Are Your Meetings As Efficient as Possible?
Whether your next meeting is an effective, productive one, or one your staff barely manages to “get through” is up to you. When evaluating your meeting effectiveness, consider if you regard them as part of a routinely practiced growth vehicle, or are just gathering everyone for the sake of routine? Sad to say, many reports conclude that meetings came in as the leading killer of office productivity, even beating out office politics. If you want to make your meetings the best they can be, set aside time to consider these items:
Is This Meeting Necessary?
Having a meeting for the sake of a having a meeting thinly veiled as an update serves no purpose, other than an opportunity for everyone to get up and moving, and away from their desks for an hour or so. Before you even block the meeting time, make sure you have a defined purpose and clear objectives. Does your staff need to be made aware of a change of management or a shift in strategy? Do you need their input in making a decision? Is there a problem facing the company? If you can’t identify a valuable reason, there’s no reason to hold a meeting.
Who Should Attend?
Often, in a misguided attempt to be inclusive, a manager or department head will summon all his staff to a meeting. However, if the discussions have nothing to do with their responsibilities, workers will consider the meeting a waste of time and spend …
