Article
Learn the importance of planning and structuring in-person or virtual meetings. And why the time, day and location matters.
Meetings are an integral part of business, but it runs a fine line between being helpful and productive vs a vortex that sucks time and productivity. Owing to its universal presence, a lot of people have studied meetings! And we're here to give you the rundown of how to make your meetings more effective and (more importantly, right now) share some tips on conducting effective meetings that are perfect for the work from home, meeting from your neighbourhood space or hybrid workstyles that are setting in around us!
Check out 🖖🏼 how your employees can now work from anywhere
I. Plan meetings, don't just plan to meet.
It's easy to pick a time to meet and know what needs to be discussed, but planning meetings may require a little more thought.
📝 Attendees list :
Having meetings with too many or too few of the relevant people can be a waste of time. It's best to identify who is needed and clearly share this information while planning meetings.
- 👉🏽Tools as simple as google calendars allow you to mark people as optional, so they have the flexibility to confirm the appointment and join a meeting if they find it necessary
🗂️ Agendas :
Creating an Agenda is an excellent way of staying on track during a meeting. Often, recurring meetings tend to develop a style of their own, which can sometimes lead to unproductive sessions where critical matters get left behind.
- 👉🏽Creating an Agenda can help groups stick to critical matters🏅
🤝🏼 Take it Offline :
You may realise that fewer people are required to go over specific topics during a meeting. In such an event, encourage your team to take it offline once the group brainstorming is complete!
- 👉🏽 It increases collaboration and team bonding.
📖 Pre-reads :
For larger gatherings, create a pre-read. This helps attendees catch up on what is being discussed and rescues the number of irrelevant or repeated questions!
👩🏻🏫 Identify a Facilitator :
Most often, this is a role carried out by the manager. Still, every meeting should have someone who plays the role of a facilitator, who can encourage and allow everyone to share their insights and inputs and redirect those who take over the conversation.
⏱️ Track Time :
It's important to respect others' time if you don't want them wasting yours. Ensure attendees join meetings on time - be it in-person or virtual, and more importantly, you don't extend calls over time. Some people have also gone further to a lot of time slots to agenda items.
🧠 Brainstorm with productive tools 🧰 :
Some tools can enable brainstorming productively. Miro, Google boards and Menti are great ways to interact, allow people to share ideas uninterrupted and then work through them.
Read How Notion Press publishing increased team bonding during the pandemic
While the above steps are great general guidelines for meetings, a few more things can help!
II. Time
When it comes to the best time for a meeting, the jury is still out! There are, however, a few options that are more effective than others.
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Short meetings - Mornings are best for these quick catch-ups. 15 minutes is an ideal length here! These are a great way to connect and get immediate updates on what's happening. (Though, let's be honest. It might be good to use an app for this!)
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In-depth meetings - Mid-morning and mid-evenings are by far the best choice for interactive sessions that require engagement. These time slots skip the morning stress and the post-lunch sluggishness to provide the perfect slot to get things done!
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Meetings with meals - Breakfast and lunch meetings are also a great way to go if your meeting is more about delivering information rather than engaging in tasks and action plans.
III. Days
What are the best days for meetings? Some surveys show that Mondays often tend to be hectic, and many employees may be caught reminiscing about the weekend just gone by, while Fridays could mean your team is more focused on their weekend plans rather than the work at hand. This means the best options when it comes to meeting days are...
- Tuesday,
- Wednesday
- Thursday
QUICK PROBE 🔎 Noida & NCR is a hot spot for meeting and hybrid work adoption.
Check out 👉 The 10 best coworking spaces in Noida - Hot Desk, meeting rooms & office spaces
IV. Location, Location, Location!
Where you meet matters. And in a time where offices are shut, being able to meet is a luxury! Have you considered meeting your team at coworking space?
Quick Read on why location matters 🤓 Meeting at a Starbucks? Is there anything better?
V. BONUS 🤩
How do you maximise your 'online' meetings?
👉 1. Use video - it feels more personal, and people are less likely to multitask. Engagement is key!
👉 2. Use Tools - we mentioned tools before, but this is especially necessary when meeting online. Some people may not engage online, as they did in-person; tools solve for this!
Must Try:Create your own Virtual Coworking Space 👉🏽 https://heytilo.app/
👉 1. Plan meetings that aren't meetings - Working remote means limited interaction. No water cooler chats or catch-ups on the elevator. Plan slots where you and your team can meet just to chat! It will make your work meetings more effective.
👉 2. Switch things up 🎲 - If you live in a city that has allowed offices to open, take this opportunity to meet your colleagues and work together. This could mean having in-person meetings, but it could also mean a day of (co-)working together!
