Effective meetings

Abstract

A crucial part of managing any project is meetings and effective knowledge sharing. If the goals and tasks are not properly communicated among all team members there is no chance of having a successful project. It is obvious that meetings are essential to the success of any project, however there are also several studies showing how excessive meetings reduces productivity and dampens the enthusiasm of the team members. The risk of information dumping is especially important as the key information can get lost in the process. An effective meeting have some key ingredients to ensure high productivity and satisfaction of the participants. The most critical of these are the meeting agenda. A study showed that 72% of professionals believe that setting clear goals is a key factor in enhancing productivity, while 67% having an agenda is essential. Understanding the goal(s) of the meeting is the best tool in keeping all the participants aligned throughout the meeting. It also helps setting realistic and tangible goals to ensure a natural conclusion to the meeting. Communication is another key factor for a successful meeting, without proper communication all discussion breaks down and no constructive progress can be made. This article will describe the core factors necessary for planning and executing an effective meeting, the application and reflections while also stating the relation to project management and how it can be beneficial for project managers.

Big idea

According to an article by zippia, the average employee spends around 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings, it is estimate that up to 71% of meetings are considered unproductive by participants. The article also notes that the most common reason for unproductive meetings is a lack of clear objectives or agenda. It is estimated that 37 billion is lost to unproductive meetings in the US alone equivalent to approximately 300 thousand work hours per year. Having more effective meetings are a goal many companies strive for and many have claimed to have the secret recipe for good meetings. This article goes through the most common advice across the many meeting experts.

Hindle (1998) defines a meeting as two or more people coming together at a prearranged time and place to resolve problems or make decisions. Formal meetings are held at definite times, at definite places, and usually for definite durations to follow an agreed-upon agenda.

All companies require meetings to relay information and make important decisions and they are one of the most frequently occurring activities in many professions. Meetings require an investment in the form of man hours, for example if a one hour meeting has 5 attendees five working hours are “spent” on the meeting. To make this investment worthwhile the meeting must be both well-planned and well-executed creating an effective meeting. If well-executed meetings can offer a platform for generating ideas, detecting and solving problems, assigning tasks, communicating and seeking consultation, generating work products, monitoring performance and enhancing interpersonal relationships (Hindle, 1998; Hood, 2013; Sellers, Valentino, & LeBlanc, 2016).

Research from numerous sources indicates that the amount of time spent in meetings is steadily increasing and the current trend of more teamwork in the workplace is likely to accelerate this trend. Despite the large amount of time spent in meetings are the satisfaction regarding meetings dramatically low and perceived as a waste of time or an unpleasant experience. The OECD (2017) survey indicated that the most common barrier to productivity was “wasteful” meetings (57% of respondents).

Ineffective meetings have many negative effects beside the time wasted directly by the attendees. Having consecutive dissatisfactory and “useless” meetings can have detrimental effects on general employee performance and reduce job satisfaction. While also making the employee less likely to attend future meetings and more likely to display undesired behavior during meetings.

There are many types of meetings, generally defined by their purpose. An emergency meeting differs from a status report meeting, for example. Though different types of meetings require vastly different skillsets and mentality there are some commonality. In this article the advice will be directed mostly at business meetings that are held face-to-face however, the advice should be applicable to online scenarios, the limitations of the techniques and what situations they should not be practiced will be discussed in the limitations section.

An effective meeting is not an unobtainable goal by any standard, it should be possible with only a few clear guidelines in place. The goal of this article is to provide the reader with a checklist of good practices to bring into any meeting to ensure efficiency and structure. The guidelines are meant for meeting leaders and provides guidance on both the preparation and execution of the meeting.

Application

Purpose of the meeting

To implement an effective meeting the very first step should always be to judge if a meeting is necessary in the first place. This step will hopefully eliminate the dreaded “meetings that could have been an email” which are a globally observed problem. An easy test to determine if a meeting is indeed necessary is to identify the goals of the meeting.

If relaying simple information is the only purpose of the meeting an email will suffice. However, communications that are lengthy, detailed, or complicated (i.e., an e-mail that is more than 50–125 words) are better suited to a meeting. Meetings are well suited for providing nuanced answers to complex questions, this approach enables the meeting leader to observe responses, to ascertain whether the listeners understand the information, and to adjust the content as needed to ensure consensus before proceeding (Friman, 2014).

Meetings are often used to engage in problem solving (Perkins, 2009). For discussions between several parties such as brainstorms, a meeting is by far the fastest way to communicate. To ensure an effective meeting sufficient information should be obtained prior to the meeting for constructive discussion to occur. In order for the participants to properly prepare for the meeting they must be informed on how to prepare for the meeting. All of this is a part of planning the meeting.

Planning the meeting

The greatest meeting cost is usually associated with each participant’s time (Hindle, 1998; Hood, 2013). To avoid time wasting meetings making a plan prior is the best strategy. Below are listed the 5 key activities to complete as the meeting leader before the meeting.

Agenda

An agenda provides a structure to keep the meeting on course and is one of the simplest yet most powerful tools for an effective meeting. According to Leach et al. (2009) study, a written agenda and completion of all planned agenda items during the meeting are two design characteristics that participants report influence the perception of a meeting as a good meeting.

To set a good agenda the starting point should be the goal of the meeting. Identify the specific goal(s) the team wish to accomplish with the meeting and create an agenda as a roadmap to achieve these. Creating a good meeting agenda is a discipline by itself and requires practice, below is some general guidelines.

The agenda usually includes a brief description of the meetings purpose and a list of each task associated with the meeting goal, along with an approximate time for each task. If specific participants are expected to participate in a specific way in a task (could be presenting information or taking notes) this should also be included in the agenda to allow them to adequately prepare.

The order of the tasks within the agenda should enable a natural discussion flow while taking into account the priorities of the tasks. Always try to put important issues early in the agenda to ensure ample time to reach a decision.

Many experts agree that 60 minutes is the maximum for most meetings to remain productive. Staying approximately within this timeframe will help keeping the participants engaged. The meeting should generally follow the table with possible adjustments to the minutes allocated to each point.

It is important to remember that the agenda is not an absolute law which should be followed to the minute. It provides a guideline for what should be discussed but focusing too much energy to sticking to the agenda by the minute will be counterproductive. An article from Harvard business review set a list of guidelines to follow when crating an agenda to ensure engagement with the participants and maintain high productivity throughout the meeting. The key takeaways from the article were to always seek input from your team to ensure the meeting reflects their current needs and that the topics discussed affect all participants of the meeting and require the whole team’s effort to solve. Another tactic to improve meetings is to let your team know if the purpose of the discussion is to share information, seek input on a decision, or make a decision. And indicate on the agenda who is leading each discussion so they can prepare.

Additionally they recommend starting every meeting by reviewing the agenda to account for modifications. And end the meeting with an evaluation of the meeting process to make every meeting a learning experience and thereby continuously improve team meetings.

Participants

Meeting effectiveness is highly dependent on having the correct people involved and limiting invitations to those who will make a contribution to agenda items. Including redundant participants may have detrimental impact on the meeting by participating less, engaging in off-task behaviour, and establishing nonparticipation as an acceptable behaviour pattern (Ludwig & Frazier, 2012). If non essential participants are invited (e.g., a person who is observing a brainstorm) make sure to engage them by assigning a task such as taking minutes.

Some participants may only be crucial to a part of the meeting. In these cases it is recommended to plan the meeting to allow them to only partake in the discussions relevant for them. If a participant is crucial for a certain discussion to take place include their importance in the agenda or message them directly to ensure they prioritise the meeting.

Environment and Equipment

An uncomfortable environment and malfunctioning equipment can lessen the effectiveness of a meeting (Hood, 2013) even if the agenda was otherwise well planned. The effects of the chosen environment should not be underestimated as they can greatly affect how the participants perceive the meeting and its effectiveness. The meeting leader is encouraged to come a few minutes early to ensure all necessary equipment is there and functioning. Choosing the right format for the meeting is also important. In general, physical meetings are preferred for most types of meetings but circumstances may make an online or combination meeting compulsory. Below are the pros and cons of each meeting type to assist in the decision making.

Environment and Equipment

Online
Pro	Con
Everyone can work on the same document at the same time Can work from anywhere Allow others control Can have discussions across countries	Can be less engaging Easy to accidentally interrupt people Internet connection can limit interactions Technical issues can occur more frequently Harder to read peoples emotions
In person
Pro	Con
Opportunity for dynamic engagement Improves social interactions Easier to understand people's emotions	Typically one person in charge of updating documents/slides Can sometimes be a struggle to find the meeting room Side bar conversations are more frequent
Combination
Pro	Con
Will allow for people out of office to still participate	In person attendees may forgot people online Brainstorming activates using whiteboards in the room will have limited vision for online attendees

Schedule

Some organisations will designate daily times for group meetings to minimise the interference with other tasks and avoid having meetings at times where the natural physiological cycle are on lowered alert (e.g., mid-afternoon; Grady, 2013). Finishing a meeting on time is important for morale it is therefore recommended to only have 50 minutes of content for a 1 hour meeting.

The perception of a meeting will depend highly on how it fits into the participants schedule. If the meeting is perceived to interrupt productive work it will be viewed as an aversive event while meetings which fall as a convenient break between tasks will be viewed as engaging and meeting might become a preferred event.

Premeeting communication

Sharing information regarding the meeting in advance has the effects of; prompting meeting preparation activities, facilitate information gathering and distribution and alter performance of a meeting participant. Bailey and Burch (2010) recommend sharing an agenda at least 24 h prior of the meeting to ensure time for sufficient preparation. Make sure to include all relevant information such as time, location, and other necessary instructions (e.g., online meeting link and how to prepare for discussions).

Leading the meeting

Leading a meeting is in many ways similar to public speaking. Not all parts of meetings can be rehearsed however, certain elements such as opening, closing and introcuding meeting guidelines will benefit from practice. A good leader will make it easier for participants to contribute effectively and complete the meeting goals without wearing of course.

Opening the meeting

The most important part of opening a meeting is starting the meeting on time (Davis, 2013). This convey respect for the participants time and will promote promptness in future meetings, accommodating late arrivals on the other hand will discourage those who arrived on time and result in further tardiness in the future.

Upon stating the meeting the rules of the meeting should be briefly established followed by a revied of the meeting purpose and possible modifications to the agenda if necessary. Hereafter the meeting begins in earnest.

Leading the meeting

Provided the previous steps were completed successfully this should be the step where the meeting leader should have the least work. Generally observing the flow of the meeting, interrupting when needed and ensuring the discussions stay within topic and timeframe. The meeting leader is ultimately responsible for managing these behaviours and responding in ways that keep the meeting on track (Eaton, 2011). Depending on the type of leader you are this step can be done many different ways and it is difficult to provide general advice. The best general practice is to establish solid rules for meeting participation and refer to these whenever necessary.

Closing the meeting

Closing the meeting properly is an important task to ensure all participant walk away understanding what was accomplished through the meeting and how they should proceed. In the closing part of the meeting the results of discussions are summarised, decisions restated and assigned tasks are restated (Perkins, 2009). It is important that all decisions and task assignments are documented and distributed to all participants (preferably within 24 to 48 h) to allow the leader and participants to revisit the conclusions of the meeting without relying on memory. If a follow-up meeting is required, schedule this meeting before adjourning to align schedules. The closing should take approximately 10% of the meeting time (Durgin et al., 2014).

If time allows it is highly recommended to go over what went well and what requires improvement in the meeting to continuously improve team meetings.

Meeting culture

Identifying bad meeting behavior

The first step in creating a good meeting culture is identifying exactly what makes a meeting bad in the first place. In the book “Management and Leadership Skills for Medical Faculty and Healthcare Executives” they identify a list of hallmarks for ineffective meetings. The list includes:

• Participants showing up late/leaving early
• Lack of focus and irrelevant conversations that are not addressed
• Long silences (seen as showing lack of preparation or uncertainty)
• No clear agenda
• No acknowledgement of the meeting going beyond the set time
• An unwelcoming environment where different opinions are be dismissed
• People focus on specific details of an issue that does not concern all or most of the meeting participants
• One person is allowed to dominate the conversation

If one or more of these identifiers are observed regularly it is a sign there are problems with he current meeting culture. It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact causes that make a meeting boring for the participants. An easy step for a project manager to reduce waste time in meetings is to ensure that all participants has a specific goal for participating in the meeting. For example for a designer the goal of a client meeting could be to specify… As a manager it is always important to consider why this specific person will benefit from this meeting, this will also reduce the “useless” meetings that people often complain about.

Decision making in small groups

A big part of meetings is making decisions and how the team come to an agreement can be crucial for the team work. Making sure everyone feels heard and part of the discussion is essential for teamwork. If team members do not feel ownership of the idea they are far less invested in the success of the project. Knowing the different techniques for decision making will aid in choosing the optimal method for the group and the specific situation. In Communication in small groups (10th edition) 7 techniques for making group decisions are identified. They are:

1. Decision by an expert in the group
2. Decision by an expert outside the group
3. Averaging individual rankings/ratings
4. Random choice
5. Majority rule
6. Decision by minority
7. Decision by consensus

Which of the 7 to use can vary greatly depending on the circumstances. Majority voting is the most commonly used method which is efficient for fast decisions, however it can lead to dissatisfaction among the minority. First and second option are both for cases where one person is an expert in a specific field which leads to their voice carrying a lot of weight in the discussion. The pitfall with both of these techniques is fully transferring the decision to the expert and thereby removing the group from the choice. The decision by minority method should be avoided as they mostly cause disagreements and lower quality outputs. If a member is trying to force a minority decision with strategic language quickly restate the chosen method for decision making to get the discussion back on track. Averaging scores or random selection are both fast decision making methods which should mostly be used in case of being stuck on a decision, it is not a recommended path for important choices. As a group it is desired to strive to reach decision by consensus in most cases. This is only achieved when all group members can support a course of action though they do not necessarily agree it is the best course of action. Decision by consensus is characterised by being a longer process that requires more time and effort than the other types in return the decisions are of higher quality. The process requires group members to express their point of view, listen carefully to all opinions and finally combine and/or eliminate alternatives until agreement is reached. Focus must be on listening to the concerns of all members in a balanced way. Creating a group environment where no member is scared to share an opinion going against the consensus of the group. Research by Randy Hirokawa shows that groups that follow explicit procedure make more effective decisions. It is recommended to include in the agenda how the group are to reach a decision, voting, expert opinion, discussion, etc.

Using PRINCE2 standards for meetings

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a project management methodology that provides a framework for effective project management. While Prince2 does not have specific guidelines for conducting meetings, there are several principles and best practices that can be applied to improve meetings and increase effectiveness.

Firstly, PRINCE2 has clear objectives and agenda as one of their key principles and they emphasize that every project should have clearly defined objectives. Similarly, meetings should also have clear objectives and an agenda that outlines the topics to be discussed. By ensuring all participants are aware of the purpose of the meeting and what is expected of them, the meeting can stay on track and be more productive.

PRINCE2 also emphasizes the importance of defining roles and responsibilities for project team members. The same principle can be applied to meetings by assigning roles to team members in the agenda or leaving open roles to be appointed at the meeting. By defining roles such as task-leader, note-taker, and timekeeper, everyone knows what is expected of them, and the meeting can run more smoothly.

Communication is critical in project management to ensure all relevant information is shared, and Prince2 emphasizes the importance of clear and effective communication. The same principle applies to meetings as it is impossible to have a meeting without proper discussion. Encouraging open and honest communication and applying rules on meeting decorum e.g. no interrupting can greatly improve meeting culture within the company.

PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a project management methodology that provides a framework for effective project management. While Prince2 does not have specific guidelines for conducting meetings, there are several principles and best practices that can be applied to improve meetings and increase effectiveness.

In the PRINCE2 manual the importance of follow-up and tracking progress is emphasized. This can be applied to meetings by ensuring that action items are recorded and assigned to specific individuals. By following up on action items after the meeting, progress can be tracked to avoid unforeseen setbacks and delays can be addressed in a timely manner. Implementing follow-up on crucial parts of the project can ensure that the project will move forward more effectively.

Lastly, Prince 2 is focused on continuous improvement. This can be applied to meetings by encouraging participants to provide feedback on the meeting and using that feedback to improve future meetings and thereby creating a learning organisation.

Overall, by applying Prince2 principles to meetings, you can improve meeting effectiveness, increase productivity, and achieve better project outcomes.

Conclusion

In general, a good meeting requires three key ingredients. A worthy purpose, people capable of realising set purpose and a plan that enables them to accomplish it.

The absolute most crucial takeaway from this article is the importance of goals and agenda. If you are unable to formulate the purpose the meeting must accomplish, you are not ready to have a meeting. It must be noted you are not required to have all the answers in order to have a meeting (then there is also no reason for the meeting), but if you cannot describe the questions you want answered through the meeting there is very little chance of any productivity. Good luck and good meetings.

Limitations and reflections

Efficiency is crucial in the workplace but too high efficiency in certain areas can have negative long term effects. Idle chitchat during meetings is a part of socializing within the group and shutting this down in the spirit of efficiency can lead to worse teamwork in the long term. It is important to give people an outlet for both frustrations related to the work and completely unrelated topics as well. Studies show that “Small talk contributes to employees’ positive emotions and sense of well-being, belonging and connection. The positive effect of these small regular exchanges builds working trust and good relations.”

Annotated bibliography

Beebe, S. A., & Masterson, J. T. (2020) Communication in small groups (10th edition). Pearson: An amazing book for all matters related to communication in small groups, the 9th chapter especially as it specifically tackles making decisions and solving problems.

https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderlyon: YouTube channel run by a communication coach discussing vital topics for leadership and communication skills. Provides sources in the video description for further reading on each topic. Recommended for readers which would like an in depth explanation on the topic communication guidelines seen above or wish to improve general communication skills.

Management and Leadership Skills for Medical Faculty and Healthcare Executives — 2020, pp. 81-89: A short walkthrough of essential knowledge for effective meetings.