Unproductive meetings are a waste of employees’ valuable time — and the company’s money.
Luckily, there’s no shortage of advice on how to get more out of meetings. One source: Organizational effectiveness expert and author Thomas Kayser.
Mr. Kayser suggests that the meeting facilitators create a document before each meeting that answers all of the vital questions about the meeting — and follows the the PDORA principles. PDORA stands for:
Purpose. Every meeting facilitator should clearly be able to answer the paramount question, “Why are we here?” If there’s no simple answer, then you probably shouldn’t be holding a meeting in the first place.
Desired Outcome. After spelling out the purpose, the next step is identifying (in detail) what you expect to accomplish by the time the meeting’s over. Example: We’ll have a clear understanding of what our budget is this quarter — and ways in which we can stick to it.
Assigned Roles. Write down everyone who’s involved in the meeting — from the facilitators to presenters to the minute-taker.
Agenda. Here you’ll want to map out how long various topics are likely to be discussed, and note the employees that are presenting at the meeting.
Key: While a well-defined agenda is vital to a meeting’s success, flexibility is also a must. Meeting leaders should be able to alter time, priorities, agenda items, etc., when unforeseen circumstances crop up.
For more of Mr. Kayser’s tips on holding better meetings, click.
