MEETINGS Online

One day I visited a small country museum. On the wall was an old,  faded, embroidered sampler with this message.

          “Every meeting has four bones.

          There are the wishbones – the ones who wish someone else will do all the work.

          There are the jawbones – who do all the talking.

          There are the knucklebones. They knock anything constructive that others suggest.

          Then there is the backbones. They do all the work.”

Little has changed in over a hundred years.

          Today online meetings are becoming increasingly popular.  They save money on travel and they can be called at short notice.

          They are simple to run if you have the right tools, the right systems and have a suitable quiet room. But they do have their limitations. They work best if attendees are in the same time zone.

          Before you start check out the pros and cons of the various meeting software now available. Run a dummy practice to establish the procedure will work well.         

A handful of tips to improve your next meeting online

* Before the meeting

          State the purpose of the meeting and state what you would like the outcome to be.

          Decide who should attend – the fewer the better.

          Check the time zones. People are not at their best at 2am.

          There should be a convener at each site.       

          The convener should introduce all attendees, coordinate and keep site control.

          Set a simple well-planned agenda. The fewer the items on the agenda the greater the chance of a successful online meeting.

          Background notes should be distributed early and read by all attendees prior to the meeting.

          All items should be specific; “For a decision; For your information; For action by ….”

* Negotiate dates

          Public holidays, religious and political holidays should be a consideration. Often unexpected events, such as a funeral can upset a meeting.

* Timing is important

          Start on time and finish on time. Be mindful of peoples working hours.

* When taking a vote

          Don’t say all in favour of “Aye“. Instead, ask “Who agrees and who disagrees with the proposition?”

* Getting good results

          Names of the people responsible for the tasks agreed should be included in the minutes. Be specific, give commitments, dates and times tasks are to be completed.

          The minutes should be simple and distributed as soon as possible. Often they can be done online at the end of the meeting if you have a skilled recorder.

          Plan well in advance, keep strictly to a simple agenda and don’t be too ambitious with your expectations.

– Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Judge a meeting by the results you achieve.”