59 VISION & STRATEGY important to be more tactical about the types of meetings that are being held, not only for the sense of productivity but out of general respect for employees. Meetings should be a time when critical information is shared with those involved, and solutions can be brought to the table. Instead of these stodgy gatherings, it’s important to keep meetings for important matters. Train managers and team leaders Hosting a meeting can be similar to investing in stocks or setting up an investment portfolio. At first, when you know nothing, you’re bound to have several hits and misses, and if you’re not actively looking for ways to improve, you’ll end up losing out on bigger opportunities. And the same can count for meetings that are presented by managers and team leaders who are not efficient public speakers or communicators. Start by providing more training to managers, this way they can effectively liaise with teams, without the need for an in-person gathering. Better yet, when leaders can properly communicate with employees, they often feel motivated, valued, and appreciated in the workplace. Allow conversations to flow It’s often common to have meetings divert from the original topic of conversation, especially if there are a lot of points to cover. Those in charge, usually the meeting host should have a clear list of things to cover, within a given time frame without it feeling too rushed. Additionally, make sure that once a topic has been covered, all employees understand what has been said to move swiftly to the next item on the agenda. An easy way to keep employees more actively engaged, and to ensure the conversation is flowing, is to make use of mediums such as presentations, photos, video, and even brainstorming sessions during the meeting. Allow employees to opt out of meetings A final consideration would be to give people the choice of whether or not they want to attend the meeting. It would make sense to have all employees present during the meeting, but often it’s not possible, as not all employees will have the same workload, and not all of them are necessarily related to the information that will be discussed. Again, meetings are a lot like investing or portfolio management. If an investment, such as investing in electric vehicles, does your portfolio good, then it’s best to hold onto it for the time being. Once the market starts to shift, you do however have the choice to get rid of it or park your cash in more desirable investment options. Just as you have the option with your investments, make sure that employees have the same. If you notice employees are no longer engagedor interested inmeetings, it’s bynowthat you should have an alternative, or implement some new methods that will help spark interest among the masses. Final thoughts Keeping meetings interesting can be a challenge for some employers and team managers. Unfortunately, meetings are here to stay, for now at least, and while some companies have been doing away with them, others are implementing innovative methods to help keep employees attracted, but also to ensure that time spent in these gatherings promotes company objectives, and team building and boosts productivity.
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