Meetings are primarily intended to increase productivity and efficiency. Even the most difficult tasks may be performed when everyone is on the same page and knows what has to be done.
In reality, we find ourselves trapped in ineffective meetings week after week. According to research, meetings consume 18 hours of the average executive's week. Nearly half of people who attend meetings agree that they are a waste of time.
Meetings might not only be a waste of time, but they can also be a loss of money if not well prepared. According to Time’s budgeting research, a single weekly meeting of mid-level managers costs a business $15 million annually! No matter if you try to avoid them, meetings will always happen. Therefore, it is essential that they be as valuable and helpful as possible. Here are five tried-and-true methods for managing meetings that have been shown to boost productivity, and efficiency, and save both time and money.
#1. Have clear objectives
Is the meeting required to spark fresh ideas, receive information, or make decisions? Or is it a combination of the above?
If you're unsure what you're trying to achieve, you can bet it won't happen. A well-defined purpose and course of action are crucial for a productive meeting.
Meetings are not social occasions. Instead, they are business events with specific objectives. I'm not opposed to socializing, but there are better moments to do so than at a business meeting. Goal planning is a crucial skill to achieve the success of the meetings.
Jessica Pryce-Jones, author of "Running Great Meetings & Workshops For Dummies," was recently in a four-hour meeting with a company's senior leadership team. She mentions it in her book:
"And I wasn't clear whether they were informing each other, conversing, or making a decision at any moment." I wasn't sure the meeting was any more strategic due to the senior team meeting than it would have been if they hadn't met." Therefore, begin with the end objective in mind, and you will be successful.
#2. Focus on preparation
The key to efficiently running meetings is meticulous preparation. Before the meeting starts, make sure everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing.
The list of agendas includes the following:
· A list of subjects to be covered and a summary of the meeting's aims
· A list of attendees who will speak on each topic at the meeting
· The meeting's time and location and obtaining the background information participants need to know about the issue
· What is the most crucial task you should complete on your schedule?
#3. Invite fewer people
Ask yourself: Do all these people need to be there? Most of the time, an email with a quick synopsis will be enough.
If you can cut the participant list for a half-hour meeting by only two persons whose participation isn't required, you've saved the organization an hour of productive time.
Meetings are held to make decisions, not to share information. When attendees do not believe the addressed issue is relevant to them, It's simple to write off the gathering as pointless.
Do you require motivation? Jeff Bezos of Amazon observes the Two Pizza Rule: no meeting should have more participants than a pair of pepperoni pies can feed. This allows for faster judgments and teams to test ideas without the intervention of groupthink, which is the Amazon executive's biggest pet peeve.
#4. Don't be late
In most cases, a 10-minute delay caused by a latecomer will lengthen the meeting by 5 minutes. To keep those who come on time waiting for others who are chronically late is unfair. For a meeting to be effective, it is important to have effective time-management skills.
How do we fix this? You can disregard waiting for them. You must begin the meetings promptly at the scheduled hour to set the tone and demonstrate that those who are tardy have no place in the meeting.
It also doesn't hurt to be inventive. Employees at TINYpulse, an employee engagement software startup, rarely miss a meeting scheduled at an inconvenient hour. For example, the company's daily staff meeting begins at 8:48 a.m.
"It's unusual, but at 8:48 a.m., everyone in our workplace appears to rise and go toward our meeting room simultaneously."
#5: Allow for creativity
Your employees' experience and knowledge are valuable resources. A helpful source that should not be overlooked.
Short and productive meetings are lovely, but only if they are devoid of idea development and discussion. An effective meeting should generate innovation and energy. This occurs when people actively participate rather than passively attend.
Brainstorming sessions are common, yet they are typically unsuccessful. It is not important to the production of ideas but the execution of those ideas.
Last thoughts
Meetings are an efficient approach to organizing employees, developing plans, and planning tasks. They exist primarily to accomplish one goal: to complete a task. On the other hand, meetings can be a waste of time, money, and effort, especially if they are poorly organized and handled. Consider how many meetings you attend and how much time you spend in them. Can you say that all of those hours were productive?
However, by arming yourself with these skills shared by SYP.net, you can now make them both productive and effective.