Meetings-Agenda & Tactics

Meetings in the workplace are done to discuss certain issues and few are regarding new amendments. Most of the experts who join the meetings claim that some meetings are innovative whereas some of the meetings are waste of time.

Some meetings at work are considered as a waste of time because of the improper planning about the discussions. If a meeting goes on well then it will subject to a valuable result.

In this article, we have discussed the importance of meetings at work, agenda, meeting types and objectives.

 

Meetings at Work-place:

Meetings at work place result into better development of the organization steering the team into right direction. All profitability is dependent on understanding and facing the challenges tactfully. Here are few objectives of effective meetings at work:

1. The agenda of the meeting is penned down and refined before the meeting.
2. All indicators and controls are well researched to be followed.
3. Discussions during meetings identify the instincts and passions of the members.
4. Employees learn and implement the techniques for their personal and organization development.
5. The quality of an organization is judged by meetings.
6. The clear agenda and honest discussions are the key controls for real development.

Rules to be followed in a meeting:

To resolve all conflicts naturally the meeting should be planned as follows,

• The timing and venue of the meeting should be conveyed properly.
• The members should be present both physically and mentally.
• Meeting should be brief and precise.
• All topics should be discussed amicably keeping the respect of everybody.
• The topic should be precise, concise and effective.
• All phones should be on silent or switched off during the meeting.

Why to conduct a meeting?

All meetings are conducted for two main reasons,

1. to solve a problem and
2. to make important decisions.

When are Meetings Useless?

Some meetings are unproductive due to following reasons:

1. Meeting is not starting or closing at pre-mentioned time and venue.
2. Unclear or no agenda of the meeting.
3. The leader tries to humiliate the co-workers.
4. Diversion of the topic.
5. No clear conclusions.

Agenda of an Effective Meeting:

A well-researched agenda leads to a successful meeting. A correct agenda encompasses the following:

• Aim and title of the meeting
• Clear time and venue announcement
• Invitation to the attendees
• Name of the leader or speaker
• Selecting the best suggestion by brainstorming session
• Noting the important points

Types of Meetings:

There are three broad categories of the meetings as follows:

1. Statutory/Orientation meeting.
2. Annual general meeting.
3. Advanced general meeting.

1. Statutory/Orientation meeting:

The first meeting among the employees of the company after which commences the business is termed as Statutory Meeting. It is held once in a year, helping the employee(s) to gain understanding of the organization and the business and his/her duties. It has to be held within 3 months of the joining date of the employee. It includes a list of directors, managers and other members of the organization.

2. Annual general meeting:

Annual general meeting is organized to understand the affairs of the company.

The main purpose of the Annual meeting is to better understand the affairs of the company. The attendees are asked about the affairs of the company and to understand how to protect the interests of the company. These meetings are essentials for sustained progress and development.

3. Advanced general meeting:

The urgent special meeting(s) called by the company director(s) is known as Advanced meeting. These meetings are urgent, held after every three months and cannot by postponed or called off until there is some urgency.

 

Meetings and resolutions:

After knowing the affairs of the company, collective resolutions are made for the benefit of all. The resolutions are of three types as follows:

1. Ordinary resolution
2. Special resolution
3. Resolution that requires special notice

When is an ordinary resolution required?

An ordinary resolution is required whenever there is need to alter shares, discounts and the capital. It enables the passing of accounts and balance sheet.

Winding up with the voluntary events and the adoption of all the ordinary reports help in alteration of the capital. The appointment of a whole-time director is the mandatory condition in ordinary resolution.

When is special resolution required?

An ordinary resolution is required whenever there is need to alter the articles and the rights of shareholders. Reduction of the capital in the share leads to the implementation of the special resolution. This allows the office to hold onto the profit results.

 

Importance of Meetings:

The meetings of all kinds have huge importance as discussed in the form of points as follows:

1. Review about the performance.
2. Enabling face to face contact of employees removing doubts regarding the assigned task.
3. Removal of misunderstandings.
4. Comparing the information.
5. Clarification and elaboration of new ideas and concepts.
6. Alternative methods and techniques for various problems.
7. Collecting a detailed review about the business.
8. Productive interactions at individual and group level
9. Opportunity to share information, suggesting different ideas, taking discussions and helps in getting instant feedback from the employee.
10. Exchange of information and discussion between the company and the employee.
11. Discussion on certain issues and resolution.
12. Alternative viewpoints are taken into account.
13. Reviews of performance.

Guidelines of Meeting:

It is not mandatory that each and every meeting has to be 60 minutes. This is because the digital calendars show it as 30 minutes increment. All conversations should be handled in such a manner that it leads to taking proper decision or resolution,

The directors or leaders must be prepared for all the questions raised from employees. Hearing of the conclusion of the meetings from different options is most important. The leader of the the meeting should be assertive and suspect on each and every word uttered by the employee.

 

Deciding on how to decide:

Most of the meetings require multiple agreements that follow participation with different decisions. They are as follows:

• A voting system that indicates the majority of preference.
• Consensus leads to the most agreed decisions
• Consulting and listening acts as subsets of the meetings
• Commanding helps in deciding that does not involve anybody else.

Outcome of the Meeting:

Effective meetings capture the actions to be preceded and processed by the employees of that particular company. The processing and corrective actions start as soon as the employees leave the hall.

Everybody should have positive influence of the meeting. Checking out without knowing the result of the tasks taken by everyone is not recommended.

 

Participation in the meeting:

The leader of the meeting should be able to resolve the issue without any loss contributing to the growth and wellbeing of the company. Participation matters a lot in each meeting. One should note the whole agenda of the meeting and main points need to be presented amicably with a success. All should be part of the solution rather than to mere discussion of ifs and buts.

 

Guidelines for taking notes in a meeting:

Noting the points in the professional meeting will make the work of employees easy and more productive and overcome most of the hurdles.

The notes taken in the meeting may be shared in a productive fashion at right time and place or kept private. The attendee may make a relative example to bring productivity in the work avoiding many expected issues in the future.

 

Putting the ideas into practice:

After attending the meeting, all points to be noted and understood becomes the responsibility of the employee to implement the skill learned or acquired in the meeting for the smooth and productive working.

Meetings are essentially needed to bust the day to day piled up problems regularly. Therefore, meetings every week or month are primarily an essentiality to achieve professional goals.

 

Office meetings strategies:

The arrangement of meetings in the office definitely saves time, money and energy and utilizing the company resources significantly. Being prepared and organizing everyone for the meeting will make the meeting more efficient. The manager should be fully involved carefully in organizing the attendees.

Conveying the agenda and details of the meeting via email at proper time also helps in analysing the segment of the meeting. Use of online meeting tools and social media adds up special quality to the meeting.

 

Common Rules For a Meeting:

Meetings should be organized only when it is required.

1. It must possess a clear agenda and time limits.
2. They must possess clear objectives.
3. It should follow a proper time schedule
4. It can be organized when there is no conference call facility internally.
5. Employees should make use of the meeting.
6. Easily understandable conclusions should arrive

Thus, the meetings are arranged to discuss the issues faced by the employees and the directors in achieving their goals. All kinds meetings have prime importance in the growth of the company therefore should be handled with complete interest, analysis and responsibility.