Types of gliders. Office meeting: secrets of effective holding

Today I want to talk about a specific management tool. This article is a response to a letter from a friend from Kazakhstan.

"Hello! I need help in the form of advice. I was at a meeting with one district akim (governor in your opinion). He has a problem. There are 2 thieves' deputies who do not work (and do not want to work and there is no sense in them, slackers, they sit for the sake of status) and they can’t be fired either, because they are protecting them. And they don’t want anyone to do their work. So, my akim is in a trap. I would like to know how to solve this problem. Thanks in advance..."

I think this problem is faced not only in Kazakhstan, and not only in government institutions. Sometimes such a friend will sit in the company, everything seems to be fine with him, but there are no results. And there seems to be nothing to complain about, and there’s nothing to fire him for. What to do in this case?

I suggest a simple way - a weekly planning meeting

• The planning meeting should not be long

Maximum - 30-40 minutes.

• A journal is kept at the planning meeting

This log records everything that managers intend to achieve during the week.

• The planning meeting begins with the reading of the company's Goal.

This refers to the Big Goal. For example: “A prosperous Russia making a worthy contribution to world civilization.” After this, the current goal is read out, for example: “Increase income 5 times this year.”

• After this, the leader of the planning meeting asks the heads of departments to talk in turn about what they did last week to achieve the goal.

At the same time, the main function of the meeting leader is to ensure that the speaker does not “spill water” and does not allow phrases like “we have increased the efficiency of the sales department by 15%.” In this case, he simply asks politely what specific steps were taken and what the result was.

The answer, for example, could be:

We conducted training for sellers. sent out over 500 letters to our potential clients. In total, 118 calls were received from interested clients and 53 invoices were issued for a total amount of 3 million 600 thousand. The total income for the department this week amounted to 1.8 million rubles. which is 15% more than last week.

This answer is acceptable. The leader of the planning meeting can initiate short applause from other leaders.

If a leader is trying to “pour water” or “cast shadows on the fence,” the leader’s task is to ensure that other leaders see this. For example, the following phrase would be suitable: “It’s been a difficult week. We’ve been thinking a lot...”

If such attempts continue, the leader of the planning meeting interrupts the speaker and says that this is the planning meeting and if there are no concrete results, then we move on to the next section. Or he may ask the secretary to read out the notes from the last planning meeting, and what exactly was planned to be achieved this week in this department.

For example:

1. 1. Conduct a survey of 400 customers about a new product. Made? No.
   2. Issue invoices for a total amount of 2 million 800 thousand rubles. Made? Exhibited for 17 thousand rubles. Conduct training for sellers. Made? No, we were overloaded.
   3. I see, that's enough. Let's move on to the next one.

I would like to note that at such a planning meeting it is revealed and made visible to all other managers who achieves results and really helps the company move towards the goal, and who skillfully pretends to be a flexible hose and imitates useful activities.

• After everyone has shared the results, a goal for the next week is set for the entire company, and the facilitator gets the participants to agree on this goal.

The facilitator asks the leaders to take turns saying what they are going to do to achieve this goal in their areas, and this is written down in a journal.

Managers may ask other managers to do something extra if their departments are connected and need joint action. An agreement is reached on this and recorded in the journal.

• After all this, the leader of the planning meeting asks if they are ready to truly achieve the goal this week, and announces START!

This simple and effective form of planning meetings allows you to achieve interesting results. Managers either begin to truly produce and achieve results, or run away from the company under various pretexts, making way for new managers who really want to contribute to the team, and not just pretend to be useful, being in the rays of fame and honor, receiving no earning.

Well, and most importantly, this form allows even very productive leaders to achieve even more, which is what I frankly wish for you.

ARTICLES on the same TOPIC

Most sales managers know how to communicate and sell well, but, unfortunately, stability, following a work plan, analyzing and analyzing the efforts made are not their strong suit. If a manager has a lot of orders this month, he inevitably relaxes: he starts making fewer cold calls and stops working with “asleep” clients.

At planning meetings, the head of the sales department can note the emerging decline in the manager’s work and bring to the employee’s attention that his shirking from work has been noticed and brought under control. Of course, managers will resist participation in the planning meeting in every possible way, citing the fact that they have absolutely no time, and right now the deal is on fire. You need to understand that it is the manager who, through planning meetings, implements the function of administrative management and organizes the systematic work of the team, without recessions or rush jobs.

How to organize and conduct a planning meeting in the most effective way?

Time

Planning meetings should be held in the morning. If the working day begins with a planning meeting, managers will no longer be late for work; in addition, the planning meeting will give a charge for work during the day.

Reporting

Managers should bring their reports for the previous day to the planning meeting: a log of calls and meetings and a sales report. The first document shows how the manager used his working time, the second - what results he achieved. Often, even at the stage of preparation for the planning meeting, it becomes obvious to the manager that he spent his efforts in the wrong direction, and the effectiveness of his work could have been higher. Another document that the manager prepares for the planning meeting is a list of planned calls and meetings. This is important! Firstly, a ready-made list means that the manager can start working immediately after the planning meeting is completed, and secondly, the manager can adjust this list and highlight priorities.

Regulations

On the one hand, a planning meeting should not turn into a multi-hour meeting; on the other hand, a formal meeting for five minutes will also not bring results. With proper organization, it is quite possible to complete it in half an hour. At the beginning of the planning meeting, the manager checks employee reports, and if the plan is not fulfilled (through calls, meetings or sales), he finds out the reason: error, negligence or objective circumstances. The work of each employee is given an objective assessment. This could be a simple verbal remark or praise, the main thing is that sales managers feel constant control from the manager - in this case they begin to work much better.

Hours of mentally draining office meetings are not a myth, not a grotesque thing, and not the stuff of jokes. The realities of today's life are such that up to 50% of working time is spent on empty chatter that does not bring any results. Accelerating life dictates new rules of office culture; holding quick and effective meetings is part of corporate ethics.

What is a staff meeting?

Can a five-minute meeting, a planning meeting, or a meeting be classified as an official meeting? What are the goals of this format of collegial work? What are the generally accepted techniques for conducting it and how to achieve the highest results after the meeting is over?

A business meeting is a format of work in a company, with the goal of regular planning and monitoring the execution of planned activities of all services of the organization. This is an effective tool for personnel management and receiving quick feedback from employees. True, this tool works successfully only in the capable hands of a competent leader.

Before introducing a similar form of communication with employees into operation, a corresponding order is usually issued, which each participant in the meeting receives against signature for review and implementation. The body of the order indicates the goals, objectives, times and dates of official meetings, as well as the list of participants, regulations and structure of the agenda.

The general purpose of holding office meetings is to involve employees, services and departments, both managers and line personnel, in the management and decision-making process.

Office meetings include planning meetings, briefings, and five-minute meetings, at which the vector of development of the company as a whole is agreed upon, tactics and strategy of the enterprise are developed, and specific tasks are set. At planning meetings, current issues are resolved, reminders are sorted out, and the general course is reconciled. Operational meeting is a quick meeting to resolve a problem or conflict situation in a team. The main goal of a business meeting is to set and solve new problems.

If a company begins to become confused about these concepts, the efficiency of working hours will steadily decline.

The main mistakes when holding office meetings

An ineffective meeting reveals the immaturity of the manager and/or organizer of this format of employee communication. In any business, you need experience and skills that can convey the general line of the company to employees and get the greatest return from them.

The main signal of an inept meeting is mutual dissatisfaction with the results: the manager expects responses from his subordinates, who, in turn, want to get the most favorable conditions for themselves. However, at the meeting no one agrees on anything with anyone.

At the same time, office sickness develops - a hypocritical image of interested participation in business meetings, which, in fact, are empty chatter, a discussion of office gossip. For hired employees, such events are of an entertaining nature; they provide another opportunity not to work, not to perform daily routine duties.

Quite often, after such regulated chatter, the manager begins to demand results from employees, a conflict of interest occurs, followed by the dismissal of employees, sometimes by entire departments.

One of the most common mistakes when holding office meetings is the unstructured presentation of the manager's decision, when, instead of brainstorming, the top manager sets inflated demands, and the team, unable to fulfill them, in turn puts forward reasons why the proposal cannot be fulfilled.

This happens because often the manager himself does not know what he wants and does not look for ways to achieve the desired results.

Secrets of Effective Meetings

In order for the meeting to be held with the highest efficiency and bring significant results, the initiator of this collegial form of work needs to know some secrets.

Setting the purpose of the meeting. Any business begins with the correct goal setting. Before gathering employees for a business meeting, the organizer needs to answer a number of questions:

The feasibility of holding the meeting;

Correct regulations and precise topic;

Markers by which one can judge the effectiveness of the event.

A leader is a strategist who is able to set a clear and specific task. Subordinates are specialists who know what tools need to be used to implement the assigned tasks.

Appointment of those responsible for holding the meeting. Any business meeting takes place according to the standard laws of the genre - first, careful preparation is carried out, the appointment of persons responsible for inviting employees, for collecting expectations and proposals, leading each agenda item, performers and secretaries, recording the stages of the meeting, filling out minutes and reports.

Optimal selection of participants. The success of the meeting largely depends on those who will take part in the meeting. It is unacceptable to involve incompetent employees in such events who can divert the event in a different direction. The selection of specialists ready to discuss issues raised at an office meeting must be entrusted to a competent organizer-strategist.

Establishment of regulations. A business meeting, depending on the issues being resolved and the size of the company, usually falls within the standard duration - from thirty minutes to two hours. The planning meeting should end in five to ten minutes, and the operative meeting should end within forty minutes to an hour.

Preparing a meeting plan. Before the opening of a business meeting, each participant receives a detailed agenda plan, reporting materials, according to which he can prepare his questions and/or reports.

Sample agenda structure. This document may include main points related to operational, tactical and/or strategic management in the company. The structure of the agenda usually includes a specific list of tasks dictated by the plans of the enterprise and ways to solve them. In addition, there may be additional tasks on the agenda that it is advisable to complete in the near future.

Holding a meeting. In order for a business meeting to be conducted as efficiently as possible and not turn into a protracted chaos, it needs to start exactly on time, move from question to question quickly, without hesitation. It is necessary to sum up an interim summary after each discussed issue, indicating the exact time and date, and the employees responsible for implementation. At the same time, it is necessary to reduce discussions to a minimum, allowing only clarifications when developing solutions.

Efficiency measurements. Each meeting held should be analyzed for compliance with the goals and objectives. The effectiveness of a meeting is measured by the proportionality of the desired result in relation to the costs required to achieve it.

Control and analysis. After the effectiveness of a business meeting has been achieved, it is necessary to monitor the result and conduct a thorough analysis. The ability to measure, analyze and control all data is the quality of a wise leader, capable of making a company a market leader.

Notes to a smart leader

A business meeting is best held at the beginning of the day, when employees are able to generate intelligent decision options.

The code of corporate ethics must specify the algorithm, schedule of meetings and its frequency, regulations, goals and objectives. It is best to hold such a meeting on Mondays, when you need to set mini-tasks for the week and summarize the results of the past reporting period.

Every employee should know the time, place and date of regular business meetings and be prepared for them. This point is best reflected in each employee's job description, indicating the degree of his responsibility and participation. This is the ethics of official relations, the violation of which entails serious illnesses of the team.

During meetings, resistance from employees quite often occurs, which must be diagnosed in a timely manner and skillfully removed, without leading to sabotage and internal conflicts of interest. If in companies with an authoritarian management style such resistance does not occur at meetings due to fear or uncertainty, it needs to be artificially provoked. Otherwise, in the process of carrying out and solving assigned tasks, serious problems may arise due to the disloyalty of employees to the company.

To prevent such practices, it is necessary to minimize problems at the stage of choosing a goal and assigning tasks to subordinates. To do this, it is necessary to distribute “earrings to all the sisters,” that is, to keep the staff busy with important tasks: entrust some with the difficult stages of development and implementation of the project, delegate control over execution to others, motivate others to perform “feats” by increasing their authority in the team by temporarily appointing acting as a line manager or demotivating particularly zealous employees.

Responsibility of employees for completing assigned tasks must be distributed so that they can be comfortably controlled. At each meeting, it is necessary to summarize and recognize particularly distinguished employees and punish those who are guilty and sabotage the work in front of the entire team. No discussions or decisions should be allowed behind the backs of employees, since there is immediately a danger of an outbreak of intra-company conflicts.

It is useful for every manager to know the differences between office meetings, planning meetings and briefings from brainstorming, exchange of opinions, and discussions. Both management formats involve receiving feedback, but in different ways. Business meetings are a technology for managing people and setting tactical and strategic tasks, and the format of the discussion is informal communication, a marker that the manager is inexperienced and does not know how to manage the course of the meeting and direct it in the right direction.

In addition, a business meeting is divided into:

Instructive, when the leader gives precise instructions and receives feedback from subordinates;

Operational, within which current tasks are solved;

It’s problematic when some problem of the team is sorted out and a step-by-step plan is developed to get out of the current crisis situation.

Many modern companies are guilty of confusing business formats, dragging the team into the abyss of confusion, conflicts and discussions of completely non-working issues. Format structuring is part of the culture, which is subject to strict corporate standards.

Assessing the effectiveness of business meetings

How to understand that a business meeting was conducted competently and extremely effectively? The following questions need to be answered:

Have the goals set for the event been achieved?

Has the entire agenda been covered? Have all the issues been discussed?

Did you meet the allotted regulations?

Are all decisions communicated to the implementers?

Did the performers understand their tasks and deadlines correctly?

When answering these questions, a quantitative component will arise - how many people are involved in solving the issue, how many working hours they need to complete tasks, how much money is needed for this, and so on. A quantitative marker is a good tool for analyzing performance over time and comparing with past periods.

As a rule, effectively conducted meetings, when all goals are achieved at the right time, produce tangible results.

Conducting a highly effective meeting is a real art, where the leader is the conductor, the secretary is the first violin, and the entire team is the whole orchestra. Careful preparation and competent conduct of a business meeting determines what score this living organism will perform - classical music that can evoke enthusiastic emotions and inspire future victories, or a cacophony of sounds that kills everything around.

Wishing you smart management moves, gentlemen!

Zhanna Pyatirikova specially for the business portal BZZN.ru

The head of the department is a very busy person. Indicators, regulations, solutions to complex problems, organizing everyone and everything to move towards the goal - everything is on his shoulders. The more correctly the set of management tools is selected, the more effective the manager. Is it worth spending time on such a tool as a planning meeting in a linear unit?

Even in companies where planning meetings are mandatory and regulated, managers often approach them formally - just shoot for show and move on with your work. They consider planning meetings a waste of time, which was invented by theorists. Their motto is: “Practitioners need to work, not deliberate.” At the same time, in companies where planning meetings are optional and are a personal initiative, there are managers who, without additional reminders, gather employees at a certain time and talk to them.

Why do these “strange” managers waste their precious time so “ineffectively” if no one obliges them to do so? I've had to look deeply into this issue lately. The crisis required top managers to dive deeper into the business. The rules of the game in the market have changed, and in order for a company not only to stay afloat, but also to use the crisis to strengthen its position in the market, it needs to become closer to customers - external and internal.

To quickly respond to changes and increase the level of control over the situation, I, among other things, began to regularly join planning meetings in departments and compared different styles of conducting them. The figures were indicative: it turned out that of the 12 single-profile departments in which both sales and contract enforcement are carried out, the highest and most stable indicators are those where planning meetings are held weekly. And this is no coincidence.

The purpose of the planning meeting

If a manager, when asked about the purpose of a planning meeting, answers: “Because it’s supposed to,” it’s better not to hold it at all. Any formal events “for show” only work at a disadvantage; they teach you to work not for results, but for the “appearance of moving towards the goal.” The name “planning meeting” suggests that its goal is to update the movement according to the planned plan towards the set goals.

If we consider this event from the point of view of the Deming cycle (Plan – Do – Check – Akt), then the planning meeting is a regular monitoring (Check) of activities in order to draw conclusions and, if necessary, adjust the movement (Akt). But there are statistics for this! Is it worth gathering additional people? It’s definitely worth it, and the main functions of the planning meeting help us make sure of this.

Main functions of the planning meeting

1) Informational. Employees have few ways to obtain information about the situation in the company and on the market:

• official published information that is sometimes missed or not fully understood;
• gossip, often very far from the truth, but discussed with great pleasure in dining rooms and smoking rooms;
• first-hand information, with explanations and emphasis on important points, which is given by the manager at the planning meeting, paying due attention to working out objections and reducing the effectiveness of word of mouth.

And it is mandatory to inform employees about the department’s progress along the intended path.

2) Control. In addition to dry and categorical numbers, it is possible to monitor the atmosphere in the team and clarify the reasons for success or decline in performance. Based on the results of the planning meeting, failures in the chain of interaction within the department and in the company are often identified, and the manager immediately begins to take action to eliminate them.

3) Motivational. Employees need attention. Let us recall the famous Hawthorne effect in management - labor productivity increases due to the fact that attention is paid to the activities of employees. A planning meeting is one of the best ways to regularly remind employees that they are important and their work is given enough attention.

One of the employees in the department had a breakthrough, a takeoff - a good reason to recognize achievements and, if necessary, support the competitive spirit in the department. And besides the numbers, you need to see the eyes of your employees. The manager should carefully look and listen to his employees. The employee’s behavior has changed, the passion has disappeared - a reason for the manager to include an individual conversation in the weekly plan.

4) Educational. In this function, the planning meeting is an indispensable tool for simplifying the difficult managerial work of a manager. During the week, a work case that was indicative of everyone happened - the manager writes it down and makes it public knowledge at the planning meeting. Thus, the annoying need to repeat the same thing to different people many times is a thing of the past, and we regularly and consciously “sharpen” our working tools.

5) Organizational. A good practice is to invite representatives of related departments to planning meetings, especially at times of innovation. An opportunity to establish or adjust interaction, resolve conflicts, and exchange experiences.

6) Disciplining. U motivation, as a management tool, there is one very significant drawback: its effect is short-lived. Few people are capable of self-motivation, and it is people with this ability who most often become leaders.

Discipline, regular rituals and rules, including planning meetings, are designed to help motivate employees. A planning meeting is an event. Employees are getting used to the fact that they will need not only reporting in numbers, but also a willingness to justify their indicators. Questions are prepared for the planning meeting, employees collect and submit to the manager cases that they think should be shown to the entire department. Like a family dinner on Fridays, the planning meeting becomes a habitual disciplinary action according to the rules, when everyone must put aside their business, be sure to be present at the workplace, and finally turn to each other. This is especially important.

How often to hold planning meetings

I believe that daily unit meetings are only suitable for newcomers who need a mentoring style of management and support every step of the way. For an established team, planning meetings should be weekly. The main thing is that they are carried out on the same day, at the same time, and approximately coincide in duration and order of actions, which will preserve the disciplinary function.

An example of a possible planning meeting scenario:

• The manager makes an informational message; based on the results, employees can ask clarifying questions.
• The manager announces the planned indicators and asks employees questions about them. If necessary, schedules individual meetings.
• The manager talks about a case study of the week or introduces an invited employee.
• The manager clarifies whether there are urgent work issues that are important for the entire department and require discussion at the planning meeting. Evaluates issues, makes decisions - what to discuss immediately, what will require a delayed decision.
• The manager talks about plans for the current week - significant events, meetings and concludes the planning meeting.

Time costs

We take a long time and waste time - this is the main reason why managers refuse to hold planning meetings. It leads to a complete abandonment of this tool, or everything comes down to a short monologue by the manager without feedback from subordinates. Only informational and slightly disciplinary functions are retained.

This is actually a problem: managing “personally” is easier than working with a group. Managing group dynamics is the art of a good leader. His goal is to conduct the planning meeting briefly and clearly, and at the same time receive feedback from employees, which will help correct the movement if necessary. The optimal duration is up to 20-45 minutes. It is this time that has been ingrained in us since childhood as a period of concentration.

The power of a leader is that he sets the rules. To ensure that the planning meeting does not drag on, you need to enter into a “planning meeting contract” with your employees. For example:

• We discuss only general issues; we discuss specific issues for individual solutions.
• Let's keep it short and to the point.
• We don’t get distracted by work issues; we switch our phones to vibration mode.
• By stating a problem, we offer a solution.
• We discuss non-work issues during non-working hours.

The set of rules may vary depending on the situation. The main thing is that the manager manages the regulations and does not delve into the problems himself. The purpose of the planning meeting is to identify, and the decision can be made later, carefully weighing and studying all the details while the department is working. The main thing is to show employees that the reported problems are being resolved. Sometimes situations arise in which the planning meeting goes beyond the allotted time, and tension in the team is clearly visible. Then you need to arrange an additional meeting, often after hours. This is the skill of a manager - to prevent the situation from escalating, to identify markers that show negative aspects in the team.

Of course, it will take time to implement the planning meeting tool in the department. Sometimes you have to carry out more than one event before the tool becomes truly effective. When a manager becomes open to feedback, he will be surprised to hear many unspoken things that employees have long wanted to say, but never had the chance. And then I asked! You have to think through the roles of your subordinates and their use in group dynamics, work with objections, and argue at the highest level. Many managers do not go through this particular path of formation, and go into individual management, which is much more labor-intensive and less effective, when there are only two steps left to success.

Managers who are fluent in this tool use it in their departments with great success, because they were able to evaluate its effectiveness. The planning meeting is not a relic of the past and not a formality, but one of the most modern and effective tools that helps in solving the most difficult task in management - achieving the goals of the unit. But it is these goals that make up the success of the entire company.

We recommend reading it to everyone who has to organize planning meetings, five-minute meetings and other meetings. Many people do them, but few do it well. The article describes the stages of preparing a meeting, its structure, evaluating effectiveness and recording results - everything you need to know to hold a truly useful meeting.

Author about himself

Evgenia Koryakovtseva. Consultant, independent business coach. She has worked with the retail format for more than ten years, with experience as an external consultant in a consulting agency and an internal trainer in retail chains, and managed the B2B sales department.

Experience in conducting seminars, trainings, lectures (more than 400 projects). Knowledge of modern methods of management, training and evaluation of personnel in retail; formation of comprehensive projects in these areas. Experience in describing business processes, building training systems, developing personnel motivation systems and project management.

We all participate in meetings. And someone even has to cook and conduct them. Or planning meetings. Or group discussions. Admit it, many of us really don’t like such “talking” things.

Why? Because the philosophy has been ingrained into the blood of any of our people: a meeting is when they talk for a long time, formally and tediously, not on business, and after that nothing gets done anyway. Well, isn't it a waste of time?

This wonderful format of work

Meetings in companies are often scheduled unexpectedly and are held sporadically. In addition, they are not properly prepared, and the leaders do not know how to organize a discussion. Therefore, many participants perceive the information incorrectly (didn’t hear, didn’t understand, forgot) - the necessary decisions are not made (postponed and hang up), and even if they are approved, they are often not implemented. Right?

I feel sorry for this wonderful format of work. That is why in today’s article we will discuss what is good about it, what makes group discussion indispensable, and learn how to conduct it effectively.

To begin with, why do we need all this? Why bring together a lot of busy people and take them away from work?

A high-quality meeting allows you to use key mechanisms that increase labor productivity, about which more...

The principle of synergy. The effect of synergy has long been known to psychologists. Remember? — The effectiveness of the whole is higher than the total effectiveness of its individual parts. Or even simpler: one head is good, but two are better. And it's true. It is together that we are able to generate more ideas, find many solutions to the problem and choose the optimal one from this variety. In group discussion mode, people begin to work as a single whole, complementing each other. Efficiency also increases - check. That is why, if you need to resolve a number of work issues, then quality discussion, this huge resource, should not be neglected.

The principle of cohesion. A team, that is, people who have the same vision of the goal, trust each other and know how to work together, is more effective than one person. Do you agree? How will your employees become a team? Suddenly? By yourself? Maybe immediately highly effective? And due to what? The key to forming a team is moving towards a goal together, proactively and organizedly. And all these conditions live in the meeting mode. Meetings and planning sessions are a powerful tool for unity, building respect for colleagues and managers, and an excellent teaching tool. Therefore, if it is important for you that your employees work harmoniously and not just belong to one department or company, conduct weekly planning meetings with high quality.

The principle of clarity. Many people are afraid of the unknown. A normal person - voluntarily or involuntarily, consciously or not - resists the incomprehensible and unfamiliar, and this is absolutely natural. What if the company’s goals, performance indicators, tasks for the next month, etc. suddenly fall into the category of incomprehensible? How does a person feel when they ask him to dig a hole, but they don’t tell him why, how deep and where? Of course resistance and demotivation.

Meetings are a platform for explaining the “party course”, increasing its understandability, its acceptance by employees, and, therefore, a tool for reducing their resistance to the unknown. Therefore, if you are introducing changes, carry them through a series of planning sessions and meetings.

An experienced leader knows that meetings create organization. With their help, you can maintain connections within the company and implement decisions made, check how employees see goals, and break down barriers between departments. If you don't hold meetings, then rumors and speculation arise in your organization. This is a problem that leads to disunity and uncertainty among employees about the future, and it’s not far from losing control.

Well-run meetings can work wonders. The key word here is good. What needs to be taken into account when holding meetings?

Principles for Effective Meetings

Compliance with objectives

There are several meeting formats: meeting, brainstorming; planning meeting, five minutes. Each format has indications for use and methodology. When deciding to gather people, soberly assess your goals and objectives. What do you want to get from this format? People need to find a solution? Then this is a brainstorming session - you are all on an equal footing and accept any ideas for consideration. Do you want to set tasks? Then this is a planning meeting with minutes and agenda... The format is determined by key points: the role of the leader of the meeting, the style of communication at the meeting, the result of the meeting.

Example formats:

Meeting. The goal is to generate ideas, evaluate options, and find solutions. That is, the team works in creative mode. The apotheosis of this format is brainstorming. A prerequisite is the opportunity to voice an idea/opinion, that is, a culture of free communication at the meeting. People should feel free to express their thoughts and should be encouraged to do so. Therefore, there should be no harsh, unconstructive criticism.

Planner. The goal is to analyze the current state of the process and identify new tasks. This format is closer to oral reporting on given indicators, so the presence of these same indicators is mandatory for it. The planning meeting always proceeds on business, according to the intended agenda.

Five minutes. The goal is to identify priorities and create a working mindset. Five-minute meetings are not held to solve global problems and answer the questions “Who is to blame?” and “What should I do?” This is a reminder format. The key requirements are positivity and short-termism. Remember, morning meetings play the role of a stimulator, activator, and motivator. Their duration is from 5 to 15 minutes - no longer!

Specificity

Are the tasks themselves defined? Before the meeting, clearly write down the agenda and prepare the materials you need. Send out the agenda to all participants in advance (at least three hours before the start, or preferably the day before) so that they can prepare as well. This will allow all of you not to get lost in tasks, stick to the meeting line and meet the allotted time.

Short term

Any meeting should be held in the shortest possible time. Ideal - 30 minutes, maximum - an hour. It’s very bad if you have to squeeze your butt for several hours. Why? A person’s voluntary attention tends to dissipate over time, and specifically within 30-40 minutes. In a monotonous process, what is happening ceases to be perceived after 20-30 minutes. And with a decrease in attention, a person’s memory works much worse... This tells us: after 3 hours of a meeting, people will be very ineffective.

Timing

A prerequisite for an effective meeting is strict timing or regulations. Set a start and end time for the meeting. Start at the designated time, regardless of whether everyone has arrived - this will teach people not to be late. Set a HONEST time deadline (for example, an hour and a half) and 10 minutes before the deadline - finish, regardless of the result. Set a five-minute timer for each speaker, this will teach people to speak to the point. Stop irrelevant conversations at the meeting and bring people back to the topic. Have a clear agenda for the meeting. It should be in front of all participants.

Adequacy of participants

Only those employees who are affected by the agenda should be present at the meeting. NEVER invite people to a meeting with a trailer, just sit. Follow the principle of optimality: there should be fewer participants, but the level of their influence on the issue should be higher.

The right to speak

You know those meetings where employees only speak when asked and give the manager socially desirable answers like “yes, of course we’ll do it”? Why is this happening? Because people are used to getting hit on the head for expressing an opinion, especially for doubting. If a manager asks to evaluate whether a problem can be solved, an employee expresses doubt, and the manager responds by shutting him up—what then do others learn? Be silent and “don’t get angry.” What do we need from them? Intelligence and analysis. Incompatible things, right? Therefore, it is during a meeting, more than any other time, that employees must be given the right to speak, to opinions, ideas, doubts, and questions. Moreover, you need to learn how to answer employee questions: briefly, to the point, while suppressing unnecessary and long groans about the difficult office life.

Consolidation of results

Every meeting, especially one where you set goals, should have a written summary. I recommend keeping electronic minutes of the meeting. For example, in this form:

After the meeting, minutes are sent to all participants. It is the minutes of the meeting that become a control tool, allowing you not to miss anything or forget a single task. And transferring the protocol into an electronic system (for example, 1C or Lotus) makes it possible to integrate it into the task setting system. And most importantly: you should definitely ask about the tasks set at the last meeting. It is the mode of cyclical meetings “analysis → tasks → control → analysis” that allows you to transfer the meeting from idle talk mode to work format.

Planning of the meeting

Everything that can be transferred to planned mode must be transferred. The only way to get used to control procedures is to lay out a planned course for them. Ideally, all employees should know when they will be asked for this or that matter, that is, when they need to report - in order to have time to collect data and prepare a meaningful report. Unscheduled meetings are appropriate only for urgent and important matters, and the proportion of such unannounced meetings should be low. Otherwise, the employee simply does not have time to prepare (which means you will hear “I don’t know”), sometimes he will not even be able to attend (instead of eight, two come, the rest are “in the fields”), he is distracted from the task (and high productivity requires concentration), etc. .d.

To evaluate the effectiveness of your meetings, take this test:

Do you have more than 3 yeses? Let's optimize!

Stages of preparing and holding an effective meeting

Determine the goals and objectives of the meeting. What issues need to be addressed? What information should I track? What conclusions should we draw? What is the best way to structure tasks?

Determine the meeting format based on the objectives. Select participants and meeting time. The meeting MUST have a chairman/facilitator who will monitor the rules. This person should have less responsibility for solving the problem about which the meeting is being held. Then he is less fixated on emotions (than, for example, the initiator of the meeting) and does not lobby, wittingly or unwittingly, for decisions beneficial to the latter. And the right to speak honestly is given to everyone present.

Determine the structure of the meeting. The meeting must have a clear structure and each time take place exactly in the order provided for.

Typical planner structure:

• Opening remarks/warm-up.

  Goals. Regulations. Format.

  General questions.

  General results of the work. Fulfillment of assigned tasks.

  Partial results/reports of participants.

  Analysis of results. Setting tasks. Summing up.

Typical meeting structure:

Identification of the problem, goal. The importance of the topic. Plans.

Goals. Regulations. Format.

Discussion. Analysis.

Analysis of results. Setting tasks.

Summing up.

Typical structure of a brainstorming or discussion:

Opening remarks / objectives of the meeting / regulations.

The problem and why it matters.

Generation of ALL solution options.

Discuss the pros and cons of each option.

Selecting a solution option. Based on it, tasks are set for the participants.

Preparation of minutes of the meeting.

Determine the regulations. When developing regulations, remember that they should be convenient for both the leader and the participants. Standard: 3-7 minutes for problem setting presentation; 5-7 minutes for debate. It is useful to provide breaks at the rate of 10-15 minutes for every 45-60 minutes of active work. By and large, meetings longer than an hour run the risk of losing the attention of participants. Such meetings may be ineffective.

Set the order of issues to be solved. Questions regarding the regulations are determined by those key points on which the overall result and quality of the company’s work depends (for example, feedback from clients, reaction to advertising, information on new products, etc.).

Divide all the questions into three groups.

1. Regular questions - according to regulations. Try to deal with regular questions faster. At first, their discussion may take up all the time. Then current issues will be added to them - people themselves will become active. But your priority, which determines the speed of movement forward, is development issues. Allocate up to 50% of the meeting time to them.

   Current issues - according to the meeting plan: ideas that have arisen, problems, what interferes with the work and how to optimize it. In total, you can analyze no more than 5 questions. Always start with the most important things. It’s better to finish with one important question than to leave a dozen not fully resolved.

   Development issues - according to the development plan.

Prepare the necessary documents and forms. To effectively work through issues, it is extremely important to properly prepare material for meetings and send it to everyone in advance. At the meeting itself, it is necessary to keep minutes of the meeting, where all decisions made should be recorded.

Determine the time for the meeting. If employees are not disciplined and are often late, I recommend holding weekly meetings in the morning, right at the beginning of the working day - timely arrival at work is guaranteed. The worst “laters” will be rehabilitated in a few days. Always indicate the end time of the meeting. Try to finish a little earlier - this becomes a pleasant surprise for the participants. In any case, after discussing planned issues, there should still be some time left. Then employees will have the opportunity, reason and incentive to ask their questions - that is, to be active and think. And what could be better for a manager than an active and smart employee!

Make sure the meeting is necessary.

Answer yourself the following questions:

1. Are the questions relevant to the meeting? Is this what we need to talk about today?

   Does the form of presentation of the material correspond to the purpose, audience, content?

   What should happen/remain in the minds of employees after the meeting?

   Is it possible to skip the meeting and achieve the same result?

If you answered “Yes” to questions 1, 2 and “No” to question 4, feel free to hold a meeting!