How to Run a Business Meeting
Some people in business believe that too much time spent on a meeting can lower productivity. Meetings, however, are necessary to keep everyone in the group updated on what’s going on in the business, and for everyone to know the challenges and problems faced by each member of the group that’s related to the business. Here are some ideas for meetings that can keep your business competitive and make it an leader in its field.
Time
To get a sense of the value of a meeting, you need to consider it a liability in your time resources. Meetings are extremely important for keeping everyone in the loop on the goings-on of the company, but no work gets accomplished on the floor or on the desk. The more time you spend on a meeting, the less work you get done. If the meeting is too long, you may not be able to accomplish any work for the day. If the meeting is too short, you may end up with too little information needed to troubleshoot problems or to keep everyone updated.
Fifteen minutes - or even less - is usually enough time to hold a meeting and to keep everyone in the loop. Five minutes with small groups are great, and you can reserve hour-long meetings for reports to the board of directors, trustees, and people higher up who need more detailed information about the progress of the business. Shorter meetings also pose the incentive and the challenge for workers and employees to work independently and meet expectations.
Venue
business meetingMany managers make the mistake of holding meetings while work is being done. While this gives an impression of being hands-on, it can get in the way of accomplishing work and tasks for the day. Instead of calling everyone out to the conference room for a quick group conversation that will last for about ten minutes, you may want to consider other venues to hold your meeting:
Break. Quick coffee breaks or lunches are a good way to insert a casual, informal meeting to update everyone on your company’s latest projects and the direction of everyone’s work.
Online. You can use one among many instant messenger utilities as a “meeting venue.” Online meetings can allow people to multitask, and you can get the information you need in the quickest way possible.
Flow
Holding meetings should not be as complicated as some people make it seem. Think of a meeting as a quick, casual conversation. As a liability to working hours, you need to keep the meeting as simple as possible. You need only two processes in a meeting:
Agenda. The agenda sets up announcements, changes, and other important information you need to discuss with your co-workers and employees. Keep a short list of the agenda of the meeting through bullet-points.
Follow-ups. Follow-ups and updates on employees and co-workers should be as quick and concise as possible. Unless you really need it, or if it helps relieve the tense atmosphere in the office, stay away from icebreakers or other conversation that can distract the flow of the meeting.
Business meetings are all about getting down to what really matters to every worker and employee. With these steps, you can run a business meeting as efficiently and productively as the work done in your company. If you’re interested in reading this article, you’ll surely be eager to learn how to schedule a business meeting.