Meetings are an integral part of corporate life. However, we have all attended those meetings where a lot of talking is done without much action being taken. How do we hold meetings in such a way that we get the most out of them? How do we ensure that the outcome of the time spend in meetings is concrete action that brings real benefits to the company. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Make Sure Everyone who Needs to Attend the Meeting Can Make it: There is no point in holding a meeting regarding the PR and marketing plan for the next year if the marketing manager cannot make it to the meeting. It is important to ensure that the key decision makers who have a connection to the topic that is going to be discussed can make it to the meeting. Hence, the meeting should be planned well in advance so that they can all make it to the meeting.
- Schedule the meeting at a Convenient Time: It is important to schedule a meeting not too early in the day when everyone is still getting in or at the fag end of the day when all they are thinking about is getting home on time. While it may not be possible to schedule it at a time that is convenient for everybody, take the convenience of the maximum number of people into consideration.
- Circulate the Agenda Well in Advance: Circulate the agenda for the meeting well in advance so that everyone can come prepared and no time is wasted on trivialities. If it is a meeting regarding accounts, everyone needs to have their figures and reports. If it is regarding a plan of action for marketing, people need to have facts on hand about strategies that may have worked or not worked in the past so that they can brainstorm regarding new campaigns.
- Make sure you start and end the Meeting on time: Latecomers can cause a meeting to stretch beyond the scheduled time. So, if there are any stragglers, start the meeting on time and do what you can in their absence. When they come in , update them and move on. This will ensure that there is minimum time loss of time.
