Have you ever been to a meeting where the most productive thing you did was sleep? Your eyes may not have been closed but your mind was certainly flat-lining.
Meetings can even be entertaining with lots of people talking and throwing around ideas but still not achieve anything. This is a guide to organising meetings so that they actually further the goals of your company or organisation.
The 20% Rule
Only 20% of a meeting is about actually holding the meeting. The 40% on either side is about:
Preparation (40%):
- Establishing the purpose of the meeting
- Communicating time/date/agenda to the attendees
- Preparing the agenda
- Preparing information and handouts
- Pre-presenting issues to attendees
Follow up (40%):
- Distributing action log and materials
- Getting feedback
- Following up actions and providing any support or coaching
- Deciding the next steps
More people are likely to pay attention if they feel they have something invested in the meeting, so discussing the agenda with colleagues beforehand is important. If people are prepared and know the agenda before they arrive, it wastes less time introducing the agenda once everybody is there.
Similarly, if nobody is responsible for checking that action points made during the meeting are actually followed up, they may never get done.
Is a Meeting Necessary?
This may seem like a strange question, but are you just holding a meeting for a meeting’s sake? Could you achieve the same by talking to individuals? If a meeting is necessary, who needs to be there? Do you need to invite everybody or just two or three key figures?
If you find you are sitting in a meeting where the atmosphere is despondent or non-constructive, could it be because some of the people don’t need to be there?
Meetings are often very necessary, but in order to have effective meetings it’s important to be clear about why you are holding them and who should attend.
Making Meetings Participatory
It is good to rotate roles each meeting so that meetings don’t become a one wo/man show. It helps people to stay active and the meeting to run smoothly. There are four main roles you might like to consider:
Chair, who is responsible for:
- Planning before the meeting
- Informing others of the meeting
- Co-ordinating the meeting and attendees
- Involving people present
- Monitoring proceedings
- Summarising what people have said
Time Keeper:
- Knows how much time is allotted to each section of the meeting
- Makes sure the meeting runs to time
Car Park, works closely with the Time Keeper to:
- Stop people when they are going off topic
- Make a list of topics to be discussed after the meeting
Action Taker:
- Records actions agreed
- Checks actions agreed
- Notifies people of actions made
Actions are usually more effective than minutes as they specify what people need to do once the meeting has finished and provide a reference against which to monitor follow-up progress.
Summing Up
It is important at the end of each meeting that the Chair summarises what has been agreed and that the Action Taker double-checks what people have agreed to do. At the end of each meeting try to agree who will chair the next meeting. Clarity is an important key to an effective meeting.
