Your meeting checklist from New World Business Centre

It’s no secret that preparation or lack thereof can make or break a business meeting. In order to ensure a productive and successful meeting there needs to be a certain amount of planning involved which can be time consuming. To help make your next team meeting more productive and to save you time and money, here is our 4-part checklist for an effective and successful meeting.

 

Choosing The Venue- Meeting Room Checklist

  • Decide where to hold the meeting. Where is convenient for everyone?
  • Is there parking/ how far is the nearest parking?
  • Check for disabled access if required.
  • Research a few facilities in the area and compare prices and amenities on offer.
  • Determine a budget for your meeting.
  • Confirm the availability of the chosen space.
  • Arrange for any required equipment and technology (high speed internet, conference phone, plug sockets, flip-charts etc.)
  • Establish the layout of the meeting room and seating arrangements.
  • Confirm catering services (tea and coffee, kitchen services, buffet lunch etc.)
  • Book your meeting room and inform all participants of its location.

 

Before The Meeting- Preparation

  • Define a clear goal for your meeting. What do you want to achieve?
  • Select the participants. Who needs to attend?
  • Does this meeting need to be in person? Is a virtual meeting enough?
  • Assign participant roles: facilitator, scribe, timekeeper, contributor, expert.
  • Set a convenient date date
  • Decide a start and end time. How long should the meeting last? How many breaks are necessary?
  • Distribute an agenda and any other materials to the participants and demand that they come prepared.
  • Choose a decision-making method: majority vote, group consensus, leader’s choice.
  • Make sure you are prepared: practice your presentation, print your handouts.

 

During The Meeting

  • Make sure the meeting room is prepared and ready.
  • Start the meeting on time.
  • Establish ground rules (turn off mobile phones, no talking over one another, respectful communication, proper participation etc.)
  • A little housekeeping: Will there be breaks? Where are the bathrooms? What happens in case of a fire alarm?
  • Confirm that all the participants received and understood the meeting agenda.
  • Repeat the goal of the meeting to the attendees.
  • Take notes
  • Make sure everyone has the chance to express their opinion.
  • Stay focused and follow your agenda to make sure you adhere to the agenda.
  • Assign clear tasks to your participants with due dates.
  • Summarise all decisions made and tasks required – nobody should leave feeling confused.
  • Schedule a follow-up meeting if needed.
  • Any unfinished business should be put on the next meeting agenda.
  • End your meeting on time.

 

Follow-Up After The Meeting

  • Type up your notes from the meeting
  • Distribute the minutes
  • Offer thanks via email
  • Communicate tasks
  • Communicate any major decisions to the rest of the company.
  • Gather feedback from your participants to help your future planning efforts.
  • File minutes
  • Confirm a date for a follow-up meeting

We hope you have found our meeting checklist helpful. If you would like to find out more information about New World Business Centre and the meeting services we offer please go to https://newworldbusinesscentre.co.uk/

For further information please check Meetingking webiste.