Many small and medium-sized companies cultivate the zero-sum meeting scandal, while large companies are often “advised”. None of these extremist actions prove that. Meetings are an important tool for internal communication – but only if well managed. It is important to keep them efficient and organized, adhere to time limits and ensure proper records. What specific steps can be used to make meetings in the company more effective?

According to several employees and a number of studies, workshops are an ineffective waste of time. For example, a survey conducted by Sharp Europe in 2014 found that only 16% of employees found meetings and workshops inspiring, while 79% of employees said they would do more productive work in meetings. A third of respondents also noted that they slept some time during the meeting, while 9% admitted that they slept on their own. So, are Meetings and Meetings completely useless? Experts don’t think so. “Meetings serve companies and work teams as an important channel of communication, and communication is very important for companies. So if we hear that meetings are ineffective, the solution is not to cancel them permanently, but on the contrary to learn how to manage them well.” Says Jerry Gemilka, ICU director for the companies that provide it Activation And the Interim administration Small and medium companies. So how do we make workshops more efficient to achieve the expected result?

Consider meeting goals and plan the agenda carefully

Meetings can be of many different types, and therefore different rules apply to them. For example, a business team might meet every week to discuss their successes or failures in the past, their plans for the coming week, task sharing, etc. Then, of course, there are extraordinary meetings where it is necessary to solve a certain sudden problem and come to an urgent solution to the system etc. However, for all meetings, it must be true that certain goals must be set and achieved. You must know this goal All participants in advance so they can prepare for the meeting. Linked to this overall planning of the meeting agenda. A strong agenda is a powerful agenda that is critical to an effective course of a meeting, but many companies do not care about it: for example, a study by the US platform Attentiv indicates that 63% of meetings and meetings have no planned agenda at all..

So the person conducting the meeting – usually the leader of the team or company – should prepare the “content” of the meeting and make sure all points are discussed. If the employees perceive the meeting as having a steadfast arrangement, they will approach it in a more disciplined and focused manner.

Start on time and shorten the length

It sounds trivial, but punctuality is very important. Therefore, always start meetings and sessions on time, even if not all of the participants are present. It will appear to all participants that the meeting is not just a formal meeting and that it is necessary to treat it professionally and seriously. In addition to keeping the start of the meeting, it is important for it to finish on time. It is possible that the team will not be able to discuss everything at the beginning and some things will remain unresolved at the end of the meeting (so you should leave the less important matters at the end of the meeting), but send a clear signal that you do not want unnecessary delays. Gradually people get used to the fact that the meeting must be “filled”, thus empty discussions are eliminated. The same can be helped by shortening the length of business meetings. For example, instead of meeting for an hour, try just half an hour. Time will push you a little further, which can help spark the meeting.

Make sure to write and try to always meet

If it so often happens that your team doesn’t know what was agreed upon at the next day’s meeting, make sure to make at least a brief record of each meeting. Determine in advance who will be responsible for meeting minutes. It goes without saying that it was created instantly, not retrospectively. There is no need to write long novels about what anyone has said – it suffices to make a brief score for the most important points, assigned tasks, decisions, and the like. Then send the electronic record to all attendees immediately after the end of the meeting or share it with them through the company’s system.

A new and increasingly popular trend can help make meetings more effective: standing meetings. The standing position ensures better oxygenation of the brain than the usual sitting position, moreover, there is no risk of someone falling asleep.