Nine Proven Strategies to Improve Meeting Productivity

To successfully manage a company, it is necessary to hold meetings with employees. The most effective meetings directly ensure the well-coordinated work of the team and, as a result, the prosperity and development of the company.

Main Classification of Meetings

• Informational. Issuance of basic information, distribution of tasks and instructions, control of completed tasks.
• Operational. Providing reports to management, analyzing a certain period, solving everyday issues.
• Problematic. Consideration of pressing issues and ways to solve them. Discussion of problematic or conflict situations.

Presented species may be present within one meeting in stages. Also, a single species can claim the main purpose of the collection.

The meeting has a clear structure. As a rule, the subject is predetermined and the ultimate goal is set. Also, scheduled meetings are determined by their frequency and specific time.

To consolidate the results, minutes of the meeting are drawn up, which are further agreed and brought to implementation. There is also a protocol control that analyzes completed tasks.

Common mistakes

Often, mistakes made in the preparation or in the process of the meeting lead to the loss of precious time. Consider the main ones:

• In preparation – the composition of the participants is not indicated; the meeting is not scheduled; the main theme is not prepared; inappropriate place; delay and incompetence of the participants.
• When conducting – a large amount of time spent; departure from the main topic of discussion; lack of instructions; failure to take minutes during the meeting; loss of control over participants.
• In the implementation of the tasks set at the meeting – an uncontrolled protocol; lack of statistics; loss of records and list of tasks; lack of actions determined at the meeting.

Efficiency

The meeting can be assessed as effective if the set goals are achieved, the main topics are considered and the timing is observed, the result of the meeting is taken into account and actions are followed. Also, the meeting will be successful if the time spent is worth the results achieved on the issues discussed.

Business meetings are an integral part of effective company management. It is here that important issues for its development are solved. Telephone and virtual communication cannot replace a face-to-face meeting. Management must exert the right influence on its employees to ensure that the staff performs in the most efficient way. Well-conducted meetings save time for managers, provide the most clearly defined tasks and give a stimulating impetus to action.

In order for the meeting to become a kind of tool for the prosperity of the company, the manager needs to perform the following tasks:

• analyze meetings, eliminating shortcomings and errors;
• bring meetings to automation;
• conduct ongoing education and training for staff;
• improve and improve the process of conducting professional meetings.

9 Proven Strategies to Make Meetings Lead to Action

Infographic provided by Wrike – Project Management Standard