Short and focused team meetings generate value because they avoid wasting time that could be spent building your business, says Richard Heft, executive director of Ext. Marketing Inc. in Toronto.
“Meetings can be severe time stealers,” Heft says, “so you want to make sure that they’re focused.”
Here are three tips on reducing the length of your meetings:
1. Hold a standing meeting
Standing meetings are very in vogue right now, says Andrew Broadhead, manager of communications at Ext. Marketing. But they aren’t put into practice nearly as often as you would expect.
A standing meeting doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is standing around a boardroom table, Broadhead says. You can host a standing meeting in somebody’s office or any public room in which everyone can gather.
Standing keeps the energy high, Broadhead says, because everyone is visiting a new spot and many people will be eager to get back to their comfort zone by returning to their desks. Standing should help move the meeting along at a quicker pace.
2. Choose someone to lead
A chairman or chairwoman is key for keeping the conversation on track and the schedule under control.
“I’m a big fan of ensuring that there is somebody controlling the conversation and ensuring that you’re adhering to the agenda and a time limit,” Heft says.
Often, when you bring a group of people together, they’ll start throwing out ideas that may not be entirely relevant to the conversation.
“In those situations,” Heft says, “you will need a leader who says: ‘Let’s put that [on hold] for now so we can stick to the agenda and the time limit’.”
3. Don’t wait for latecomers
Set the expectation that it’s not okay to show up three to five minutes late, Broadhead says. Regardless of whether some people are late, make sure the meeting still begins on time. Late attendees can catch up later by reading the minutes after the meeting.
“You create a culture of people being on time,” Broadhead says. This can be a difficult initiative to start, he adds, but if people know that lateness won’t be tolerated, their behavior may change over time.
This is the second part in a two-part series on getting control of team meetings.