A meeting should last only as long as it takes to reach the objectives.
Unfortunately, many meetings go on longer than they should. There is no magic formula for keeping a group of employees to a specific agenda and time frame, but the following suggestions may be of help:
Before the meeting
- Be certain that the meeting is really necessary and there is no other method to achieve the same objectives.
- Personally understand what must be accomplished and determine a reasonable amount of time you feel it should take.
- If key decisionmakers are unable to attend, reschedule the meeting.
- Provide an advance agenda outlining the objectives, the beginning and ending time and ask participants to come prepared.
During the meeting
- Start on time without waiting for latecomers. Let your team members know you expect them to arrive at the scheduled starting time unless you've been informed otherwise.
- Designate someone to be timekeeper. Inform them of the time you expect to conclude and ask them to signal you a few minutes before the ending time or if they feel the agenda has gotten off track.
- Should an unrelated issue threaten, politely, but firmly, offer to deal with it privately at a later date.
- Avoid repetition by recording ideas on a flipchart and summarize the decisions made at the end of the meeting.
- When a meeting is expected to last less than 10 minutes, consider running a "stand-up" meeting in a common area: After standing for 10 minutes, employees are ready to sit down and will quickly return to their work areas.
- Schedule meetings at the end of the day or before lunch when everyone is motivated to finish. Avoid scheduling meetings during prime work hours or when contact with customers may be interrupted.