Meetings are a thorn in the side of many employees in small and medium-sized enterprises: all too often there is no structured agenda, the participants are not prepared or even sufficiently informed, and at the end you wonder what you sat down for in the first place. Meetings of this kind not only disrupt our workflows, but are also frustrating. We have summarised some tips from the New Work area that will help you to make meetings more productive and effective in the future.
1. Agenda prepare and materials for available provide
Create an agenda for the meeting early on: What is it about? Who should attend? What is the goal? Also provide materials to prepare for the meeting - ideally two days in advance. This way, all participants are on the same level and the meeting can start without having to go over basic information again. Also make sure you have a clear objective that everyone is aware of.
2. The correct timing set
A full working day is strictly timed, so all meeting participants are dependent on the timing being adhered to. Whether it is about a follow-up appointment or about one's own tasks, overrunning in meetings is undesirable. However, in order to keep to the timing, it must be realistic. A well-thought-out agenda will help you to assess this. First and foremost, however, keep meetings as short as possible. Ask yourself which items on the agenda you can also clarify in other ways - by e-mail, etc.
3. Hold you the number of participants limited
Be sure to keep the meeting small and invite only those people who really need to be present. A rule of thumb is that a maximum of eight people should attend a meeting. If you do have a larger meeting, consider splitting it up so that some people only need to be present for certain slots - ideally at the beginning of the meeting. If what is being discussed involves a large number of staff, each team or department should appoint someone to attend the meeting on behalf of the group and pass on the information later.
4. Hold Read Results and tasks in a protocol fixed
One person should always take the minutes and then pass on what was discussed to all concerned. The minutes should record the key points and possible work assignments so that no information is lost and everyone is on the same page. Minutes are particularly helpful for the reader if there is a quick-read level and the most important take-away points and tasks are summarised together with a binding deadline at the end of the minutes.
5. Minimise Minimise Distractions
Who hasn't experienced it: just answering a few emails in a meeting or already thinking about the next meeting? Having a laptop or mobile phone with us often tempts us to digress and not actively participate in the meeting. Agree that only the person taking minutes will bring a laptop to the meeting. If you want to go one better, ban mobile phones from the meeting rooms as well. With fewer distractions, participants can focus on the meeting and use the time productively.
6. Switch Switch on Remote workers via video to
Those who are only connected to a conference by telephone often have difficulties allocating what is said to the persons and also lose information that is conveyed through body language or facial expressions. Therefore, connect employees from the home office or similar to the meeting via video. It is helpful if your conference room is equipped with the appropriate technology and all employees know how to use it.
7. All must at one pull together pull together
Changing processes and habits always involves work. Make the team aware that everyone benefits from following the meeting guidelines. Appoint a facilitator for each meeting and remind each other when someone falls into old patterns. Business and team leaders should also be involved in this: Allow enough time for staff to prepare for meetings and follow up on what was discussed. This way you avoid having countless meetings on the same topic because what was discussed was forgotten. Don't be offended if employees cancel a meeting because they don't have to be there.
6. Conclusion: With more structure to more productive meetings
Meetings, especially unstructured meetings that don't achieve their goals, are one of the biggest time-consumers in our everyday working lives. But it doesn't have to be that way: Especially in the course of the New Work developments, there are all kinds of practical suggestions on how you too can organise your meetings more effectively. Who knows, maybe you will save so much working time in the future that you can even think about shortening the working hours for your company. After all, overhauling the meeting culture is a crucial point for many companies that have reduced weekly working hours from 40 to 30 or even 25 hours - with the same salary for employees and the same or increased productivity.
Marie Great
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