Undoubtedly, the time you and your team spend in meetings is an investment. But we don’t always see meetings this way or do what’s needed to maximise our returns as we would for other investments into which we put resources.
People arrive late. They’re unprepared. The meeting wanders all over the place with lots of unproductive chat. Attendees head off afterwards, gaining little and without direction to move forward. And these are just a few of the downsides…
No wonder people dislike meetings, see them as a waste of time and try to avoid them!
Meetings - why do we need them anyway?
Well-run meetings can deliver plenty of benefits.
Together, you and your team can flesh out ideas / gain input from one another, discuss new strategies, determine the best direction to take on a project and share information about changes so everyone is on the same page.
To get these and more gains, you’ll need to do a bit of planning, then some management of the process and outcomes – just like you do with other resource investments.
Key factors to determine before the meeting is scheduled
Top of your list has to be establishing the actual purpose of the meeting – why are you having it, and what outcomes are needed and expected?
With your meeting purpose in mind, other factors you’ll want to cover include:
Who needs to be there? Who will set everything up, run the meeting, and capture notes/actions?
Is there research needed ahead of time to help drive decisions or next steps?
What needs to be sent out/shared with attendees beforehand so they come prepared? This will include your agenda and any reports, research, etc, that are relevant.
When does the above need to be sent out / shared?
If there is something specific you want an attendee to discuss, give them a heads-up so they’ll be prepared.
When is the best time to have it around attendees’ schedules and other commitments?
Where to have the meeting. There are obvious places like your office and meeting/board room, but could it be more productive or be a good change to have a walking meeting, sit outside, or have a quick standing catch-up, etc?
Strategies to help maximise your meeting investment
As well as determining the above, the following are some tips for during your meeting:
Start on time! If you do this consistently, people will learn to arrive on time and be ready to start.
Have an agenda and follow it.
Encourage contributors to stay on track/topic.
Make sure that someone captures minutes/notes. These should include brief notes about what was discussed, the decision or next steps, who will be actioning as required, and by when.
Empower the note taker to pull people back if the next steps, time commitment, etc, haven’t been finalised before moving on to the next item.
At the end of the meeting, confirm with everyone the outcomes, actions, etc.
Acknowledge the attendees’ input and thank them.
Your meeting notes should be distributed or shared within 24 hours so people can get cracking!
Adopting these strategies will help generate accountability, ensure your meetings are productive and time well spent, and deliver results. Plus, you’ll find that you and your team will stop resenting meetings as a waste of time. And from a business perspective, you’ll get the benefits and returns on investment.
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision-makers in many key areas, such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success.
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