6 Things You Can Do To Improve Meeting Attendance

If we are asked to a meeting, we may fantasise about skipping it and going golfing instead, or maybe getting some constructive work done that would otherwise have to wait until later in the day. If it's our meeting, though, we're more concerned about filling the seats. Why? We need those folks present for the information they can supply or the information they need to hear if we organise a project meeting and invite them. As learned in the project management certification course-meetings that are beneficial and useful do not squander time. People will show up if you make this happen at every meeting. Take a look at these 6 practices...and by look, I mean follow them.

1. Put together a detailed agenda.

It all starts with a well-thought-out, comprehensive agenda. Consider what you want to achieve and build an agenda around it. Keep it on topic — incorporating multiple unrelated issues will just confuse participants about your meeting aims, resulting in an ineffective meeting – and possibly too many attendances, because you'll need an eclectic group to address all of the unconnected topics. In situations like these, it's far preferable to schedule several meetings to gather and distribute the information you need on those issues than trying to cram everything into one.

1. Carefully consider attendees.

Make sure you invite the correct people to the meeting. A meeting with the incorrect individuals to make choices, discuss information, and communicate statuses can result in a rather ineffective and unsuccessful meeting. If you do this more than once, you'll have problems attaining the 100 percent attendance you want at every meeting in the future.

1. Timing is everything.

This does not imply that you must be punctual. Yes, you must do so; nevertheless, that is the following step. I'm referring to scheduling the meeting during a productive time of day. Avoid scheduling meetings on Monday mornings, Monday afternoons, Mondays in general, Fridays in general, and mid-to-late afternoons. Tuesday through Thursday are the best days to go. Not at 8:00 a.m....be considerate to people who must travel from the farthest reaches of the globe to go to work, and allow everyone to sit down and check their email and organise their day.You'll be OK if you can plan meetings between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. every day...though I understand that this isn't always achievable. Also, keep in mind people who need to phone in from various time zones. I support remote work and virtual teams, but it can make meeting scheduling more difficult.

1. Stick to the schedule.

If you've scheduled a one-hour meeting, try your best to keep to it. If individuals arrive expecting to contribute for one hour and the event is extended to 90 minutes or two hours, you will lose participants. They may not live physically, but many of them will die emotionally. Everyone now carries their laptops and iPhones to meetings...they'll be on Facebook at the 61-minute mark...you won't get them back, and they might not even show up the following time. You devised a precise agenda as well as a timetable.As learned in the project management certification course-if you stick to your plan, everyone will be happier and more productive.

Take careful notes. Isn't it true that you handed out the agenda in advance? As a result, everyone arrives prepared. Don't let that excellent conversation pass you by without recording all that is said, discussed, planned, and agreed. This is critical information for your project and the meeting's overall goal.

1. Follow-up.

Always make a follow-up call. What good is a project meeting if everyone walks away with differing views of what happened? You've documented everything; now send out your thorough notes and ask the participants to answer within 24 hours, either agreeing or disagreeing with your notes. Then re-distribute after a final update. The objective is to keep everyone on the project on the same page throughout the engagement, and this follow-up procedure will assist you in doing so.

Want to learn more about the same? Enrol in a project manager or business analyst course today!

Richard Pierce An expert in Pmi and Iiba Certifications.