AT WORK
Work meetings more effective with agenda, short guest list

By Michael Crom
Gannett News Service

Q. I am a manager at a very busy investment firm. I recently have received complaints and overheard comments made by my employees stating that they feel frustrated by the number of meetings they are required to attend, as well as the amount of time the meetings take from their hectic schedule. I am unclear what to do, because I feel that these meetings are important to the success of the firm, and I do not want to hold a meeting and accidentally leave out someone whose input is necessary. At the same time, I want my employees to come out of meetings feeling that their time was not wasted. Could you please help me figure out a way to hold more productive meetings so the job gets done and no time is wasted?

A. You are already taking a step in the right direction, taking your employees' input into consideration. That shows that you are concerned with both the overall good of the firm, as well as the feelings of your workers. You are not the only one. The issue of meeting effectiveness is an important one that all companies deal with at one time or another.

Meetings serve very important purposes because they let everyone know what is going on within the company, as well as who is in charge of certain tasks. However, sometimes it seems that you and your employees leave a meeting with the same questions you had before it began.

Here are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that your meetings are more productive:

• Invite only necessary employees: By inviting only those people who are necessary to the effectiveness of the meeting, you are cutting down the time wasted by the other employees. In addition, meetings also will be briefer because fewer people will be in attendance to participate. This way, you can get in and out of the meeting with all your topics discussed and questions answered in a short amount of time, and the other employees have time to spend on their hectic schedules.

• Prepare an agenda: The agenda is perhaps the most important part of the meeting. It should be planned out very carefully, ensuring that all matters that need to be discussed are brought up.

It is also beneficial to put the topics in some sort of order to enable the meeting to run smoothly. It is usually most effective when the most complex issues are placed on the agenda first. That way, the employees are more alert and more willing to tackle the deeper matters with a clear mind.

It is important not to stray from the agenda. Plan on discussing only those subjects that are on the agenda, leaving time at the end of the meeting for questions and concerns.

• Summarize the meeting: At the conclusion of the meeting, it is beneficial for the leader to review what has been discussed. If there are tasks that have been delegated, it is important to make certain that everyone knows his or her job and understands the deadlines. This way there will be no confusion.

• Take minutes: Another way to lessen misunderstandings of what has taken place within the meeting is to designate someone to take good notes. These notes do not necessarily have to be a detailed transcript of what has been said; rather, they should serve as a summary of the decisions that were made about each topic.

After the meeting, copies of the minutes should be distributed to everyone who may be affected by what has taken place at the meeting. This includes everyone who attended the meeting, as well as management and personnel who were not in attendance but still need to be aware of the decisions that were made.

Michael Crom is a Gannett News Service writer.