Meeting management is a skill that is often overlooked. If meetings are not managed well, they can become little more than expensive, unproductive drills. Even simple, informal, daily-routine meetings must be organized to justify taking up employees’ time. Time is money, and meetings consume a good deal of each. To ensure effective meetings, management must have an agenda and a proposed timeframe in which to accomplish it. Preparedness on the parts of all participants is essential.
Types of Meetings
Meetings may be formal or informal, but they must have a purpose. Purposeful meetings may be routine, information sharing, or action oriented. The meeting’s objectives and the number and type of participants will determine the necessary formality, as well as how successfully the meeting will be accomplishing its purpose.
Routine Meetings
Routine meetings are scheduled discussion and planning meetings. They are usually not impromptu, but they are typically informal. They may be monthly progress reports and discussions, project reviews, or comprehensive updates. Regardless, they must be organized and have a certain agenda to be productive.
Since routine meetings follow a pattern (for example, when they are scheduled, who attends, regular agenda), they tend to become tiresome. However, routine meetings are a necessary evil for managers and supervisors. To ensure routine meetings go as smoothly as possible, the manager must consider these criteria:
- Establish an objective for the meeting. You should have an end purpose that you wish to achieve. This may include updating current information, getting input on an issue to aid in decision making, planning an action on an issue, or planning a more formal meeting.
- Evaluate your objective. Consider the objective that you have in mind. Is a meeting the best way to accomplish what you need? If you suspect that the meeting will be an empty exercise, then cancel the meeting—do not waste resources. Meetings should produce information, a plan, or action. When meetings become routine, reevaluate their necessity. Determine whether they continue to fulfill the primary objective for which they were initially intended.
- The fewer participants in a meeting the better. Only invite those directly involved with the topic agenda, who can assist in achieving the desired objective. As a general rule, the fewer participants there are, the more direct and productive the meeting will be.
- Contact the participants to help them prepare. Prior to the meeting, contact the participants and brief them on the time, place, discussion topic(s), planned objective(s), and what each participant is expected to prepare, so the objectives may be met within the time allotted. For meetings that have had the same participants over a long time, only a brief reminder of date and time may be necessary.
- Allow a reasonable time between scheduling and conducting the meeting. Give participants enough time to focus and prepare, but not so much time that they forget about the meeting or have a conflicting issue arise.
- Anticipate any concerns over the meeting’s objective. Prepare to defend the objective or negotiate it. Previewing the objective prior to the meeting with people who will support it may be beneficial later.
- If you are the person managing the meeting but not leading it, sit opposite the leader. This will give you direct access to him or her; the person with decision-making authority should have your attention and consider your objective(s).1
Information-Sharing Meetings
Information-sharing meetings are conducted to disseminate information. These are more than just formal presentations with visual aids. They may be coaching or training sessions and seminars. Common information-sharing meetings include:
- management presentations
- client presentations
- project startup and completion meetings
- workshops
Information sharing may include tasking, such as team and team member assignments and responsibilities. These meetings are used to introduce new information and update current information. Status meetings are common examples of information-sharing meetings.
Information-sharing meetings are not intended to produce action, but they are useful to introduce new team members. Orientation is a form of information sharing. Working relationships and communication channels may be encouraged through these meetings. They are useful tools for reinforcing team building.2
Action-Oriented Meetings
Action-oriented meetings need to have more than a single purpose and must go beyond planning. They must utilize purpose statements and work plans for accomplishing the discussed objective. The purpose statement lends value, but it does not by itself incite action. Information may be discussed in the meeting, but unless strategy and a plan are provided to determine how the information will be productively used, the meeting does not qualify as action oriented.
For instance, the team might discuss the upcoming facilities maintenance reconstruction project. However, for the meeting to be productively action oriented, the team must proceed to state how the reconstruction project will be executed and develop an action plan schedule for accomplishing the objective of reconstruction.3
Planning and Conducting Meetings
Effective planning begins with matching the right people to relevant issues.
- Small groups are preferred over larger groups, unless there is information that needs to be dispensed to a broader audience (for example, as in shareholders’ meetings).
- For team meetings, roles must be created for members.
- Establish guidelines for documenting the meeting.4
Meeting planners should develop an agenda to which the group adheres. The agenda should provide topics for discussion, who will deliver them, and have time allotted for each presentation; the agenda should also state the purpose and intent of the meeting. For more formal meetings, the agenda should be sent to all who will attend, so they may review it and formulate their contributions. Note that:
- Meetings should always begin on time.
- You should welcome and thank participants for taking time to attend.
- The agenda should be reviewed, and the purpose and objective of the meeting reiterated.
- The leader/manager’s role of moderator should be clarified.
- You should convey your expectations of attendees:
- active participation
- focus
- maintain momentum
- reach a conclusion
- Practice time management: if time is running out for discussing an issue, ask participants to reach a tentative conclusion or agreement (drop the issue, table the issue, schedule a different meeting to specifically discuss the issue) and move on.
- Require feedback about the success of the meeting before adjourning: often participants say nothing negative about the meeting (how it was a waste of time or how it was conducted) until it is over. This can be avoided by requiring periodic “satisfaction checks,” and by leaving time at the end of the meeting for an evaluation from all participants
- Following the participant expectations list, require that participants also be accountable for the success or failure of the meeting.
- End meetings on time and on a positive note: set a date and time to resume discussions or report progress on the issue, and get a firm commitment from participants before adjourning.
- Inform participants that they will receive a copy of the meeting’s minutes. They can review and, in the next scheduled meeting, elect to discuss points they feel were not adequately or accurately covered.5
Teleconferencing: New Rules for Meetings
Regardless of the industry, more and more meetings are being conducted from afar. Participants may be across town or around the world. They may be company divisions or suppliers and customers. Those in an organization who have always conducted business locally now find themselves with global concerns. It has become necessary for them to learn how to conduct long distance meetings effectively.
Teleconferencing is still predominantly by phone, although this is rapidly changing. A moderator is necessary to keep the meeting moving and on track, and to ensure that all participants have equal opportunity to contribute.
New rules for teleconferencing include considerations that managers and team leaders seldom had to consider before:
- When determining the start date, time, and participants, consider time zones and connection access, as some accounts may require reservations.
- Inform participants ahead of time about the date, time, and how the teleconference connection will be made. For companies with direct connections, the call may be placed from a central office to all remote participants, or participants might be told when to call in to the conference room where the moderator/leader will head the discussion.
- Prior to the meeting, speakerphones in rooms with several participants should be checked to avoid human and/or technical disruptions, misunderstandings, or breakdowns during the meeting.
- If documents, slides, visual models, and supplements are necessary to illustrate meeting points, they should be sent to the participants prior to the meeting, or they may be viewed via a web cam.
- Set objectives as you normally would. Provide an agenda, keeping it to three or four topics.
- Let the participants know at the beginning of the meeting how long it will last and how much time should be spent on each topic for discussion.
- Develop an outline that includes opening and closing remarks and special announcements.
- Announce at the beginning of the meeting what you intend to accomplish, and then follow the agenda closely.6
Effective meeting management is an essential skill if we are to avoid boring or wasteful professional interactions. By learning how to prepare yourself—and others—for meetings, you can use them to disseminate information, increase productivity, and achieve the company’s objectives.
This article is excerpted from BOMI International’s Managing the Organization. The guide can be purchased by calling 1—800—235—2664, or by visiting www.bomi.org.
Visit BOMI International’s Web site.
Notes:
1.MacLennan, “Top Ten Tips: Better Meetings” (2001), www.ic.org/nica/Process/Effmeet.html.
2.AEW Services, “Planning Project Meetings” (October2005), www.maxwideman.com/ issacons4/iac1442/sld003.htm.
3.Tom LaForce, “Action Oriented Meetings” (January 3, 2006), www.team-creations.com/ Services/Library/Articles/Meetings/action-oriented%20meetings.htm.
4.Serebra, “Team Leadership: Conducting Effective Team Meetings” (January 28, 2006), www.trainingclasses.com/course_hierarchy/courses/3315_Team_Leadership_Conducting_Productive_Team_Meetings.php.
5.Carter McNamara, “Basic Guide to Conducting Effective Meetings” (1999), www.managementhelp.org/misc/mtgmgmnt.htm.
6.USA World Tel, “Teleconferencing Tips” (2006), www.usaconferencing.com/ tips.htm#one.