Work Smarter, Not Harder, with Better Team Meetings to boost team productivity. Performance is a rhythm of tightly run daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings. These meetings ensure that we focus the team on what’s essential and facilitate collaboration for problem-solving and innovation. You’d be amazed at the progress you can see when communication flows openly and consistently. So how do you work towards ‘better’ meetings?
1. Schedule more, not less
Meetings are a routine that will set you free. While this sounds counterintuitive, it is the fastest way to ensure progress. It cuts down conversation and puts the emphasis back on the action. My team members must report daily on activities in a peer setting, and accountability soars, and so do outcomes. You will also avoid unresolved problems and discontentment forming in the workplace.
2. Make sure your team knows why they are at each meeting
Clarity enables progression, so you should give each meeting a name and define its purpose. It is a more effective outcome when it has more concrete goals. Whether it is your weekly team meeting, staff review, project meeting make sure the right people are present. A written agenda, including a time frame, will help. Send these out before the meeting so everyone involved has a chance to review.
3. Always allow for response time and extra business
Good meetings will generate discussion, creating opinions and more business opportunities. The goal of peak efficiency and productivity shouldn’t be at the expense of vital organic conversations. Allocate time for these, but be specific about how MUCH time is given over. You may discover that the best thing to do with a particularly juicy subject is to create a committee.
4. Create meeting etiquette and encourage the team to self-monitor
A good rule is not to allow too much comment on each meeting item. You’ve qualified for response time but don’t go over that time; otherwise, the meeting becomes less productive. Relevant points can be raised, but any solid and divergent subjects that come up should be referred to extra business or tabled for a separate meeting.
5. Appoint a chair, time-keeper and a note taker
Even simple meetings require structure. Assigning these three roles will set you up for success each time you begin a discussion.
- A chair – will keep the meeting moving so that you don’t spend too much time on a particular topic, ensuring everyone is heard but that the course of discussion does not stray.
- A timekeeper – allows everyone else to focus on the meeting without stealing glances at their watches.
- A note-taker – frees other team members so they can listen and contribute – without being distracted by making their notes. Everyone will also be working from the same messages to avoid confusion when following up on tasks afterwards.
It’s best to rotate these roles, so you build skills within your team, and no team members start to feel put upon, burdened, or dismissed.
Learn to get more out of your meetings.
This essential part of your business operations ensures good communications, happy staff members, aligned team goals, and super accelerated productivity.
If you are looking for assistance in planning meetings, setting agendas and getting the most out of team meeting time, consult Business Benchmark Group. We are one of Australia’s top coaching businesses have helped countless trades and construction businesses in Australia and New Zealand achieve results. Exercises have one goal: to make it as easy as possible for our ideal customers to buy from us. The more you understand the who, where, what, when, why and how of your target market, the better you’ll be able to shape your business by calling them out, attracting them, and securing them as your clients.
