Unfortunately, nearly three-fourths of senior managers surveyed by the Harvard Business Review said that meetings are unproductive and inefficient. Don’t let your own meetings fall into this category; utilize the following ideas to bring back purpose and meaning to your next gathering of minds.
Set an Agenda Beforehand
Too often, meetings go off-topic and the main point is never addressed. Keep everyone on task by creating and distributing an agenda beforehand. Leave time at the end of the meeting for additional points people may want to bring up.
Survey Your Workers
Chances are, everyone feels differently about meetings, so it’s important to gauge these opinions. Send out a short survey to your workers to see their thoughts on why meetings aren’t productive and ask for their suggestions on how to change it. You might receive solutions tailored specifically to your workplace that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
Limit the Attendees
Keep meetings as small as possible. Rather than invite an entire department, collaborate only with the department heads, as they can disseminate information to other relevant parties later. This limits distractions and helps to keep things on topic.
Create Meeting-Free Periods
Your workers won’t be able to get anything done if they’re in meetings all day. To prevent this, ensure a couple of hours a day during which no meetings can be held. This lets them focus on their independent work while also allowing them to process information from previous meetings.
Avoid Overusing Videos and Presentations
Sure, visual aids can help deliver hard-hitting facts to your audience. But if you just find yourself reading off a PowerPoint slide, this is neither valuable to you or the others in the meeting. Instead, try to keep things verbal and to the point. If you do need to use video or other visuals to make a point, avoid fancy introductions or filler content – just present the facts.
Limit Interruptions
It might be a good idea to have meeting attendees turn off their phones or leave them at the door, as these can quickly detract from the point of the meeting. An urgent email or phone call takes away their focus and means they’ll miss valuable information.
Meetings don’t have to be a waste of time. Use these tips to turn up productivity and help your company start thriving.
