Effective meetings - take care of everyone's time

Who doesn't love to walk out of a room and feel "what a rewarding meeting!"? And is it even possible to have efficiency and fun at work with pointless and boring meetings? No! Here's how to have fun at work through good meeting culture.

Most office workers spend a third of their working time in meetings. Among managers, more than half of their working time is spent in meetings. Of course, it's important that all that time is spent efficiently. Here are Skillnads top tips:

Basic structure of the team

Without clear goals, structure and roles in your team, it is difficult to have effective meetings. Use Teamr to increase clarity. You'll work better as a team towards your goals, and lay the foundations for effective meetings. If the meeting has participants from several different teams and may have external parties invited, it is important to follow the points below. Everyone will appreciate that you respect their time and engagement and it will spread like wildfire.

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Clear invitation

Have a clear agenda. Send out documents in advance. Include only the items that need to be included. Calculate the time for each item and specify each item separately: is it an information item, a discussion item or are you going to decide?
Is it a purely creative meeting or is the aim to reach a consensus? How should everyone think and feel after the meeting is over, what is the impact goal? It is very important to set expectations right. Then everyone understands what is required of them beforehand in order for them to contribute at the meeting.
Are the right people invited?
Expect meetings to be no longer than 60 minutes, preferably 45 minutes.

Leading with a positive tone

Start by saying thank you. All participants, and especially the person chairing the meeting, should feel free to spread a sense of calm efficiency even if time is short and a lot needs to be resolved. Be cheerful, see all participants and focus on what needs to be solved right now, in the meeting.

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During the meeting

At the opening of the meeting, summarise the objective of the day.
Don't be afraid to really lead the meeting and park any interesting side-tracks that come up. Save them for later.
Effective meetings require everyone to be concise. Encourage each other to help with this.
What is the action? Who is personally responsible? Take notes.
Turn off your mobile phones.

End the meeting

Round up and summarise in time. Make sure everyone knows what has been decided or summarise the new common objectives. Explain any remaining questions.