How to Create More Effective, Focused Business Meetings

Periodically meeting with members of your team can be a great way to get input and create a a strategic plan for the future. However, meetings may not be worth calling if there is no agenda or no core reason for getting together. What are some steps that you can take to ensure that meetings have a focus and are effective uses of everyone’s time?

Eliminate Distractions in the Meeting Room

A meeting room should be a place where the only focus is on the task at hand. This means that no one should be on social media, playing with their phones or doing anything other than participating in the meeting. If an individual doesn’t have anything to add to the discussion or anything to present to the group, he or she shouldn’t attend the event. If large groups of employees have nothing to add to a meeting, it may be a sign that it wasn’t needed in the first place.

Use Meeting Scheduling Software

A meeting scheduling software program can carve out time in everyone’s day to meet with their bosses or other team members. This ensures that everyone is free at the same time and that other scheduling conflicts don’t force some to either show up late or miss it entirely. Some companies, like Add-On, know that when everyone shows up at the same time, it ensures that you don’t have to go over material twice or otherwise take steps that could extend the meeting past its scheduled end time.

Pass Out the Meeting Agenda Ahead of Time

Instead of wasting time telling everyone why they have gathered, it may be best to pass out the agenda ahead of time. This allows those in the room to bring whatever materials they may want or need to reference with them. It may also allow everyone to come up with questions or suggestions before the event gets started. Therefore, you and your team can get right into a substantive conversation that makes it easier to achieve a meeting’s objectives in a timely manner.
When done properly, a meeting allows your people to provide their input or make suggestions to improve the business. It also allows managers to ensure that everyone knows about new company policies or new initiatives that they will be expected to follow. With proper planning, your people can get together and accomplish what they need without wasting time or reducing employee productivity for the day.