Совещание. Подготовка совещания

The majority of employees tend to consider staff meetings a waste of time especially when such meetings eat up a great deal of working time or energy and in the end there are still no clear solutions to the problems preventing the company from growth, increasing its income or improving working conditions.

However, thoroughly organized staff meetings have more advantages than it may seem at first glance. A positive employee staff meeting can boost morale, help lower staff stress and frustration, and encourage new and innovative ideas. Experienced managers have tricks up their sleeve but there are also some basic rules which may help turn a tedious gathering into a really productive meeting.

First of all, the manager in charge has to determine the frequency of staff meetings. It may be influenced by many different factors including the number of employees, their location, workload and time involvement. Moreover, in the 21st century it is also advisable to employ online collaboration tools as an alternative to eye-to-eye meetings. Such online tools won’t replace all of the “offline” meetings, but they certainly have the potential to replace the redundant ones, especially if the aim of scheduling a meeting is to keep certain members in the loop about any update.

Secondly, a good manager creates an agenda outlining the points to be discussed before the meeting. Getting off topic is easy when there are multiple people trying to communicate with one another. The agenda should include the purpose of the meeting, the expected duration of the meeting and approximate time dedicated to discussion of this or that issue. All these measures are supposed to help you and your colleagues to stay focused and make the best of the time and resources you’ve got.

It’s also important to make a list of topics being touched upon. If it’s a general employee meeting the chosen topics should have an impact on as many employees as possible or be of interest to the widest cross-section of employees. Some recommended topics to incorporate into your staff meetings may include sharing company goal updates, noteworthy news and giving praise and recognition. It’s also a good idea to let employees use this time to exchange experiences and express their opinions on the issues in question. Employees will feel more positive when their ideas are sought and their opinions are valued.

Different staff meetings can serve different purposes. Not all employees need to attend all meetings. That's why a manager should consider in advance who should attend the meeting and warn these people in advance. So that the rest of the team can use the working time more effectively.

Managers should also take care of the accommodation where the meeting is planned to be held. The room is recommended to be soundproof with working equipment and comfortable furniture. Such measures as temperature and humidity should correspond to health regulations.

At each meeting there is a person (an assistant or a secretary) who files a report of proceedings. This paper details actions taken, who was present at the meeting, and other information shared.

As you can see a proper and thorough organization of a staffed meeting involves consideration of many different aspects and is both time and energy – consuming. But if the outcome results in empowering employees, inspiring greater performances and aligning people to company goals, it’s worth the cost.