Meetings can be very productive or a total waste of time. Which one it is depends entirely on both the organizers and the participants. Over the last few decades, there have been numerous successful innovative technological additions to the workplace that have improved efficiency and productivity. This has enabled us to grow both ourselves, and the organization as a whole. In this article, we?ll briefly discuss what you and your organization could be doing differently to make sure you make the most of meetings, and how you will reap the benefits!
1) Prepare a written agenda in advance
An agenda is simply a list of topics that are to be discussed at the meeting. This should be done in writing and distributed to all the participants at least one day before the meeting. If it is sent out too early it could be misplaced amongst their other documents, both electronic and paper based, but giving it out at the last minute or at the meeting will mean they won?t have time to prepare. This is an inefficient way of doing things. For regular meetings, creating a template is a good idea. This allows for the layout to be uniform for every meeting and will enable everyone to become familiar with how the meeting will be conducted quickly.
2) Use software and hardware tools to improve efficiency
Although many organizations have quickly adopted different types of software or hardware as they can recognize the benefits, many others are still either skeptical, or mislead about the cost, and have therefore not gone this route. These tools should be looked at from the perspective of an investment to improve efficiencies, rather than viewing it as costs that could rather be saved. To improve meeting efficiency, conference booking software, or even software managing the buildings providing the meeting rooms, can be implemented by a company. By integrating this type of software into their systems, an organization can streamline the booking process and reduce the time taken to organize meetings drastically, by checking who is available at what time, and determining which rooms are vacant at those times. One example of the hardware available to improve meeting efficiency is conference room displays. These offer digital signage wherever they are installed, be it in reception, or outside the meeting areas or conference rooms. This technology can be installed on almost any device of your choice.
3) Taking notes
It is astonishing to see how many people attend meetings with no intention of taking notes! Meetings are there to have important discussion and make decisions. You should always keep a record of what actions you are expected to perform by when, as well as make notes of the decisions made. It might be preferable to make hand written notes, as using electronic devices may create the impression that you are not concentrating and may be doing other things. That perception is however changing and using electronic capturing devices during a meeting is becoming more common and acceptable.
Following these 3 easy tips will help you improve your efficiency during meetings immediately! As meetings probably happen regularly, it?s logical to make them as easy and useful as possible.