Our Certificate IV in Business has an entire module dedicated to organizing an effective meeting, because while meetings bring staff together to solve problems, they also hold the potential to waste time and company resources if improperly facilitated.
Here is a quick, step-by-step guide to planning an effective meeting:
- Plan Ahead and Share With the Class
It’s important to have an agenda or at least an outline for the meeting that is shared with all attendants prior to the meeting time. The agenda should detail the topics to be covered at the meeting, as well as how much time is allocated for each bullet point. This will keep both the facilitator and the attendants accountable to time and goals for the meeting.
- Scrutinize the Guest List
A meeting is only as useful as the participants who attend. Too many people working on the same problem will quickly get chaotic, while not enough team members on a project can lead to anxiety and missed deadlines. Make sure that you not only have the right number of people in attendance at a meeting, but that they are the right people for the information that needs to be discussed.
- Timing
Announce the start and end time of any meeting and stick to it. If you’ve decided the meeting needs to be 1pm on Friday, showing up at 1:15pm is unacceptable.
- Take Minutes
So often some great solutions arise during meetings and no one takes notes. This is frustrating for everyone involved, so save everyone time and energy and make a record of how long points are addressed and the solutions you come up with for reference later.
- Transparency
Ensure that you follow up with all attendees after the meeting with minutes and specific task sheets.
For more helpful tips on how to build the best business you can, contact National Training today!
