Having meetings with your team regularly does bring a lot of benefits to any business. There are some standard rules these meetings should consist of in order for you to get the outcome that you want. Simply sitting around a table with a bunch of people is not the goal. Meetings can also waste a lot of productivity time if it does not add value. You want to be fully prepared when you step into a team meeting. This is going to save you time and money when done correctly.
Perhaps you just do not know where to start with your preparation, but it does not have to be complicated. Start with looking at some human resource tips because this is going to provide you with some essential guidelines to dealing with staff. There has to be structure in your meetings. Start with a few simple steps you can take to make it a more effective team meeting.
- Only necessary attendees
When scheduling your team meetings, only include those who needs to be present. Just because it is a team meeting, does not mean the entire team should be there. Depending on what you are discussing, you can decide who should attend and who would be wasting valuable time. A meeting is usually specific to the topics up for discussion and this does not need everyone’s input. There are times when you have to gather the whole team, but don’t do so unless that time presents itself.
- Topics
A lot of managers go into meetings without a detailed list of topics to be discussed. This is one of the biggest time wasters. Without knowing why the meeting was called, you could just sit around a table chit chatting. Start with the main topic and break it down into smaller sections. This way, when you step into the meeting, you can start getting to work. It saves time and keeps you focused on what needs to get done.
- Time
Attach a time limit on each topic discussed. Sometimes, we can ramble about one topic for far too long and run out of time to effectively talk about the rest. Time management is not only for hours behind the desk. Meetings can be a real time waster when not planned properly. Understand that an effective meeting will always have one main issue and allocating more time to that topic is acceptable. You just want to be able to stop a discussion if there are other topics on the list with equal importance.
Send out an agenda to every attendee before the time. I see a lot of businesses handing out agendas at the start of a meeting. If it is done sooner, your attendees have a chance to come up with answers and have some time to brainstorm on the topics listed. When you give it at the meeting, most of the time, people will have to go back and come back with answers. You could have just saved a lot of time if you send it out beforehand.
- Structure
Make sure that you know who is leading the meeting and have some ground rules. You might want to start by greeting everyone and then diving straight into the most important issue to discuss. Without this structure, people can end up talking about last night’s football game for half an hour. Understand that this meeting is not a social gathering, but rather still as important as work itself. Focus on the knowledge skills and attitudes of people when you stand by the structure and outline created.
- Stop reprimanding
A meeting is not the place for you to discuss a present employee’s misbehaviour or mistakes. This is something you can easily discuss with the person in private. Trying to discipline someone in the presence of other, while in a formal setting, is unprofessional. It also sets a bad tone for the rest of the meeting.
- Feedback
When you are working on your scheduling, be sure to leave some time for feedback. Open discussions allow your employees to have an opinion and many times, these suggestions are great. You want to make sure this time is scheduled for and not just continuing for hours on end. If you are stuck with one issue and someone has an easy solution to the problem, the feedback session will work great. Pay attention to those individuals who can come up with solutions easily.
- Vision and mission
Everything discussed at a team meeting should align with the company’s vision and mission. When you are doing the agenda, you can quickly determine if the items in your agenda should be discussed or removed. A lot of times, discussions in meetings can move away from the mission of the company and it reflects negatively on what you are trying to achieve. Every meeting should add value in order for the business to be a success.
- Participation
Give attendees the opportunity to participate in the discussions. Many times there will be one person leading the meeting, which is perfectly fine. The one leading the meeting should not be the only one talking though. If this were the case, then there is no need for a meeting. You could have simply then just sent an email. Participation from all parties will determine the outcome of the meeting. This is why it is important to send the agenda out ahead of time. Some people are also just afraid to state their opinion, so try and encourage everyone to contribute.
- Have fun
A meeting might not be seen as a place to have fun, but it surely should not be dull. We tend to want to be so professional that we forget we are talking with actual human beings. When people are relaxed, they will be more likely to want to attend these meetings. If it is just a serious bunch of people who don’t want to even make eye contact, it becomes a bore.
Conclusion
Meetings are not taken lightly and a lot of employers are now trying to minimize the amount of meetings held. Having a meeting with your team once a month should be sufficient, unless there are issues that pop up. Focusing on getting work done is much more important. If the company is running well and no issues pop up, there is no need for a meeting. Use these tips to help you better prepare for your next team meeting.
Bio
Bobby Evans is a guest post writer. He specializes on tips for Career Development and works at ksa writing service. Writing for is not only his job but also his passion. His hobby is reading and traveling. His life motto is “Try to do your best and never give up!”.
