Conducting a meeting might seem straightforward at first glance. However, did you know that inefficient meetings can lead to significant costs? Middle managers spend 35% of their time in meetings, while upper management spends a whopping 50% of their time in these gatherings.
That’s crazy!
That’s why we’ve written our guide to help you make your meetings more efficient, step by step. We cover all the essential elements of the meeting process, starting with a well-structured meeting agenda, the proper use of meeting notes, and the perfect tools for efficient meetings.
Learn how to master your meeting notes effectivley.
Learn about preparing the perfect meeting agenda.
Learn how to set the right objectives for your meeting.
We divide the implementation of a meeting into 3 sections:
1. before the meeting
2. during the meeting
3. after the meeting
Before the meeting basically means preparing for the meeting (meeting preparation) and setting the right meeting objectives. During the meeting, tools, transcriptions and meeting notes play a role. After the meeting, action items and meeting minutes determine the success of the meeting.
Most managers and workers have too many meetings, which costs money and productivity. Statistics clearly show this. Excessive meetings in companies can not only be expensive but also lead to employee resignations. However, with the right system in place, meetings are an essential and valuable tool for team collaboration.
To make your team or company meetings more efficient, you should implement meetings as a process. A process requires certain specifications and guidelines so that it can run efficiently.
Efficient meetings start with clear rules on when meetings should be held (meeting culture). You should also ensure that your meetings or those in your team always have a clear objective, a well-structured agenda and follow-up action items.
Starting with the process is the more scalable way to make all meetings more efficient. Of course, there are also factors that the meeting organizer must take into account. These include factors such as inclusivity, speaking time, concentration and duration of the meeting.
