Meetings Should Have a Declared Purpose

Businesses and companies can get bogged down in a corporate culture where employees and management meet just to meet. "Let's have a meeting" may be the go to response when there may actually be more efficient ways of getting things done and making decisions. At the very least, it is important to make sure that every meeting has a stated purpose and set goals to be tended to and accomplished.

Meetings can be a very productive and efficient way of getting work done, but it is important that they are used correctly and have structure and goals. Often, companies or organizations will schedule meetings when they don't know what else to do or keep standing meetings long past the point of their productivity. Consider this: each person sitting in the meeting is getting paid to be there. Multiply the hourly salary out by the number of people sitting around the table and ask yourself if it is money well spent?

Agendas for meetings are imperative. This provides an opportunity prior to meeting to determine what the goals will be. If it seems that you are reaching to come up with topics to meet about and there is no other reason to meet (i.e. moral building, team building, etc.) then consider canceling or postponing the meeting.

It is a good idea to consider other ways to touch base with coworkers and employees OTHER than meetings. Would it be more productive to talk one-on-one? Could business be taken care of in an email or conference call? Ask yourself if a "traditional" meeting is the most effective and efficient way of solving the problem and if there is a more suitable, creative way to do it, and then move away from the meeting.

It can be helpful to look at how your business or organization uses meetings. Is it a way to disseminate information? Share ideas? Problem solve for solutions? Many organizations meet regularly just because that is the way things have always been done. A regular staff or management team meeting can be a very good way of keeping everyone on the same page and staying on top of goals, objective and the company mission-but it can also be a dragging misuse of time and resources if no important business is being conducted. If decisions need to be made, make sure that the individuals who have the power to make decisions are present and the necessary information is available. Having a purpose, structure, goals and agenda can ensure that meetings are productive and necessary.