Make a Promise to Conduct Better Meetings In the Year Ahead

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

I came across an article recently on CNBC that said 90% of companies plan to implement return to the office policies by the end of 2024. This isn’t surprising. Organizations have been talking about return to the office policies mandates for quite some time. That’s not what I want to talk about today.

I want to talk about meetings. Because one of the things that happens when everyone comes back to the office will be in-person meetings. And dare I say that one of the things that employees are not looking forward to when they return to the office are these meetings. The reason being that many organizations don’t do them well.  

Employees don’t mind going to a meeting that’s productive. The key word here being productive. My first book was on the topic of meetings. It’s titled “Essential Meeting Blueprints for Managers”. So, I thought it might be a good idea to review some tips for conducting a good meeting. 

1. Have meetings for the right reasons. I believe there are only three reasons to have a meeting: 1) convey information, identify problems, and make decisions. Some people schedule meetings for things that could easily be communicated via email or a phone call. This is probably the biggest reason that meetings are ineffective – they’re scheduled for the wrong reason. 

2. Include the right people. Meetings are not popularity contests. Invite the people who need to be there and don’t invite the people who don’t. Yes, this does mean that the naysayers and people who enjoy playing “Devil’s Advocate” might need to attend. Sorry but, if the right people aren’t there to participate, the outcomes of the meeting will be questioned. 

3. Schedule meetings at the right date and time. Speaking of inviting the right people, it’s important to understand when to conduct meetings. I’ve seen people intentionally schedule meetings knowing that someone they didn’t want to be there would not be able to attend. And meetings should be scheduled so they don’t conflict with key times in the operation.   

4. Create and distribute an agenda. And do it before the meeting. Even for standing meetings, it’s helpful to have an agenda. Meeting participants can come prepared to discuss items. It’s also helpful to keep the meeting on track and on time. As a general rule, people love it when a meeting ends early but they do not love it when it runs late. And should someone want to bring up a new topic, the agenda can determine if you have time, or it should be considered for the next meeting. 

5. If you expect others to present information, tell them in advance. This is part of the conversation about agendas. It is disrespectful to throw someone off guard and ask them to present data, proposals, etc. with no warning. Tell meeting participants in advance if they need to do something. 

6. Use the proper platform. In today’s technology age, we have options when it comes to meetings. We can meet in person or online. Some meetings – because of their content – would be better in person. If a person is being asked to present something, make sure they have the tools they need. 

7. Keep minutes. Every meeting should have some sort of documentation about what was discussed and any decisions that were made. Find someone who can take this responsibility and ask them (before the meeting!) if they could help. Personally, I’m a fan of using SMART for meeting minutes. It provides a record of what will be done, who is responsible, and the timeline for completion.

8. Follow-up. The purpose of a meeting is to get stuff done. Distributing minutes in a timely fashion after the meeting lets everyone know their responsibilities. It allows people to stay focused. And it allows the meeting leader to follow-up to make sure the work is getting done. And if anyone has questions or challenges along the way, it can be discussed and addressed effectively. 

Meetings are an important part of business. The information discussed helps us do our jobs better, which ultimately helps the organization perform better. I know we like to joke about meetings, but we can’t let that keep us from trying to improve them. 

Whether your organization operates in the office, remotely, or some hybrid version, meetings matter. It might be a good idea to review how to conduct a good meeting … and then hold people to it. 

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