Whether you’re an SME or an industry giant, team meetings are an essential part of every business. Invaluable to any workforce, they help to strengthen strategies, as well as the relationship with your team. However, there’s no need to hold them excessively! More thought through and productive meetings produce more benefits while helping to decrease the total meetings volume, ultimately making them less strenuous to attend by your team and even…enjoyable!
So, to help you plan your future team meetings, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite tips to elevate their productivity.
Give adequate notice
No one likes to feel unprepared or make last minute changes to their daily schedule, especially during busier times. Make sure to always give generous notice when scheduling a meeting, allowing your team adequate time to plan and prepare. This goes both ways! If for some reason you know you won’t be able to attend, try your best to let everyone know in advance.
Invite the right people
Keep it small. We’ve all experienced a zoom call with unnecessary numbers of participants, it rarely goes smoothly. Larger groups can make it difficult for everyone to feel involved and when online, are often accompanied by various technical issues. Unless you’re giving a quick group announcement or plan to be the only speaker during the session, try to stick to between 5 and 8 attendees. This applies to in person meetings as well!
Make sure it’s necessary
Before scheduling another meeting, ask yourself “can it be covered in an email?” Of course, this can’t be applied to every scenario, but the likelihood is that there’s a more efficient way of getting the message across. Eliminating time consuming meetings as well as their organising process, your team will be quicker to take action and produce results, as well as appreciating the additional time to do so.
Take notes and log changes
Get into the habit of making notes and writing down any important information, alternatively encourage your team members to do this. Afterall, the chances of remembering every detail are small! Not only is it useful to look back on and review – it also means that you can easily update any missing team members. Transcribing meetings into the written format is a great way of building up strategies and finalising targets, while creating a visual aid for your team.
Keep it short or take breaks
According to various studies, most adult individuals have a maximum attention span of around 20 minutes, after which focus begins to lapse. When compared to the average time of a meeting (50.6 minutes), the figures suggest a decrease in productivity for over half the meeting’s duration. The best option is to keep meetings short, and to the point, keeping them under 30 minutes where possible. In the event of a necessary longer meeting, regular breaks can help to refresh focus, producing better outcomes while maximising time efficiency.
Set a clear meeting goal and agenda
Almost every successful meeting has a pre-established goal and a general agenda. After all, it’s the best way of staying on track and defining clear targets. Doing so ensures that the entire team stays on the same page and thus has a better understanding of what needs to be done. This ultimately creates a better environment for the entire team, allowing for a stronger synergy and higher productivity.
Respect people’s time and individual needs
We’ve all experienced busier periods at work – times when every minute felt invaluable, and any last-minute changes turned the whole week upside down. While meetings are undoubtedly an important aspect of work life, understanding the individual needs of your workforce and acting accordingly should always be the primary focus. Respect the time of your team and allow room for adjustments – not only will this strengthen the bond with your peers, but it will also create an honest and positive environment for your business to grow. Skipping the occasional meeting during busy periods, or rescheduling for more convenient times, will help to promote higher quality results as well as reinforcing a better work ethic.
If you’d like to find out more about improving the productivity of your team meetings, or require any additional business support, get in touch! E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com T: 01903 688789