Stop Making Your Employees Feel “Stuck” in Meetings

 

If you ask your team about their favorite part of their workday, essentially no one is going to say meetings. More often than not, these gatherings aren’t very productive. Instead, they are merely interruptions, disrupting the flow of your employees’ days.

Plus, most workers have no choice but to attend. Even if the meeting ultimately has nothing to do with them, if they were asked to be there, they are stuck until its over. What a time-waster!

Luckily, there are things you can do to make sure you hold better meetings. Here’s how to get started.

Limit Your Invites

When you are trying to decide who to invite to a meeting, keep the list as short as possible. If anyone feels the discussion isn’t relevant to them or that they can’t provide any useful input that isn’t covered by someone else, you are essentially wasting their time.

Plus, large groups can be hard to keep on track and productive. If there are too many people, participants may begin shouting over one another just trying to be heard while others are tuning out.

Keep the meeting small and only invite participants who can truly provide value to the conversation or derive value from the experience. Otherwise, just update anyone who is affected by what is discussed after the fact.

Manage Your Timing

At work, time is an asset. To make sure your meetings are proceeding efficiently, you need to schedule them at the right time and for the proper duration.

First, avoid selecting meetings times first thing in the morning (when many people are still getting their footing) or during the last hour of the day (when everyone would rather be wrapping things up so they can head home). Instead, consider starting times between 10:00 am and 11:00 am, ensuring everyone can finish up and then go to lunch.

Second, don’t schedule the meeting for an hour if you only need 30 minutes. Often, people default to an hour to give themselves some breathing room. But, if you just have a few points to cover, keeping the meeting to 30 minutes can create a sense of urgency, making it easier to stop tangents in their tracks and promote focus.

Have an Agenda

Before the meeting, send out a formal agenda to all participants. This lets everyone know what will be covered, giving them a chance to prepare if the need arises.

Additionally, a formal agenda acts as a strong barrier against tangents and individuals who attempt to hijack the meeting to discuss other matters. If a point isn’t on the agenda, you can stop the conversation, refer people to the agenda, and get everyone back on track. If someone protests, let them know that this meeting is for a specific purpose and recommend that a follow-up or separate meeting be scheduled to discuss that point if that is necessary.

By using the tips above, you can make sure your meetings are efficient and productive. If you’d like to know more, the skilled team at The Advance Group can help. Contact us to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members today and see how our workplace productivity expertise can benefit you.

 

 

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