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Making Meetings An Effective Use of Time

Gosport

Most small business owners spend a lot of time in meetings, whether with colleagues or existing and prospective clients. However, all too often meetings to plan projects or examine progress can be less effective than they should be, with recent research suggesting that too much valuable business time can end up being wasted.

Basepoint works closely with many small companies who rent serviced offices in our business centres, as well as hiring our serviced meeting rooms. Here are some pointers on how to ensure meetings are both time and cost-effective.

• Set Aims in Advance – Knowing beforehand what you want to achieve by the end of the meeting will give it direction and avoid it turning into just a “talking shop”. Setting clear aims can ensure the meeting achieves what is intended.

• Draw Up an Agenda – One recent survey suggested that more than 60% of meetings do not have an agenda. However, setting out in advance exactly what the key items are to be discussed is an essential part of making sure a meeting is effective.

• Decide Who Needs to Be There – Meetings with fewer people can often be quicker and more effective than those attended by a large number.

• Let Everyone Have a Say – There can sometimes be problems with one or two individuals dominating a meeting. If you are organising or running the meeting, you will need to make sure that quieter people whose input is needed don’t get drowned out. One way to address this could be by making the agenda include the names of people whose input will be needed on particular topics.

• Assign Tasks Clearly – When it is agreed that a certain action should be taken, it is important to decide whose responsibility this is to take it forward and to record it in writing

• Keep the Meeting Running to Time –  Even if a meeting has been well planned in advance, there can often be a risk of it overrunning by a long time. Some overrunning may be unavoidable, but if you are running the meeting you will want to try to keep this to a minimum

• Make Sure the Meeting Room is Comfortable – If a meeting room is too hot, too cold, or has uncomfortable seating, this can make it hard to concentrate and affect the meeting in terms of productivity.

Basepoint’s meeting rooms are comfortable and well-equipped, with AV equipment and flip charts available for hire. We also provide many other facilities for meetings, including pads and pencils and water, and you can arrange to use our refreshments and catering services.
If you would like to book a room or find out more information please call Gosport: 0208 068 9158 or email gosport@basepoint.co.uk