Unproductive office meetings waste time and money and affect your staff’s productivity levels. The duration of the meeting and salaries of the staff attending determine exactly how much each meeting costs you. From developing meeting plans to encouraging active listening, there are plenty of steps you can take to give the efficiency of your office meetings a boost.

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Know your strengths and weaknesses

Determine which parts of your meetings are working well and find out the aspects that need to be improved. While you may believe that your office meetings are running smoothly, your staff may have a different opinion. Not only do inefficient meetings cost your business financially, but they also decrease employee satisfaction and productivity. Run an employee survey to get feedback on the common areas that employees feel aren’t working. Discuss the results and implement changes accordingly.

Develop a plan for your meetings

Establish a clear goal for the meeting and develop a plan ahead of time. Know what the desired outcome is and put thought into who should attend the meeting. Groups that are too large hinder innovation and creativity. Hold the meeting with the main stakeholders and give feedback to other employees afterwards.

Establish guidelines

Get clear on the guidelines of the meeting and establish the role each person is expected to play. When employees know what’s expected of them, they’re more likely to provide valuable contributions to meetings. The purpose of the office meeting will help to establish the guidelines that need to be followed.

Adhere to your agenda

Once you’ve planned an agenda for your meeting, stick to it. The agenda should include a timeline of items to be discussed with a specific number of minutes allocated to each item. Email the agenda to the employees who are attending the meeting and keep it clearly visible during the meeting so that everyone stays on track.

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Start and finish on time

Begin the meeting on time and finish promptly. If you’re on time, it’s more likely that your meetings will be successful. This shows employees that you know that their time is valuable. Limit the length of your meetings so that it’s easier to stay focused and be productive right till the end.

Eliminate technology

Cell phones and tablets are common causes of distractions in meetings. Instead of concentrating on what’s being said, people will be checking messages and emails. Eliminate technology and give the productivity of your meetings a boost.

Finish with an action plan

Leave time at the end of the meeting to decide what the next steps are. During this final conversation, you’ll need to decide who is responsible for each task. It’s also essential to establish deadlines for every task. This helps employees take ownership of their duties. It also makes it possible for you to track employees who can deliver and to identify those who are dropping the ball.

Encourage active listening

Prepare people to listen properly by focusing all of their attention on the person who is speaking. Active listening is a communication technique that can have a significant impact on the efficiency of your meetings. Creating a comfortable office environment can help people to listen better. Make sure that the room is a pleasant temperature and provide snacks and drinks for longer meetings. The time that the meeting is scheduled for is important as employees have more energy in the mornings, which makes it easier for them to concentrate.

Now that you know how to boost the efficiency of your office meetings, you can enjoy improved productivity and better employee satisfaction in the workplace.

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