Many office workers spend a significant portion of their work time in meetings. Meetings are where problems are solved, where innovations are brought to life, and where important decisions are made. However, many people believe the time used for meetings could be spent doing other stuff, and that meetings are unproductive. If your staff complain about this to you, here are four ways to make your office meetings more productive.
Clarify the Need for a Meeting
The best way to be productive is to make sure you are doing the right things at the right time. That said, are you sure that having this meeting is the right thing to do? Does the team really have to take out time from their busy schedules to sit and deliberate over this issue, or is it something that can be resolved via email or conference call? Before you begin to schedule any office meetings, be sure to write down exactly why that meeting needs to happen and what the benefits will be gained from doing that as opposed to using more remote methods of problem-solving.
Create And Share Your Meeting Agenda
Once you know why you need to meet, you need to create an agenda for the meeting. Creating an agenda of what is to be discussed and the things each team member needs to be prepared to talk about helps everyone come into the meeting room with their most capable and productive selves. It also instils a sense of being carried along, which is important when working in large groups.
Vary Your Meeting Location
When people do the same thing over and over again, their brains put those activities on autopilot, and it becomes difficult to try something different. In the same way, when staff members routinely solve similar problems in the same meeting room over and over again, it becomes harder for them to generate creative solutions in that space. If the meeting you are planning is something that requires a special dose of creativity, try using a different space. You could use an open spot in your office, go to a restaurant, or even use a rented meeting room. Sites such as VenueFinder have excellent meeting room hire options all over the UK and can help you schedule your next productive meeting.
Let People Move Around More
Sitting for a long meeting drains the body and brain of energy and makes it hard to be productive. Studies have shown that getting up and walking around for 10 minutes can help increase mental focus. Moreover, meetings, where employees are given the option to walk around, are often more productive than those in which they sit throughout. Consider removing the chairs from your meeting room and replacing them with large exercise balls, or having a meeting while going for a walk.
Having meetings is an integral part of having and grooming a good team. But it does not mean that those meetings must be a waste of everyone’s time. If you are trying to reduce the chances that your team meetings will be unproductive, implement the tips in this article and watch the productive results come naturally.
