We’ve all been there. Sitting at a meeting that’s taking hours to wrap up. Talking in circles. Beating the same dead horse over and over again and yet, really accomplishing nothing of importance by the end of it all. It’s enough to make anyone want to run screaming from the room.
However, the fact of the matter is that meetings are necessary in order to conduct business, regardless of what business you are in. But the good news is that there are steps you can take to cure those bad meeting blues and make your business meetings as productive as possible:
Send out a meeting agenda.
As one of Dade County’s top staffing agencies, Future Force knows that while many companies do hand out agendas, it’s typically just as the meeting is about to start. This doesn’t allow participants any time to gather their thoughts or prepare. If you can, send out the agenda a few days in advance. If that’s not feasible, then aim to get it out first thing the morning of the meeting.
So what should be in your agenda?
- The reason for the meeting
- Specific points that will be discussed
- Anticipated or desired outcome(s) for the meeting
Manage the discussions.
When the conversation starts heading in an unproductive direction, it’s time to take the reins and steer the talking back to the topic at hand. If side issues come up that are important, but not relevant to that particular meeting, then be sure to make a note of each so you can discuss them at future meetings.
Also, before you end the meeting, quickly review all the action items that were agreed upon and who is responsible for each to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Send out meeting minutes.
This might sound boring and old-fashioned, but recording the decisions made and action items is a must. So many times, people will forget what they were supposed to do or what was discussed because they don’t have meeting minutes.
That said, these don’t need to be a transcription of the entire meeting. They should simply be an overview of the topics discussed, the key decisions made about each issue, action items and who is responsible for each.
And if your business action items aren’t getting done because you don’t have the right people in place, give Future Force a call. As one of Dade County’s top staffing agencies, we can help by providing you with fact access to quality employees.