Meetings play very crucial roles for the organization.
Meetings sometime can be for general discussion, sometimes for SWOT analysis,
sometimes for big decision. Practically many meetings go useless. After being
on the receiving end of the complaints of many experienced managers I have
decided to coin these useless meeting as “Tea Biscuit meetings”.
For better
understanding let’s divide meetings into two parts.
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| Infograph : Four Powerful ways to avoid "Tea Biscuit Meetings" |
i)
Purpose :
Be sure about the purpose of calling or
attending meeting. Sometimes deviating from main topic is good to fill out the
boredom and breaking ices but getting too much indulged in out of context topics
is just a waste of time and resources.
I was once told that in one of so-called
managerial meetings all eight participants talked about their foreign trips and
at the end of session they decided to hold the further discussions and
postponed the discussion of real agendas.
Does that ring any bell? Do you remember
any useless meeting you have attended? Please share the worst “tea biscuit
meeting” you have attended in comment box below.
ii) Impact:
ii) Impact:
Impact is the result you have devoted your
whole preparations for, from the initial phase to the end of meeting. Results
can be in various forms; it can be in the form of approvals, finalization of
contracts, appointments and appraisals etcetera.
‘Best Meeting practices yields best
Meeting Impact'
Management is not predefined sets of rules and formulas. It
is not total science to have same rigid formulae or process. It depends on
person to person and organization to organization. Sometimes when we show
dissatisfaction with management regarding useless meeting they give a hint, “This
is our organization culture.”
I have collected few ideas or process that can help you, not
to call/avoid “Tea Biscuits Meetings”
1) Agenda
The agendas of meeting must be crystal
clear and as straightforward and uncomplicated as possible. Agendas will help
every participant to prepare for meetings, raise and solve queries. With agendas
one can forecast what possible questions will rise?
Make the thumb rule, “No agenda no
meetings.”
2) Circulate the details
Your agenda must be clearly circulated. If
it is of secret nature mail the participants with disclosures and if of general
nature than you can paste on Office notice boards. Use all possible ways of
communication verbal, written, formal or informal.
As a rule make sure, “Agendas shall
reach all the eyes.”
3) Ask participants to prepare
Ask the concerned person to be prepared.
You can send messages like, “We are holding final meeting regarding ….. project
as on …… so please be prepared.”
This will help to reduce 50% of time which
could have been used for subject matter discussion.
As a rule keep in mind “Preparation is
recipe for Finesse.”
4) Give the sharp time
I don’t know how rigid you are with time in
your nation but at least in South Asia I could guarantee there are very few who
respect other’s time. If you have been called for meeting from 10:00 am onwards
then participant will start coming from 10:15 am onwards and your meeting will
formally begin at 11:00 am.
Make the strong culture of respecting time, “Time
Is Money. Respect Money.”
These were 4 powerful tips that you can adopt with no cost at
all. There might be other ways too, that you or your organization has been
adopting not to let the meetings turn into “Tea Biscuit meetings”.
I have heard
some ideas like “notifying participant not to attend phones unless it’s
emergency”, “securing Wi-Fi at meeting rooms”
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