During this difficult time, many organizations are struggling to connect with their staff. Being unable to have face-to-face contact with fellow employee’s can make it difficult to organize ideas and continue working on projects as a team.
Have your organizational meetings become dull, uninspiring, or inefficient since the shutdown? Would you like them to be vibrant, engaging, productive, and future-focused? If so, here are some suggestions to supercharge your business meetings.
- Assess your current situation. Be honest. Determine what is and isn't working and commit to improvement.
- Raise your expectations. Demand more from your sessions. Agendas should be circulated in advance. Attendees should be on time, prepared, and ready to actively participate.
- Set ground rules. No Web surfing or crossword puzzles. Keep your sessions disciplined and business-like. But don't forget the benefits of humor to lighten things up and reduce stress.
- Have an agenda, but be prepared to leave it. If a stimulating and productive discussion develops, exploit it. Harvest those creative ideas. You can always revisit less important matters.
- Challenge your meeting time and formats. If your virtual meetings get in a rut, try something different. Don't underestimate the power of mixing things up.
- Know when to quit. If you hit a big breakthrough, consider stopping. End on a high note.
- Avoid the trivial. Handle routine updates via memos or e-mail.
- Stretch and challenge the team. Your meetings are valuable personal and organizational development opportunities. Treat them that way.
- Recognize excellence. Praise and reward performance during this difficult time.
- Focus on the positives and keep future-focused. Maintain a positive tone. Discuss your yesterdays only to improve your tomorrows.
- Recap and take action. Resolve issues, determine a course of action, and assign action steps for working through projects despite the shutdown. It's important to make recognizable progress.
- End on a unifying note. Reinforce the common bond and move forward together.
You can make your business meetings more productive during this tough time. Even through virtual connections, successful meetings can bring your staff together as one.
COVID-19 Resource Page
For additional resources regarding COVID-19 and the shutdown, see our Coronavirus resource page in the link below.
