Any sign of a corporate meeting tends to get the eyes of employees and stakeholders rolling to the back of their heads in dread. They have gained a bad reputation over the years for being late, boring, tiresome, and time-consuming. Corporate meetings often serve an important purpose, so there is no option to scrap them. However, with better strategy, tools, preparation, and management, they can be much more productive, engaging, and purposeful. As a business owner, you must host high-quality corporate meetings to achieve the results that you desire.
Here are some top tips you need as an entrepreneur to host successful corporate meetings.
#1 Establish the purpose of the meeting
An important corporate meeting needs a clear objective. Once a clear intention has been established, it will help the process of planning and hosting the meeting much easier, efficient, and engaging for everyone involved. You will need to know clearly why the meeting is being hosted, what the end goal of the meeting is, and the tone of the meeting (formal or informal). This needs to be shared with all participants before the meeting, which will help them determine if their presence is required, prepare themselves mentally for the meeting as well as any materials they need to bring, as well as the tools (e.g. laptop, notebook, etc) that are required for them to participate accordingly.
#2 Create an agenda for the meeting
Using everything you prepared in step 1, including the purpose and goals of the meeting, you should be able to work backward to determine what you need to cover in the meeting and collate this into an agenda. It can also be helpful to include a rough time scale for each topic so that you can increase efficiency, any work that is expected to be completed beforehand, as well as the details of any other participants who are involved with their expected role and responsibilities. Make sure you only include topics that are relevant to the purpose and goals of your meeting, to keep your participants engaged and your meeting on track. An agenda can significantly help focus and time management, especially if there is a lot to cover or you have important stakeholders or clients within the meeting. The agenda should be shared before the meeting and reiterated at the start.
#3 Provide your attendees with tools and refreshments
It’s not just the contents of the meeting that you need to consider. You will also need to think about the equipment that participants will need access to during the meeting to make notes and stay engaged. This will entirely depend on the size of the meeting, the time, the budget, the purpose, and much more. It may be a small meeting with only pen and paper required. Alternatively, it could be a meeting that requires whiteboards, games, laptop rental, projectors, lunch, refreshments, and much more. You will need to compare your agenda with the goals. Not everyone will have access to laptops, for example, and will need supplies on the day.
Refreshments are an important thing to consider, not just for the enjoyment of the participants, but to also help with engagement, as food and plenty of water will help keep energy levels flowing. If the meeting is short, jugs of water and cups will suffice. If you have an all-day meeting, especially if it involves stakeholders and clients, it is a good idea to provide them with a selection of food and drinks. This should be accessible before, during, and after the meeting, or you need to specify a time it will be available so they can plan.
Make sure you communicate this to everyone, so they know what to bring themselves and to set realistic expectations. If not, you may find your inbox flooded with questions.
#4 Remove distractions
You cannot plan for every outcome, but there are certain steps that you can take to remove distractions to help keep engagement and productivity high in your important corporate meeting. Firstly, you should review the location of the meeting, regardless of whether it is in your usual building or a location that is new to you. This will enable you to survey the area, and check out the general noise levels in the environment. You should also check the contents of the room to see if you need to make any changes (for example, add relevant information on the walls, or remove certain items from the room). You should also check the diary, or speak with the location provider, to see what other meetings or events will be happening at the same time, or within the local area, to ensure you don’t have any loud, distracting noises at the time.
You should also plan to limit distractions. Set expectations, for example, that the meeting will promptly start at a certain time, and no attendance will be permitted after this time. It can be extremely disruptive when people turn up late. You should also determine your house rules and send them out to participants, including the start time of the meeting, whether the use of mobile phones is permitted when the toilet breaks are, and other elements of the meeting that will help attendees understand what is expected of them.
#5 Think of new ways to break the ice
When you are bringing together participants who may not know each other, then ice breakers are a great way to kick off the meeting, break the silence and initial awkwardness and get participants more engaged right from the start. Ice breakers are intended to make participants feel more comfortable, as they get to know the people they are spending their time with, especially if it is a long meeting, or over a few days. However, many of the traditional ice breakers have attendees recoil at the thought of them. It is therefore important, as a business leader, that you come up with unique ideas that fit the type of attendees that are coming and the tone of the meeting that you have set. If you have a large meeting or unknown attendees, you should also consider name badges to help increase meaningful interactions throughout the meeting. Meetings are vital for business growth, but without the right strategy and preparation, you will not be able to achieve your desired results.
