Effective meetings in the company - how not to waste time and draw good conclusions?

The pandemic and the various restrictions, as well as the rise in the importance of remote work, have highlighted even more the importance of good communication within a company. One of the elements of this communication is company meetings, where issues that cannot be addressed in an email are usually discussed. Usually—because there's a saying now: "When you're in a company meeting that could have been an email." Or put another way: the best meeting is the one that didn't happen.

So, how do you conduct effective company meetings and ensure that employees are eager to participate? You'll read about it in the article below.

Why have meetings in the company at all?

Meetings in a company play a crucial role in management and internal communication. They enable the exchange of information, synchronization of actions, and decision-making in a group. Through meetings, employees can better understand the organization’s goals, priorities, and the tasks ahead of them. Additionally, regular meetings allow for monitoring progress, addressing issues as they arise, and making necessary adjustments. Meetings are also an opportunity to build relationships among employees, which can contribute to better collaboration and understanding within the team. Finally, effective meetings can increase employee engagement and improve the overall efficiency of the company. Elon Musk once issued very strict guidelines to his employees, instructing them to leave unproductive meetings, clear their calendars, and report if someone was generating too many unnecessary meetings. Would someone walk out of your meetings?

How often should meetings be held?

The frequency of meetings in a company depends on several factors, such as the nature of the industry, the size of the team, and the character of the projects. Generally speaking, it’s wise to follow the principle that meetings should be held often enough to ensure smooth communication and coordination but not so often that they become burdensome and waste employees' time.

• Daily meetings: In some companies, especially in the IT sector and agile projects, short daily meetings (so-called stand-ups) are standard. These typically last 15 minutes and serve to quickly review progress and identify problems. From my experience, they can be very burdensome—three times a week was sufficient.
• Weekly meetings: Regular weekly meetings are suitable for most teams. They allow for discussing key issues, summarizing the past week, and planning for the future. It’s an obligation for every leader or business owner—you’d be surprised how much information slips through if you’re not in constant contact with the team.
• Monthly meetings: Monthly meetings can be more strategic, focusing on long-term goals, progress reviews, and performance analysis.
• Ad-hoc meetings: Additionally, it’s important to have the flexibility to organize ad-hoc meetings in response to urgent needs, such as crises, urgent projects, or unforeseen circumstances.
• 1:1 meetings: In Poland, these meetings happen too rarely. The owner or manager is often a gray eminence, difficult to catch, let alone talk to, but people are not fish—they have a voice. It’s worth introducing a culture of individual meetings in every company, in every team—try it and see how much it will change.

The key to success is finding the right balance and adjusting the frequency of meetings to the specific needs of the company and the team.

Brainstorming—how to do it RIGHT

Brainstorming is one of the most effective tools for generating ideas and solving problems. To conduct it effectively, it’s worth following a few key principles:

• Preparation:
  • Define the goal: Before starting a brainstorming session, clearly define the problem you want to solve or the ideas you want to generate.
  • Choose the right participants: Invite people with different perspectives and skills to ensure a variety of ideas.
  • Prepare materials: Ensure all participants have access to the necessary materials, such as flip charts, markers, notebooks, or online collaboration tools.
• Conducting the session:
  • Create a friendly atmosphere: It’s important for participants to feel comfortable and be encouraged to express their ideas without fear of criticism.
  • Appoint a moderator: The moderator should guide the discussion, keep track of time, and ensure adherence to the rules.
  • No criticism rule: During the idea-generation phase, do not criticize any proposals. Every idea is valuable and may lead to discovering an innovative solution.
  • Encourage creativity: Remember that even the craziest ideas can be valuable. Encourage participants to think outside the box.
• Conclusion and analysis:
  • Summarize ideas: After the session, collect all the ideas generated. This can be done using a board, notes, or online tools.
  • Prioritize: Together with the participants, evaluate and prioritize the ideas based on their potential, feasibility, and impact on solving the problem.
  • Specific actions: Identify specific steps that need to be taken to implement the selected ideas. Assign responsibility for each task and set deadlines. The best ideas for changes in the companies I’ve operated came from such meetings. A total "gamechanger" and a "must" twice a year, if not quarterly.
• Follow-up:
  • Monitor progress: Regularly check the progress in implementing the selected ideas. Ensure that the actions are aligned with the agreed plan.
  • Evaluation: After some time, assess the effectiveness of the implemented ideas and draw conclusions for the future. Learn from successes and mistakes to make future brainstorming sessions even more effective.

Brainstorming is a powerful tool, but its effectiveness depends on proper preparation, execution, and implementation of the ideas generated.

Meeting summaries

Meeting summaries are a key element that helps maintain transparency of actions and ensures that all agreements are implemented. To prepare an effective meeting summary, it’s important to start by assigning someone responsible for taking notes before the meeting begins. This person should be able to focus on recording the most important points of the discussion.

During the meeting, the note-taker should carefully record all important information, such as who spoke, what decisions were made, and what actions were assigned to specific individuals. It’s also important to confirm agreements in real time to ensure that everything is understood and accurately recorded.

After the meeting, the summary should be prepared as quickly as possible while the information is still fresh and accurate. The summary should include the date of the meeting, a list of participants, the main topics discussed, key discussion points, decisions made, and assigned tasks with specified deadlines. It’s also useful to include any additional information or materials that may be helpful to the participants.

What isn’t on paper doesn’t exist. I’ve learned this many times while working with teams or during consulting.

The meeting summary should be sent to all participants and other interested parties as soon as possible. This allows everyone to review the agreements and take appropriate action. Regularly monitoring progress in completing assigned tasks is also crucial to ensure that everything is going according to plan.

What mistakes to avoid (and not annoy employees)

When organizing and conducting meetings in a company, there are several common mistakes that can discourage employees and lead to wasted time. Here are a few to avoid:

• Too frequent meetings: Holding meetings without a clear need can lead to employee frustration. It’s important that each meeting has a clear purpose and is well-planned.
• Lack of agenda: Organizing meetings without a pre-prepared agenda can lead to chaos and unproductive discussion. The agenda should be sent to participants in advance so they can prepare appropriately. It’s worth sending it before the meeting.
• Overly long meetings: Meetings that last too long can be tiring and discourage active participation. It’s important to stick to the agreed time and end the meeting when all key points have been discussed. I used to have this tendency, but thankfully feedback from employees helped me correct it years ago.
• Lack of clear goals: Meetings should have specific goals and expectations. Participants need to know what is expected of them and what outcomes are to be achieved.
• Unprepared participants: Ensure that all participants are well-prepared for the meeting. Sending necessary materials in advance allows for more effective discussion. Demand this as a matter of principle, otherwise, you’ll lose a lot of time and, therefore, money.
• Ignoring feedback: Don’t ignore employee opinions about meetings. Regularly collecting and analyzing feedback can help identify problems and make improvements.
• Lack of follow-up: After the meeting, it’s important to follow up appropriately. Ensure that all agreements are being implemented and that assigned tasks are completed on time. Today, it’s easy to use solutions for this in MS Teams or To-Do.
• Lack of engagement: The meeting leader should engage all participants in the discussion. Ignoring or bypassing employee opinions can lead to feelings of underappreciation and lack of motivation.
• Information overload: Too much information presented in one meeting can be overwhelming. Focus on the most important points and avoid dragging things out. Or call a separate meeting for other important issues.

Avoiding these mistakes can significantly improve the quality of meetings in a company, increase employee engagement, and enhance work efficiency.

Online or in-person?

The choice between online and in-person meetings depends on several factors, such as the nature of the work, the needs of the team, and the available technology. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered.

• Online meetings offer great flexibility. They allow participation from anywhere, which is especially beneficial for remote or geographically dispersed teams. This also eliminates the costs and time associated with commuting. With video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, it’s possible to conduct effective meetings with participants from different locations. Online meetings often promote better time management, as it’s easier to schedule shorter, more focused sessions. However, they may be less effective in building relationships among participants and can encounter technical issues that disrupt the meeting. Have you ever watched the YouTube sketch "conference call"? Check it out—it’s still relevant.
• In-person meetings, on the other hand, allow for direct interaction, which can be crucial for team building and strengthening relationships among employees. Physical presence fosters more dynamic idea exchange and spontaneous discussion. In-person meetings can also be more effective in situations requiring intensive collaboration, such as workshops or brainstorming sessions. The downside is the need to organize logistics, which can be time-consuming and costly, especially for dispersed teams.

The choice between online and in-person meetings should be based on the specific needs and goals of the meeting. For daily updates or short meetings, online might be more efficient. For more complex projects or situations requiring intensive interaction, in-person meetings might be a better choice. Often, a hybrid approach that combines the advantages of both methods is optimal.

If you have a choice between an online or in-person meeting, especially for important matters, do it in person.

Do you want to streamline meetings in your company and increase their effectiveness? Contact me, and let’s discuss how to make it happen!