Steps for planning team meetings

So now that you've developed an agenda with identified meeting objectives and/or problems to be discussed, elected a chair, and decided who needs to come, you will need to:

• choose a mutually convenient meeting time; and 
• arrange appropriate facilities (e.g. room, projector, whiteboard, internet access etc.).

Tips:

• Doodlepoll is a free scheduling tool that can help you find the most convenient time for everyone.
• Skype is a free communication tool that allows participants to attend your meeting if they can't physically attend. Computers and webcams make it easy for these participants to be more than a voice on a telephone loudspeaker.

Before the meeting

1. Notify attendees of the meeting date, time, and venue.
2. Confirm with other team members which items must be on the agenda.
3. Allocate time to each item on the agenda.
4. Prioritise items so that the most important are dealt with first.
5. Circulate the agenda with sufficient time for everyone to read and for revisions to be made if necessary.
6. Check the venue and any equipment needed (e.g. computers, whiteboards, refreshments etc.).
7. Copy any papers that members need to examine at the meeting.

At the meeting

1. Have the papers for distribution at the door (or on the table) as people arrive.
2. Use an ‘ice-breaker’ if necessary. If people don't know each other, ask everyone to quickly introduce themselves.
3. Agree the minutes of previous meeting and address any outstanding actions as a first item.
4. Deal with each item on the agenda sequentially and to allotted time. (Sometimes changes are necessitated through for example, attendees needing to leave early. These changes should be directed by the chair.)
5. Agree actions for each item before moving on to the next item. If no conclusion has been reached in the available time, this might be to have another meeting to discuss the issue in more detail.
6. Include 'Other business' once the agenda items have been covered.
7. Check that participants have the time, date and requirements for the next meeting.

Between meetings

1. Compile and circulate the minutes of the meetings. Actions should be clearly flagged in this document.
2. Complete assigned tasks and keep in touch with other team members.
3. Network to facilitate the work of the team.

meeting-checklist