1. Effective Meetings Training for
Employees
April 5, 2013

2. Introduction
Surveys indicate that employees spend on average between six
and twenty hours per week in meetings. These same surveys
reveal that the majority of employees feel the time they spend in
meetings is unproductive. Meetings, however, do not have to
consume so much time and can be conducted efficiently.
This sample presentation is intended to help you make your
meetings more effective. It is intended for presentation to
employees who chair meetings. It is designed to be presented
by an individual who is knowledgeable in making meetings
effective. This is a sample presentation that must be
customized to include and match the employer’s own policies
and practices.
©SHRM 2008
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3. Objectives
At the close of this session, you will be able to:
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Cite reasons to have a meeting
Cite reasons for not having a meeting
Prepare for a meeting
Conduct a meeting
Follow up afterwards
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4. Reasons to Have a Meeting
Reasons for having a meeting:
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Provide information to attendees
Obtain information
Brainstorm for options
Reach consensus on decisions
Have face-to-face communication to encourage interaction and create
synergy among participants
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5. Reasons Not to Have a Meeting
Reasons not to have a meeting:
• Information and data is too incomplete to arrive at course of
action
• Subject matter is too confidential or tentative
• A more effective mode is available such as telephone, e-mail or
memo
• Hostility or anger among members is too high to risk group
session
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6. Questions? Comments?
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7. Meeting Preparation
Before the meeting:
• Establish the purpose of the meeting
• Choose an appropriate time to start and end the meeting and
include breaks for any meeting over 90 minutes long
• Reserve a room that is large enough to accommodate the group
and which allows a seating arrangement so that members face
each other (a circle, semi-circle, or U-shaped rows)
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8. Meeting Preparation (cont’d)
•
Work with key participants to develop an agenda which:
 has each topic item stated in question form
 Lists the person responsible for leading the discussion
 includes information related to the topic
 states the time allotted for that item
 the action expected from that topic discussion (a decision,
brainstorming, information only)
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9. Meeting Preparation (cont’d)
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Distribute the agenda and relevant information prior to the
meeting and with adequate time for members to prepare
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10. Questions? Comments?
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11. Conducting a Meeting
During the meeting:
• Have light refreshments available
• Greet members, even those arriving late, and make them feel
welcome
• Start on time!
• Distribute the agenda with any last-minute revisions and
additional relevant information
• Review the purpose of the meeting, the agenda, and priorities
• Keep minutes for future reference and follow-up
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12. Conducting a Meeting (Cont’d)
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Review the purpose of the meeting, the agenda, and priorities
Review ground rules:
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One person will speak at a time
No side conversations
No laptops, cell phones, other electronic devices will be used
Treat everyone’s comments and questions with respect
When brainstorming, withhold debate and critiques
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13. Conducting a Meeting (Cont’d)
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Encourage group discussion and feedback to obtain all points of
views and ideas
Stick to the agenda and maintain focus on the topic under
discussion
After completing each agenda item, summarize consensus,
decisions and actions to be taken
Announce a tentative date and time for another meeting, if
needed
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14. Questions? Comments?
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15. Meeting Follow-up
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Distribute minutes within four days. (Prompt distribution reenforces memory of agreements reached and action items.)
Follow up with members or co-workers who were not present on
any issues that need to be resolved that came up in the meeting
Put any unresolved items on the agenda for another meeting
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16. Questions? Comments?
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17. Summary
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Reasons for having a meeting are to provide information,
obtain information, brainstorm, reach consensus and have
face-to-face communication
Reasons not to have a meeting are that information and
data are incomplete, subject matter is too confidential or
tentative, a more effective mode is available, or
hostility/anger among members is too high
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18. Summary (cont’d)
•
•
Before the meeting, establish the purpose, choose an
appropriate time to start and end, reserve a room that is
large enough to accommodate the group, work with key
participants to develop an effective agenda, and
distribute the agenda and relevant information prior to
the meeting and with adequate time for members to
prepare
During the meeting have light refreshments available,
greet members and start on time
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19. Summary (cont’d)
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•
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Review the purpose, agenda, and priorities as well as
ground rules, encourage group discussion and feedback,
stick to the agenda and maintain focus, summarize
decisions
Announce a tentative date and time for another meeting, if
one is needed
End the meeting on time!
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20. Summary (cont’d)
•
After the meeting, distribute minutes within four days,
follow up with members or co-workers not present on
issues remaining to be resolved, and put any unresolved
items on the agenda for another meeting
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21. Questions? Comments?
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22. Course Evaluation
Please be sure to complete and leave the evaluation sheet you
received with your handouts
Thank you for your attention and interest !
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