How to plan an efficient boardmeeting

We spend on average 8 hours a week in meetings. If you do this inefficiently, it costs unnecessary time and energy. A meeting can drag on because the right documents are missing, the agenda is not specific enough or not able to decide because the right people are absent. In short, good preparation is half the battle! 

A step-by-step plan for efficient meetings

When planning a board meeting, it is important to first ask yourself a few questions:

1.  What is the meeting about?
   It sounds logical, but when you start planning a meeting, it is crucial that everyone immediately knows what the meeting is about and what can be expected. So make sure you formulate this clearly in the communication to the participants.
   
   
2.  What is the meeting about?
   Meetings with a clear purpose take less time, are more effective and the meeting participants are more positive about the time spent. Therefore, determine the purpose of the meeting in advance. Is it about an update or are important decisions to be made? If the purpose of the meeting is clear to everyone, only what is important is discussed and no time is lost on unnecessary topics.
   
   
3.  Which topics will be covered and who is responsible for them?
   To properly prepare a board meeting, it is important to create a content-related agenda. A good agenda contributes to an effective meeting and allows meeting participants to prepare themselves. This increases the motivation of the meeting participants and gives you more grip and overview during the meeting.
   An agenda lists all the topics that are to be discussed during a meeting, who is responsible for the topic, and how much time this item will take up. This provides the proper structure for a meeting and structure is key.
   
   
4.  Which participants must be present?
   Determine who will be present at the meeting, as those present can have a major impact on the effectiveness of a meeting. Do decisions need to be taken? These can’t be made unless all the necessary participants are present. Therefore, make sure that the necessary participants are invited as soon as possible. Agendas are quickly fully booked, so reserve availability, even if the content of the meeting still has to be prepared. Make sure you do not invite too many people. Particularly in a digital meeting, it is prudent to limit the number of participants.
   
   
5.  When must the meeting be held?
   Scheduling a meeting may seem simple, but finding a time when everyone is available can be quite a challenge. By linking to Outlook and other digital agenda software in most meeting software (including Indeqa), you can easily and efficiently compare the agendas of the participants and pick a time.
   
   
6.  Do we have all the equipment for the meeting and does it work?
   Arrange for properly functioning equipment when you plan a remote meeting. After all, you want to be able to see and hear everyone during the meeting. Are there people unfamiliar with online meetings? Then make sure they are present well ahead of time to test whether everything works.
   Are some of the participants in a room and are some attending the meeting online? Then use an external speaker, for example, to prevent the sound of the devices from interfering. 

Make planning a board meeting easy!