Managing Meetings

Introduction:

Meetings are a crucial element in business: many billions are held world wide every day. Whether you are attending as a participant or a chairperson, you can improve your handling of meetings so that they run more efficiently and effectively. The following section offers practical advice on all aspects of holding meetings, both formal and informal. Essential information is included on planning and preparing an agenda, choosing a venue and arranging seating, keeping on schedule and closing meeting. Throughout the section, useful tips are provided to give clear and concise information to help you make a positive contribution towards achieving the objective of any meeting you attend.

This month we will cover:

1) Using meetings effectively

The sub topics under this section that will be covered are:

A) Do you need a meeting?

B) Knowing your aims

Using Meetings Effectively:

Meetings cost time and money, both of which are valuable. Hold meetings only when necessary, and ensure that they are concise and constructive.

1) Do You Need A Meeting

Most managers feel pressurized by the amount of time they are expected to spend in meetings. But how many meetings really serve a useful purpose? If you were to consider the true cost of meetings you might arrange and attend fewer of them!

A) Defining Meetings

A business meeting consists of people coming together for the purpose of resolving problems or making decisions. A casual encounter in the corridor between colleagues could be described as a meeting. However Most meetings at work are more formal, with a prearranged time and venue. They may be one-to-one meetings with a senior manager, colleague, or client, but usually they consist of more than two people. The typical meeting has a clear defined purpose summarized in an agendas - a written list of issues to be discussed - that is circulated in advance.

B) Considering Costs

The best meetings save time and money by bringing together the right people to pool their knowledge for a defined purpose. However many meetings are held unnecessarily - for example, the regular team meetings that once had a purpose but then became a habit, or the meeting seen a break form working alone. These are expensive luxuries. The biggest cost of any meeting is usually that of the participants' time - from reading the agenda and preparing materials, to attending the meeting. If participants will have to travel this time will also have to be taken into account. Finally there is "opportunity cost": What could the participant have been doing if they had not been in the meeting, and how much would that have been worth to their organization? Consider all these costs before calling a meeting.

Holding A Meeting

A meeting brings together members of a department and a managing director in order to resolve an issue. Based on their combined salaries, of $180,000 a year, annual overhead of $100,000, and various sundry costs, the hourly cost of this meeting is $178

Adding Up Costs

To work out a meeting