5 tips to streamline meetings and save time

Meetings. Some love them, others hate them. But they’re an essential part of the day for many of the working population. For the last 2 years Zoom, Google Meet and MS Teams have been everybody’s best friend, and during this time we’ve learned a couple of things about meetings. First, it’s much more comfortable in athleisure and slippers; second, many are either not needed or could be a lot more time-efficient.

While video meetings can have their downsides (“I think you’re on mute, Mike” / “Sorry if you can hear my dog barking”), they’ve shown us a lot about meeting efficiency and there’s no doubt that they’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable future. But as we transition back to more face-to-face interactions, it’s got many of us thinking about how we can streamline meetings in-person to eliminate interruptions, save time and continue to reduce the sometimes unnecessary meetings.

If you’re one of those people, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our top 5 tips to help you streamline meetings for a seamless experience…

1. Consider if the meeting is needed

Tip number 1: don’t have meetings for the sake of having meetings. When you do this, you’ll be amazed at the amount of time you’ll save. Consider whether what you need to discuss genuinely requires a meeting or if a quick call or a chat while making a coffee could solve it more quickly and efficiently. You can then place your focus on streamlining those more important meetings.

2. Stick with a video meeting

Video conferencing can streamline meetings in a number of ways. Firstly, it eliminates the need to commute as you can take the meeting from anywhere so there’s no delays or disruption caused by late arrivals. You might also find that small talk is reduced with video conferencing meaning you get started with the meeting quicker, thus using the time more efficiently.

3. Have an agenda and stick to it

How much time are you currently spending at the beginning of a meeting deciding who wants to start off or what to talk about first? Spend a little bit of time writing an agenda to share with everyone prior to the meeting and you’ll save a lot of time during it. An agenda will also help you to stay focused on what the meeting is about to ensure you don’t go off track talking about other things that don’t need to be discussed.

4. Set a time limit

Another thing we’ve learnt from video conferencing is just how much more efficient meetings are when you stick to the time you’ve dedicated. So, in addition to sticking to an agenda, set a time limit and stick to that too - be it an hour, 30 mins or even just a quick 15 minute chat.

Extra tip: if you need to stick to a very quick catch up because you’re tight for time, stand up for the entirety.

5. Use a meeting room booking app

Do you often get people knocking on the door during your meeting to see how long you’re going to be? Or walking straight in if they can’t see the room is occupied? This is where a meeting room booking app can be a great solution to help streamline meetings. Meeting rooms can be booked in advance so colleagues can check to see if a room is occupied rather than disturbing an ongoing meeting.

Sticking with a video call? A meeting room booking app could also be used to book a room to ensure you have a quiet space to take the call.

Think a meeting room booking app could streamline meetings in your organisation? Why not try Spaces by Sign In App? Spaces is our flexible desk and meeting room booking solution that allows you to make any space in your workplace bookable. Colleagues can book meeting rooms from our smartphone Companion app and also select how many people they’re booking for. Learn more about Spaces here or get in touch with the team to learn more; find all the ways to contact us here.