The Meeting Organizer’s Checklist
Much of what gets accomplished in business happens through face-to-face meetings, videoconferences or teleconferences. Meetings occupy a significant part of most people’s day. When they’re well organized and well run, they’re a powerful tool for communication and decision-making. When they’re disorganized or poorly managed, they can be a disastrous waste of resources.
It may be time to do a checkup on your meetings – the small and informal sessions, as well as the large and more formal – and identify ways you can improve their effectiveness, as an organizer and attendee.
Here are some highlights to keep in mind when you’re the meeting organizer:
- Determine the meeting’s purpose, expected outcome and develop the agenda.
- Develop the attendee’s list with consideration for each person contribution – their reason for being there.
- Arrange time, place, equipment, refreshments
- Publish meeting’s purpose, expected outcome, agenda, & logistics to attendees.
- Begin and end on time.
- If appropriate, agree on decision making criteria to be used
- Step thru the agenda systematically.
- Summarize agreements and action items at the conclusion of each agenda item.
- Ask the group for feedback on what worked well and suggestions for improvement, going forward.
- Follow-up with documentation, as appropriate.
- Follow-through on agreements and action items.
If you’re a meeting attendee, remember, you play a big role in making the meeting a success, too.