Why do you need an agenda for a meeting

The participants needed to be in attendance the actual meeting or in the meeting via Zoom, Google hang-outs, Outlook, etc. Keep track of this in a calendar app. This is the information, components or the action items that will be directed to your team. What details need consideration to complete a successful goal or purpose the team is working toward? Estimate and determine the amount of time you will take for the group to discuss each item.

Stick to this timeframe no matter what. Have an absolute date and time and never deviate. Use a scheduling tool like Calendar can eliminate lengthy email threads. Keep suggestions and details to a minimum. All that's required is when, where, and type of meeting to schedule. If your meeting is outside of your office -- consider a neutral location that can be accessed easily for each participant whether local or virtual.

This includes any documents, data, or reading that will be discussed during the meeting. Attach these to the meeting agenda so that attendees can look them over in advance. The decision items listed above have become standards for a meeting agenda. Other elements of a meeting agenda could include:. It is nice to have an AirTable built on your site or calendar for this purpose concerning assigned tasks.

Any action items set during the previous meeting should be addressed. Not done? This is the quick review of what will be done by attendees during the current meeting. The note taker or leader is responsible for this.

Your team leaders, managers, or directors will be having their own separate team meetings. Who will be invited to this meeting? Identify and list the participants you wish to attend the meeting. Have them listed on the meeting agenda. If a person's name is on the agenda -- and they don't show -- this will only happen once. As a general rule of thumb, the less people you invite, the better.

The small meeting rule may not be a rule you can keep. That's unless this is your quarterly check-in meeting. Otherwise only have the participants who can help you in accomplishing this meetings goal and agenda. Related: Hour Work Week? Are you having trouble identifying which individuals presence is required?

These should individuals who can help solve a problem or bring fresh ideas to the table, provide data, or share industry updates. If your goal is to capture more leads, then you would need the leaders in your sales and marketing departments. You may have a new employee who has interesting and unique ideas that will help move a task or project in the right direction.

Does every meeting you schedule require a custom developed agenda? Not necessarily -- but I would. Remember, your employees only attend regularly scheduled meetings that impact their specific department or group.

Take for example an ongoing long-term project. In fact, you may be able to scrap some meetings altogether during the course of project. Status update meetings need not be more than 15 to 30 minutes.. Instead -- track the progress through email or a project management system or calendar reporting.

If you can -- keep a standard agenda -- then the team knows exactly what to expect before a meeting and the agenda is simple. This makes your meeting agenda more effective. Same items discussed each time in the same order -- is the most simple and straightforward.

These agenda items commonly involve a brief one-way presentation that will provide background information to attendees. Participants are only there to listen, understand, and comply -- this process is used when a decision has been made from the top. In fact, research has found that a large percentage of agendas are simply recycled meeting to meeting.

So what can you do to create agendas that inspire, target the issues that need to be resolved, and leave attendees satisfied with the time spent in discussion together?

Instead of listing agenda items as simple bullet points, reframe them as questions instead. This approach will make you more strategic, thinking critically about the meaning of a topic and what your ultimate outcome is.

It will also make it easier to determine your invitation list the people essential to answering the questions and better informs when to actually end a meeting when the questions have been answered to satisfaction. Read any book on running effective meetings and, chances are, one of the first recommendations is going to be to set an agenda.

Managers are often led to believe that having a written plan is the key for an engaging and successful meeting. Instead of designing your agenda as a laundry list of topics to be broached, consider creating your agenda as a set of questions to be addressed.

In its simplest form, the meeting exists to answer a set of compelling questions in an allotted time. Here are some examples of what this could look like:. In addition, this method fosters intentionality. This approach also better informs when to actually end a meeting — when the questions have been answered to satisfaction. Think about creating agenda questions for meeting attendees like you would go about creating goals for your employees.

Goal-setting theory demonstrates that goals energize, focus attention, and promote persistence, all of which lead to better performance. This literature shows that specific goals e. The same should go for your meeting questions. Create specific questions like the examples above so that attendees are clear what the challenge or problem is thus better focusing collective meeting efforts.

Research also shows that difficult, but doable goals, are the most motivating types of goals. Similarly, agenda questions should be designed to challenge, but not be so outlandish that attendees fail to take them seriously and experience frustration.

There is no formula for the ideal number of questions to address in a meeting. What is important is to have the right questions. Then, attendees should be asked for input as the agenda is being created.

An agenda also can help keep the meeting within a predetermined time frame controlling when issues are discussed. People are less likely to slow the meeting with interruptions if they know that their issue is on the agenda. Each attendee can relax knowing that the meeting is under control and that issues that are important to each are listed on the agenda.

An agenda increases productivity at meetings. Attendees understand that all items on the agenda must be discussed and are likely to move at a pace that ensures they will cover everything. Agendas make it clear what the action items are and who are the responsible people. This allows attendees to leave meetings knowing what must be accomplished before the next meeting.

The agenda also allows attendees to review action items at the next meeting and receive progress reports of progress. The agenda helps attendees zero in on the areas where decisions are needed and clears the way for progress.

Attendees can leave the meeting feeling a sense of accomplishment with the agenda to verify their productivity. As meeting attendees work their way through the agenda, the person taking minutes notes on the agenda the results of each discussion, which action items were completed or newly developed, reports given, issues to be resolved and other documentation of events at the meeting.