What Elements Make a Good Meeting?

What elements make a good meeting? Is it the people, the amenities, the tools, or all the above? You’ve likely sat in lots of meetings throughout your working life, and you’ve probably had great meetings and not-so-great ones.

What is it that made the difference between the good and bad meetings? The good ones were probably productive, focused, and collaborative, whereas the bad ones may have felt aimless and disorganized. Here are some key factors that go into making a thoughtful, productive meeting.

Preparation

You can’t run an effective meeting without preparation, and this includes all meeting attendees. Everyone should know the agenda before the meeting and have a chance to read any relevant materials to prepare. Ideally, each person will set aside 15 minutes or so in their day to review the agenda and get up to speed, so they can go to the meeting ready to hit the ground running.

Access to Information

Consider how everyone will be attending your meeting and how they will access information. Will everyone be meeting in person? If so, you could use a flipchart, PowerPoint presentation, or whiteboard to get your ideas across.

Are you hosting a virtual meeting, or will some people be meeting in the office and others at home? Be considerate of people who are not at the meeting in person by sharing your presentation materials on the screen via videoconferencing software. It’s also good practice to email attendees meeting minutes after a meeting and attach any documentation that you shared during the call.

The Right Meeting Space

The type of meeting space that you use to hold a meeting can also make a big difference in how a meeting turns out. You want the room to be just the right size to accommodate the number of people attending the meeting – not too large that it will make people feel like they will have difficulty being heard, and not too small that it will make people feel like they are too close for comfort. This is even more important now due to the pandemic and the need to ensure that people can maintain social distancing as they return to the office and have meetings.

Consider the size and layout of the space you use to host meetings. Provide enough space so that people can keep a safe distance but still be close enough to communicate with ease.

Technology

A growing number of businesses are moving toward a hybrid approach post-pandemic, wherein employees have the option to work some days from home and some days at the office. Without a desk and room booking tool, it can be challenging to ensure that people will have a place to sit when they come into the office and to keep track of who is working where and when. This makes contact-tracing next to impossible.

Workspace reservation tools like our Meeting room booking system and our Workspace Booking App can help employees better plan and prepare for meetings by allowing them to find the best meeting room for their needs while they are in the office. Using a workspace booking tool also helps to ensure that companies are preventing the potential spread of infection by ensuring that only some rooms and desks are bookable to maintain a reduced capacity. It also allows them to keep better track of who is working in the office and where they are located.

All the above factors work together to make successful, organized, and productive meetings that achieve their objectives while ensuring the health and safety of employees in this post-pandemic world. For more information about Add-On Products’ workspace reservation system and other meeting-enhancing tools, contact us today for a free trial or free online demo.