Rules for efficient and effective meetings

Meetings are a great way to allow employees to generate and exchange information, however, they are also a major pain point for many individuals.

The key is not fewer meetings; it is more regular and specific ones.

Here are 4 rules for efficient and effective meetings:

Rule 1- Meet regularly

Good teams use meetings to discuss important decisions. Having regular meetings can remind employees that there is more going on in the workplace than their own deadlines and also encourage collaboration amongst employees.

Regular meetings also allow different areas of the business to align their priorities and goals, as well as keeping employees informed of any changes to the business.

Rule 2- Hold different kinds of meetings

Successful teams hold different meetings for different types of information. For example, a tactical meeting will only discuss new sales plans whereas an administrative meeting will discuss client meetings.

This helps employees stay focused on the one topic, instead of being confused by an overload of information.

Rule 3- Assign a moderator

It is quite common for a meeting to go off on a tangent, especially when multiple employees are contributing to the discussion. A moderator can help to keep the team on track, ensuring that time is not wasted.

Rule 4- Spend the last 5 minutes recapping the meeting

For productive meetings, the end is just as important as the beginning. It is important that everyone be on the same page when they leave the meeting to prevent any arguments in the future.