What are the most common problems we encounter when conducting project meetings?
During the meetings, we may observe boredom and reluctance to participate in a given event. The effects of non-participation in meetings visible at first glance are often a signal to act. How to conduct a project meeting effectively and substantively? How to make it more interesting and less time consuming? In this article, we will show some solutions that may be useful for you.
A team meeting must have a specific goal or topic. It is particularly important to inform all those who are to take part in such a meeting in advance so that they can prepare for it mentally and substantively. The opportunity to participate in such a meeting allows you to express your opinion on a given topic, brainstorm, present suggestions and ideas regarding a given project or development plans. In addition, we have a great chance to hear information at such a meeting that we did not have the opportunity to obtain before. It also allows us to get to know our colleagues and makes it easier to make key decisions.
Pay attention to the people you invite to the meeting. Inviting people who are unrelated to the topic only wastes their time and slows down the work of the project team. When selecting participants, consider their attitudes to the topic under discussion and what they can contribute to the discussion. Ideally, there should be decision makers or people directly involved in the topic at the meeting, this will give us confidence that each person will bring something new to the conversation.
The place where the meeting takes place also affects its quality. Bad locations, poor acoustics or too few chairs can adversely affect the course of the meeting. Surroundings and space have a significant impact also. People sitting close to each other often feel embarrassed, which may have a significant impact on their involvement in the meeting. Also, pay attention to whether there is a desk in the conference room you are in, and whether meeting participants can make notes or use electronic devices. Technical equipment, such as a blackboard, projector or TV set, is also an important issue during the meetings. With their help, when we want to present project-related content, we can do it very quickly, making it easier for the rest of the project team to understand the issue.
Effectiveness of the meeting is highly influenced by the well described meeting agenda. It’s a good routine to send the meeting plan some time before the meeting itself so its participants will not be surprised by the meeting topic. The most important thing is punctuality. It's not a nice feeling when we have to wait for someone, so let's not let others wait for us. Late meetings usually cause nervous glances and distraction, so always try to be on time. Pay attention to breaks in order to also cool down the participants of the meetings and return to the topic with positive energy.
It is a good practice to note down any comments received during the meeting. In addition, so that nothing escapes our attention, we can always send an e-mail after the meeting, in which we note what was discussed and agreed at this meeting, what topics we managed to move further and what remains to be implemented.
When preparing for the meeting, let's remember about the plan that we are to implement during this meeting. We should also remember that meetings are a normal part of every project manager's job. It is convenient to use some tool for company management, using which we can note comments and plan the course of the meeting. One of such tools is Flowgres. It allows you to not only prepare and plan incoming meetings, but also create team meeting projects and assign discussed matters as tasks for implementation. With system notifications and reports Flowgres is a complete tool for managing your projects and organization.
To check Flowgres functionalities go to www.flowgres.com and click for a free trial.