6 steps to have effective work meetings

Discover the 6 keys necessary for having effective work meetings to achieve greater productivity and better time management.

Nowadays in any profession you will often be required to work with other people and collaborate together to achieve objectives. This always involves a process in which, whether monthly or weekly, a series of meetings must be established to discuss pending matters, processes work, report on ongoing and future projects, etc.

However, many complain that on more than one occasion these meetings are far from productive. In fact, following the pandemic caused by COVID-19, online meetings became a must, and many claim losses in productivity and time that could be mitigated with a simple report or email.

If this sounds familiar, today Sillamania shares six key strategies to avoid wasting time and run effective meetings that help you advance your projects with colleagues.

1st step: determine the objective of the meeting

Basically, for any aspect of our lives, it is necessary to have a clear objective, but when it comes to team meetings, this aspect takes on special relevance.

It would not be the first or the last time that one enters a meeting and ends up discussing irrelevant topics that prolong that meeting more than necessary.

Therefore, designating the main objective you want to achieve by bringing these people together is essential not only out of respect for your time but also for the time of others.

An extra detail: communicate the objective of the meeting to all participants. This way, everyone will know why that meeting is taking place and can come prepared.

2nd step: set a list of agenda items

If the meeting is a check-in, it is best to draw up a list of key points to be addressed in the meeting and stick to it.

Many also find it helpful to write a brief summary next to each point. For example: if you note that you need to talk about "data analytics," it may help to put next to it "show the report of the last 6 months onPowerPoint."

3rd step: establish a timing

In productivity techniques like time blocking or the Pomodoro technique, it is essential to set the hours during which you will perform certain tasks.

Applied to team meetings, setting a start and end time will help you organise it better and allow your colleagues to reserve that time in their schedules as well.

It is important that this time is fixed and not changed under any circumstances, so punctuality and respecting the end time is crucial. It is a way to force synthesis based on objectives.

As a curious fact I will add that in the world of agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban, the approach to effective meetings is deeply internalised. They shedule times of just 10 minutes to share certain updates, which forces quick synthesis and objective setting.

4th step: invite only those who really need to be there

It is not uncommon to see that when team meetings are established, too many people are invited who can contribute little or nothing except to listen to what needs to be said.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if it is not a topic that needs to be discussed by the entire team, it is usually more efficient to designate only a few to attend the meeting. It is a way to gain agility and not waste others' time.

5th step: ensure you have the necessary materials

If you need to gather several people, make sure there are meeting chairs for everyone. Likewise, if you need to present a report or require others to participate in a vote, ensure you have everything necessary: projector, laptop, HDMI cable, paper, pens, sticky notes, etc.

6th step: always make a final summary

Once you finish the meeting, send an email to the attendees with the points discussed, the conclusions drawn, and, above all, the next steps to continue working.

These summaries are especially useful not only as a review for the attendees but also as information for those who could not attend the meeting or whose attendance was not necessary. Everyone will be informed with just one click.

Ready to have effective work meetings from now on? At Sillamania, we have a wide catalogue of office, gaming, and ergonomic chairs to place in your meeting areas and enjoy maximum comfort.

Visit us now at our Sillamania website, don’t miss our offers!