If you’re a business owner and employ others in your company, holding regular meetings can be a great way to analyze how your team is doing, keep them in the know of the latest developments, and ensure everyone is happy and content in their roles. Whether you hold one-on-one meetings or as a group, everyone must be engaged from start to finish and take in what you say.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, you may have to hold remote meetings that provide additional challenges. Even if you’ve invested in the best video conferencing software, keeping employees tuned in can be difficult. To help, here are five tips for running effective and engaging meetings.
Get Organized
Before your meeting takes place, you must get organized and prepared to ensure it runs smoothly. Establishing the reason behind the meeting and creating a structure of how proceedings will run will keep attendees engaged and enable them to have a vague idea of what to expect from start to finish. Whether you’re letting your team know about a new product, or you want to conduct training, you need to know how to decide on meeting topics before getting started.
Gather Feedback
Your employees are the heart and soul of your company that keeps your operation running to plan. If you don’t value and respect your team, you can’t expect them to stay engaged and go above and beyond their duties. When holding a meeting, make sure that you gather feedback from attendees on their thoughts and feelings. Feedback can be highly useful in determining how you operate your company and whether there are any changes you need to make. Handling constructive criticism and turning it into a positive is key for running a successful business.
Ask the Right Questions
Depending on the nature of your meeting, you must have a list of questions ready to ask your team. For instance, if you’re meeting to converse about the progress of a current task, there are questions you should have ready, such as whether the team is meeting project goals, and if the project is progressing satisfactorily. As you will be the leader, you need to be confident in your manner and ask the right questions to get the outcome you desire.
Use the Correct Tools
If you’re working remotely due to COVID-19, you must use video conferencing software that is straightforward to follow. If you have a diverse workforce of all ages, there may be some team members who aren’t as tech-savvy, meaning they may have difficulty accessing the meeting. Thanks to technology, there are tons of video conferencing tools that provide easy to follow instructions, including Zoom and Skype. For those who are holding a business meeting in person, there are various pieces of equipment that you must have in place, such as a whiteboard and sticky notes.
Use Your Time Wisely
Make sure that you respect your employees’ time. If you’ve booked a meeting for thirty minutes, you must try your best to cram everything into the allocated time. If you have many topics to cover within this timeframe, you can use a timer that will help you stay on track. Time is of the essence in the business world. So, if your workforce is busy dealing with a project or task, the last thing you want is for your meeting to overrun.
Business meetings provide a great platform to address your employees and identify strengths and weaknesses. Whether you hold a remote meeting or can do so in person, there are lots of tips and techniques that can help keep attendees involved and connected.
