Big and small companies hold regular business meetings to brainstorm on projects and ideas. The sessions are an ideal way of measuring progress, getting crucial feedback from the employees or partners, and evaluating the motivation and productivity levels of specific tasks.
However, businesses must find ways to utilize the time spent on meetings. While it might be a valuable opportunity to get close to your staff members, hear their views and concerns, it should also be utilized to achieve the same goal. As such, all parties should embrace this time together. Below are five tips on how to make the most of the regular meetings in your company:
1). Set The Day And Time To Follow Every Week
Determining an ideal hour and fixed day each week where everyone is expected to be present for a meeting will be helpful. You should ensure all employees know of this schedule so that they organize their time and duties around it and make it a bit flexible. Leave some room for the meeting to be moved or rescheduled for one reason or the other, but do not cancel it. By using TrackTime24 you can schedule regular meetings to fit in with the workflow, ensuring that they take place at the most convenient time.
But coming up with a routine, you will help establish a sense of unity among your staff or team. And with the fixed time and date, employees can find time to organize themselves and even offer their opinion. You also create an opportunity to redirect efforts and plan for the next week. Try and do this at the start of each week, which helps channel your team’s attention away from the weekend’s dispersion to a week of effectiveness and production efficiency. Also, do you best to limit the time spend on the meetings to be an hour at best.
2). List The Topics Or Set The Agenda
You should be aware of the ongoing projects and who is leading them. Conversely, it would help if you were abreast of the completed ones, and the challenges faced. List down such issues an allow the team leaders to speak about, cover the problems and advances, and answer questions regarding the matters listed.
You set the meeting’s agenda to be about organizational and operational topics. Take a few minutes to ask those present if they have any problems with ongoing projects and suggestions on how to improve the business operations. With the list or a set agenda, you will reduce the time spent discussing and avoid talking about unnecessary topics.
3). Do No Allow Topics To Deviate Or Overstretch
Take charge of the discussions, making sure that you move straight to the next topic once you cover one. However, be attentive to what is said to determine if an issue needs further deliberations. If you note that a subject has taken more than five minutes to discuss, schedule a special appointment of it and the team involved and move on to the next topic.
Since it is a regular meeting, it should have a sound overview of all the ongoing projects, challenges faced, and suitable solutions, who is working on what, and the due dates. Allow those who have something to say to speak and encourage them to let the others know of their issues or if it is worth discussing separately.
Injecting a bit of humor could help ease any existing tension during the meeting. Allow some jokes to fly during the discussions but do not allow them to divert everyone from what matters, thus taking over time.
4). Do Not Ignore A Subject Brought To The Table
The meetings present an opportunity to share feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Let your employees have a voice when at the table. However, ensure there is a balance between unexpected but relevant topics and the fixed or predetermined ones. If need be, make new appointments for addressing specific issues. If you find that the unexpected subjects require everyone’s attention, allow it to be discussed, dedicating a few minutes to it instead of postponing it to the next meeting.
Keep in mind that not every new topic needs extra dialogue. In some instances, the participants want to be heard, something you should learn how to deduce. Borrow a leaf from this quote from Karl Popper, “The right to speak comes with the duty to be brief.”
5). Learn From Previous Meetings To Fine-Tune The Upcoming Ones
If you keep to this process, making it a routine, your employees will learn how to manage their time better for the benefit of the project and the company. Making every meeting a learning lesson and be grateful for the time spent. The tense and stressful meetings can be an opportunity to learn how to deal with certain issues, people, or circumstances more efficiently. Thank your team for attending and participating, and encourage them to strive to be productive and reach their goals. Offer help and valuable advice on the projects and be open to further dialogue about an issue even after the meeting.
