Meetings seem to occur often, be occasionally disappointing, and don’t always accomplish what the presenter intended. Staff can become frustrated with meetings that run over, don’t have an agenda, or don’t contain actionable items relevant to their positions. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can improve team meeting productivity and efficiency. Here are some tips.
Highlight the Reason for the Meeting in Advance
In today’s typical office, meetings can get called for a variety of reasons. From staff updates to particular projects, bringing people together is an effective way to inspire creativity, foster a team-mentality, and solve problems. However, bringing people together for reasons that are unclear is one of the quickest ways to frustrate your employees and crush creativity.
Before kicking off a meeting, make sure everyone knows why. Share a planned agenda in advance so participants know how much time they’ll need to allocate. Invite others to ask questions or provide feedback before the meeting so everyone’s time can be spent as effectively as possible.
Invite Attendees Strategically
Depending on the subject matter, it’s likely that not everyone in the office will need to attend every meeting. After you’ve created an agenda, identify the staff members whose presence and input is pertinent. Dividing meetings up this way is usually the most efficient and productive use of company time.
Prepare Materials in Advance
There’s nothing more aggravating than sitting through a meeting in which the presenter is dealing with technical difficulties, unprepared during a slide presentation, or wandering off track to tell unrelated anecdotes. Determine the best way to convey necessary information and create a presentation in advance. Whether this is via handouts, video, or a slide presentation, reviewing your material ahead of the meeting is crucial for productivity. If you are going to rely on technology, setting up audio and visual beforehand and running through it at least once will allow time for troubleshooting any problems that may arise.
Offer an Incentive
If you have a weekly staff meeting, double down on the time spent together and offer some sort of incentive. Provide breakfast or lunch, conduct a raffle, or create another incentive-type program that gets staff members excited to attend the meeting. Creating a strong team aids in productivity, collaboration, and creativity. Use routine meetings to foster a team-mentality so that everyone looks forward to mandatory staff meetings because it’s a time for them to come together, take a break from the daily routine, and share a meal, game, or activity.
There are a plethora of ways to spice meetings up and make them more fun. However, the most important aspect to consider is ensuring that everyone feels appreciated, heard, and valued. Encourage camaraderie and mutual respect by treating their time and energy like precious resources to conserve.
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