Introducing our meeting manifesto
Meetings are an important part of our working lives...
But it can also feel like they get in the way of getting work done, and put our work-life balance, well, out of balance! There is no shortage of advice on how to improve meetings.
So we have picked the top 6 tips we believe can make the biggest difference to our wellbeing and productivity and summarised them in our ‘Meeting Manifesto’.
Bauer Media's Meeting Manifesto
1. Set clear objectives
Before you schedule time in people's diaries, always ask yourself: what is the purpose of the meeting? Is it to make decisions, generate new ideas, or share information? Or a combination of the above?
The most important factor for a successful meeting is having a clear goal. Even in the more informal meetings this can help focus minds and increase productivity.
Start every meeting by stating what you want to accomplish by the end of the session. And make sure you remember to recap at the end of the meeting what the key decisions and outcomes were. This will help people feel like it was a good use of their time.
2. Invite fewer people
This may sound counter-intuitive, but having fewer attendees can drastically increase meeting productivity.
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself and only invite those whose presence is critical to delivering on your meeting objectives. Most of the time, others can be updated via a brief summary email.
If you can remove two attendees from a one-hour meeting, that's two hours of productive time returned to the company. It also means fewer people sitting in your meeting feeling like it's not the best use of their time!
3. Set a clear agenda
Have a clear agenda and ideally distribute this in advance to ensure others can also be prepared.
The agenda should include, as a minimum:
- Welcome & meeting objectives
- A list of topics with timings and owner for each
- Remember to build in time for a quick a social check-in at the start and a wrap up or Q&As at the end
Consider including any essential documents and information people need to have in advance.
Most importantly, make sure you follow the agenda closely!
Meetings are a team sport. After clarifying meeting objectives and the agenda, designate roles in advance to ensure you get the most out of your discussion.
1. Meeting leader / facilitator
The Meeting leader / facilitator...:
- manages the meeting process (ensuring it stays on track) and ensures the meeting objectives are met
- confirms roles and responsibilities at the beginning of the meeting
- clarifies outcomes and next steps (wraps up)
2. Timekeeper
The timekeeper...:
- Moves the meeting along according to the timings, and reminds / interrupts so the meeting doesn’t run over
- Ensures the meeting ends punctually so that participants have sufficient time for a short break before their next meeting or task
3. Note taker
The note taker...:
- Records at least decisions and actions.
- Compiles the notes into an easy to read summary
- Distributes notes after the meeting
4. Meeting participants
Regardless of whether they have been allocated a role, everybody is still required to:
- Understand the agenda and purpose of the meeting and check if something is unclear
- Contribute information, insights and ideas where appropriate
Meetings don’t have to be long to be successful. And including regular breaks helps people stay alert and engaged. Here are...
5 ways to keep meetings short and productive:
- Follow Resolution 1 and Resolution 2 of the Meeting Manifesto – set objectives and an agenda and designate roles like a “timekeeper”.
- Start and end meetings on time – if there are new ideas or points which couldn’t be covered, schedule a follow-up meeting.
- End the meeting once the objective has been achieved – if that is earlier than expected, all the better.
- Only book the time you need – when scheduling a meeting, always ask yourself how much time you truly need. More often than not, a shorter slot will suffice.
- Plan breaks – Schedule meeting slots of 25 rather than 30 minutes, and 55 minutes instead of 60 so that people have a chance to take a break between meetings. Even brief breaks boost concentration, interest and performance.
There is more to life than just work. Take a moment to catch up with your colleagues – it's especially important now most of us are working remotely. Here are...
5 tips for socialising:
- Setup a regular 15-minute “coffee break” calls with a co-worker (for example twice a week) where you can just use the time to share some personal as well as work-related updates.
- Organise a virtual lunch with your team every other week or so, where people can join in if they feel like a chat.
- Spontaneously check in on a colleague. Many people feel lonely working from home, check in on people and see how they are doing. Also when you yourself would like to share something or just get a different perspective – you would do the same being in the office
- Meet up for a walk. If you live close to a colleague and your country’s COVID regulations allow it, why not take a break and go for a walk together? And if that’s not possible, why not talk over the phone while you both stroll?
- Set up a channel for non-work related chats. For example you can ask a “Question of the Day” to get people talking, or swap lunch / dinner recipes and TV recommendations!
Since so many people are working from home, we need to be considerate of our coworker’s circumstances and preferences. Here are three things to keep in mind when organising and participating in meetings:
- Know who is available when. People won’t always be available at all times during regular working hours. Many parents are homeschooling or looking after small children and need time during the day to take care of these responsibilities. Make sure you block out time in your diaries when you won’t be available, and be considerate of people’s personal circumstances when booking meetings.
- Be understanding of interruptions. Sometimes a colleague may have to leave a video call to deal with a household issue. That is perfectly ok –
nobody wants injuries or accidents to happen during a meeting. - Remember that home situations will vary.
Some people have a home office they can work from. Others may be working
at the dining room table, or taking meetings from their bedroom. Be
considerate of your colleague’s home environments and don’t make them
feel self-conscious of their surroundings.
Think “outside of the box”...
...to make meetings more fun and productive. A little bit of creativity can go a long way to making meetings more interesting, engaging and enjoyable. Here are some ideas you can try:
1. Vary the settings
- Location: Do meetings really have to be indoors? Why not encourage people to dial in from a place they find inspiring, like their garden or the park, or simply work from a different room in the house for a change.
- Theme: this could be related to the topic of the meeting. You could then get participants to dress up (wear a hat, a specific colour, formal wear, 80’s clothing, whatever you like!), or simply ask everybody to change their video background (it’s a cost-effective way to all meet on a tropical beach!).
2. Vary the formats
- Think about the different ways you could bring each agenda item to life – varying the formats will help participants stay engaged and alert.
- Consider mixing formats, for example: could an agenda item be covered by a short video instead of a presentation? Could you inject some interactivity by asking for participants’ input via a poll or a whiteboard? Could a presentation be replaced by an interview? Could you invite a guest speaker? Could you use breakout session functionalities to work on topics in smaller groups? Could you start the meeting with a short game as an ice breaker?
3. Make the most of engaging tools
- Online collaborative platforms like Miro can make meetings more colourful and can create a workshop-like atmosphere that helps everyone to stay focused and engaged.
- Running quick polls during a meeting is an easy way to get people engaged. They could be related to the meeting or you could make some fun ones too like “Where should the next office party be when the pandemic is over?”
- video conferencing tools offer features like including the opportunity to add apps into meetings, to enhance productivity and collaboration.