How to make your office meetings productive

Most employees will know that meetings are part and parcel of work life. Some meetings are however more productive than others, for example a lengthy meeting on the office social, would probably take up a good part of your day and sometimes achieve very little. To make your meetings more productive, here are a few tips.

Is the meeting necessary – If you can accomplish your goal via email, use this method instead of a sit down face to face meeting.

Email documents prior to the meeting – Email the participants a list of what will be discussed and what information (if any) they should obtain prior to the meeting.

Only invite those who contribute – Be selective of whom you invite to your meetings and only include those who will contribute.

Start and end the meeting on time – Give 10 mins for the late comers to come in and then commence the meeting. Schedule a meeting end time and stick to it. (you could always say you have another meeting scheduled)

Have an agenda – If you think you don’t need an agenda then you don’t really need a meeting. Lay out the objectives, minutes and action items of the meeting. Email this out before the meeting begins, together with any other documentation.

A chairperson – The chairperson should ensure everyone is on time and take notes.

Review your last meeting – Briefly go through what was discussed and achieved since your last meeting.

Follow up – After the meeting has ended, send out the meeting minutes to all the participants during the course of the day.