5 Ways to Make Your Meetings More Productive
Let’s face it: meetings are a pain. How many times have you tried to organize a meeting, only to have your team grumble and groan about the prospect? Especially if you need to hold weekly or monthly update meetings, it can be hard to get people to attend without dragging their feet.
So why is it that a number of people dread meetings? The answer lies in the fact that most employees don’t find them very productive. Most people would rather be sitting at their desk working instead.
If that’s the case, then how do you make meetings more productive, and more importantly, how do you motivate your team to attend? Here are five ideas that might help you out.
1. Order Corporate Catering
You’re first reaction might be, how will food make my meeting more productive? Hiring a corporate caterer to provide your meeting with tasty treats can not only get your guests excited to attend, but will also give them a boost of energy to be more engaged and involved. You’ll really see a difference in attendance when you get corporate catering involved!
2. Create an Agenda
If you outline the meeting in advance you can make sure that everyone stays on point and that things move along swiftly. This means shorter meeting times and that people won’t begin to drift off while listening to unimportant ramblings.
3. Take Efficient Notes
Have you ever been to a meeting where you spend the first ten minutes recapping what happened in the last one? When you think about it, this is a huge waste of time that could easily be avoided by taking detailed notes.
Assign a note-taker and have them use a note-taking app that will allow them to share what they wrote with coworkers after the meeting.
4. Consider a Standing Meeting
Meetings don’t always have to be in a room with tables and chairs. Consider hosting a coffee break with treats in the hallway, and then have a chat with your team while everyone gets to sip on their tea and coffee. It’s a nice break that will give them a chance to stand as well as a change in environment.
5. Keep it Short and Simple
Most importantly, make sure that meetings don’t go on for too long. When it comes to update or check-in meetings you really only need to set aside about 15 minutes of time (as opposed to the standard half hour that people usually block off). For longer meetings, consider whether or not you really need to an hour to get through everything – could it be 45 minutes instead?
This will encourage you and whoever is speaking to stay on-point and not get distracted. It’ll also give people a chance to get to their next one without having to attend back-to-back meetings all day.
Can You Email Instead?
Before planning a meeting, always consider whether or not you actually need to have one. That combined with the above tips should help make sure that your meetings are more productive and that people will actually want to attend them.
