Meetings: waste of time or tool for improvement?

Meetings are an important part of most organisations, affecting productivity, staff morale and efficiency. 

Meetings are an important part of any organisation’s culture: they drive change, open channels of communication and help to develop a common sense of purpose. Or at least they should do.

Unfortunately the reality is often somewhat different. Many of us spend far too many hours of our working lives in unproductive and uninspiring meetings, which can do more harm than good.

Part of the problem is the lack of training that people receive in leading meetings effectively - often they simply don’t know the right way to go about it. The good news is that there are some simple techniques that people can use to help them manage meetings more effectively.

These skills can be learned, and with a little practice, refined and improved so that any meetings you run are productive and effective.

If you want your meeting to achieve its objectives, it’s no good just putting people in a room and expecting the right outcome to materialise all by itself

Tips for productive meetings

1. Determine a need. The first question to ask yourself is: ‘Do we actually need a meeting at all?’. Many organisations have developed an excessive meeting culture, but some issues may not require uniting the whole company, team or department. Determine a need and then decide who should be involved. Then, once you have decided that a meeting is the best way forward with a specific issue, you need to define its purpose. What do you want to get from it? It’s also essential that you share this with all participants so they know why they are there and what the objectives are.
2. Structure. Planning is an important part of success. If you want your meeting to achieve its objectives, it’s no good just putting people in a room and expecting the right outcome to materialise all by itself. You need to make it happen. So, once you have identified your objectives, decide the best way to go about achieving them. Think about how the meeting should be structured, who should be invited and whether you need any evidence or statistics to support the meeting. Make sure you have all the materials at your fingertips and that you have thought the structure through.
3. Follow the code. Meetings are a gathering of professionals, who should behave in a suitably professional manner. Unfortunately you can’t automatically assume that this will happen, so it is advisable to set out some ground rules from the start. Discuss and agree standards and how people are expected to behave by developing a clear code of conduct for all meetings. This should address issues such as confidentiality, time-keeping, use of mobile phones and listening. Some may seem like minor or obvious issues, but they can cause frustration and resentment when standards are inconsistent.
4. Knowing the limits. People feel reassured by knowledge. So, knowing when a meeting is due to start and when it is scheduled to end is important. It can be frustrating if you are sitting in a meeting watching the minutes tick by knowing that you have just missed your train home and will have to wait an hour for the next one. If you want people to be engaged, ensure that you set clear time limits – and stick to them. That way people know what is expected of them, and for how long. It’s also a simple matter of professional courtesy.
5. Take action. If your meeting has fulfilled its purpose, the end result will be action. People will have certain responsibilities and actions arising from the meeting so ensure that these are made explicit. Conclude with a summary of the key action points and who is responsible for ensuring that they are carried out. Create a culture of accountability and people will soon become accustomed to the idea that meetings are a springboard for direct action.
6. Ring the changes. It’s important to keep the dynamics fresh - even effective groups can become stuck in a rut, which inhibits creativity and action. By introducing some simple changes, you can prevent meetings becoming routine and monotonous. One of the best ways to alter the group dynamic is to ensure that all participants take turns in chairing the meeting. This not only changes the way that a group interacts and offers a different perspective, but it can help to galvanise a group member who lacks confidence or rarely participates. 
7. Same time, same place. Routine and predictability have their place but if you want to shake things up a bit look at ways of changing physical factors such as altering the venue for example. Using an external venue can help to raise the perceived significance of the meeting. Changing times, format and seating arrangements can help to change the way people interact and revive a flagging group or format
8. Don’t be sidetracked. When contributions are flowing and ideas are coming thick and fast it can be a real buzz. However, this is also the time when it’s easy to become sidetracked. Someone might have suggested something that is worthwhile pursuing, but if it is not relevant to the focus of the meeting, it needs to be dealt with separately or you risk moving away from your original purpose. Deal with any distraction, no matter how valid, by acknowledging that it is an issue worthy of further discussion and schedule a time in the future when it can be properly examined.
9. Don’t be afraid to lead. Any gathering with a purpose needs a leader or the end result will be vague, chaotic or fruitless. Your job is to manage the group and how you do this will often largely depend upon the personalities within it. You may have members who lack confidence or experience who need drawing out; you may also have people who insist on expressing their opinions somewhat forcefully, even attempting to sway the group to their point of view – sometimes unconsciously. As the chair or leader, you need to keep the purpose of the meeting in mind and actively manage the discussion.
10. Outside influences. Organisations are most likely to bring in help from external sources if dealing with a particularly emotive or contentious issue that is likely to provoke strong reactions. An external facilitator has the advantage of objectivity and cannot be accused of having a personal axe to grind. An independent expert can lead the discussion impartially, encouraging ideas and ways of thinking. It also allows the chair to contribute more fully, free from the responsibility of managing structure, outcome and personalities. An outside influence brings fresh perspective and a logical approach to problem solving.

We all hate to waste time. Running an effective and productive meeting will have a significant impact on an organisation’s productivity as well as levels of communication and staff morale.

If you feel that your meetings aren’t achieving what they should, look at the way they are run and review what you currently do against these tips. They may not all be relevant to your organisation, but by applying just a few of these common sense ideas, you can ensure that you are creating a culture where meetings are used as valuable tools for change and improvement.