Making The Most of Your Project Management Meetings
When it comes to the workplace, meetings can swallow up time like a blackhole. What you think is going to be a short and concise discussion on the day’s goals can turn into a lengthy panel on the effects of small business in the corporate world.
The most important element of effective and efficient meetings is staying on track. Have a goal in mind for what you want to accomplish during your meeting and create an agenda that you can stick to. If related issues come up, jot them down and save it for later discussion. In many cases, tangential topics need mulling over and are better suited for discussion once they have been thought out. Summarize periodically to keep things on track.
Preparation for meetings is also key. If everyone has full knowledge of the project you plan to discuss, you don’t have to waste time explaining things during the meeting. If possible, give out the meeting agenda beforehand, along with anything else that needs to be read to prepare for the meeting. Use your online project management tool to review project progress, so you know where things stand before you get to the meeting.
Remember that meetings should do one of three things: brainstorm, solve a problem or make a decision. Before you send out that event reminder think about whether a meeting is really needed, and if you can accomplish the same goal by communicating in other ways. If you simply want to convey information, perhaps sending an email or voice mail would be just as effective.
Lastly, don’t finish any discussion without deciding how the group will act on it. Meetings are about accomplishing things and making decisions, and there’s nothing more frustrating than ending a meeting in the same place you started. Have someone keep track of what was decided and who is supposed to do what as a result. Review it at the end of the meeting and follow up with an email.
Do you have any other meeting advice? Share it in the comments!
Tags: efficiency, meetings