and final document for approval?
3. Has the document with the results of the meeting been sent to all its participants?
4. Checking the results according to the action plan formed after the meeting — within the established deadlines.