what you want to achieve and who you think will help you achieve it, as well as those who might oppose it, though you need to listen to them. They often think of things you forget or warn you of possible dangers. Get these people in the meeting and focus on them.
How many people should attend? Research suggests that the optimum number of people in any meeting is five or seven: an odd number of participants allows a majority view to be reached. Many directors hold pre-meetings, almost chats, with trusted colleagues (and opponents) to review options and strategies before taking the issue to the larger meeting.
As you’d expect, if we spend 60 per cent of our time in meetings, there’s a lot of research into the right time for the meeting. Believe it or not, it varies. Most people will argue 10 or 11 a.m., when people are fresh. Almost everybody agrees that 2 p.m. after lunch is not the ideal time, but many meetings are held at 4 or 5 p.m. and they work quite well as ‘end of day’ team round-ups.
But you have to check availability times. As an example, the contract hours of the British employees in a French company in London were 8 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. The French would arrive at about 9.30, have a decent lunch from 12.45 to 2 p.m. and then leave the office around 7 or 7.30 p.m. As a result, they held their team meetings at 6 p.m.
This was like a French red rag to a British bull. This wasn’t just inconsiderate. It was a plot to make the British stay late at the office or cut them out of the decision-making loop. Office politics at its worst!
In fact, it was just a mistake. The French simply didn’t think. Once they realised the problem, they brought the team meeting forward to 4.30. Harmony reigned once again.
Punctuality is important in UK business. It’s important to be on time for meetings. If you think you might be late, always phone. Say you will be a bit later than you need. It’s much better to call and say, ‘I’ll be 20 minutes late’, and arrive earlier.
There are lots of examples like the French one, especially in companies with employees from different countries. ‘Who’s holding a meeting on my national day?’ ‘Who wants me to work on Sunday?’ (Not uncommon in Middle Eastern companies, where the holy day is Friday.) ‘Who wants me to go to a meeting at six o’clock in Ramadan?’ Sensitivity to issues like these helps employees feel considered and makes them more willing to come to meetings.
Normally, meetings conform to the holiday conventions of the UK. However, in our increasingly multinational working environment, it’s important to acknowledge others’ festivals and celebrations. The Chinese New Year is a good example of this.
Finding out about alternative dates can be a challenge. A good way to organise a meeting is to use a time chart.
| Name | Date 6th June Time 11.00 a.m. | Date 7th June Time 11.00 a.m. | Date 17th June Time 11.00 a.m. |
| John | * | * | * |
| Hilary | |||
| Pia | |||
| Barry |
The time chart is a table with names of invitees, dates and time. The organiser circulates it to colleagues. Notice there is an asterisk against the three dates. This indicates that the organiser, John, is free. The others do the same and when there is a day where all the slots are filled, then that is the day of the meeting. Simple but effective. Most computers have programs designed to help you arrange meetings and view people’s availability.
What happens if the spaces aren’t filled by everyone? Try again. It may take two or three attempts.
Where to hold a meeting poses two problems. One is whether to hold it inside or outside the office. The other is room and layout.
Office or elsewhere?
Most people think the right place to hold a meeting is around a table in an office. But meetings can take place anywhere. Some take place in the break-out areas in offices (the more informal areas with sofas and bean bags). See Step 5 for more information on informal meetings. Others take place in hotel lobbies or in restaurants over lunch or dinner. There are also away-days that are purposely arranged so they are off-site, i.e. away from the office, often in a business centre, so that people can get away from their day job and think about bigger picture issues.
If the groundwork for a meeting is done in a more relaxing environment, the formal bit, the confirmation, if you like, can be done in the office.
The office isn’t always the best place to start a series of meetings. It is usually the best place to finish them.
One of the key advantages of meetings outside the office is that participants are not so likely to get sucked into everyday office business. For example, if training sessions are held in the office training room there is a constant temptation to nip back to the office to check messages and make phone calls during the breaks. Obviously, participants can still access messages on their mobiles or laptops but off-site training means the interruptions will be fewer and briefer.
Meeting room organisation and layout
Dedicated meeting rooms should be OK for your meeting. But do check. They may be festooned with wires for conference calls or have computers on every desk.
Check the room you’ve booked is the right size and has enough chairs. And also check it doesn’t have too many chairs. Twenty chairs round a table when you have a meeting of five may make the place feel a bit empty. A bit like a restaurant with too many waiters and no guests. Check what’s in the room and around the walls. Is there anything you’d prefer your meeting attendees not to see? Also check the facilities. Is the space clean? Are the rubbish bins empty? Is the whiteboard clean? Is there a flipchart? Do you need data projection facilities?
When you’ve got your room, check the layout. Different kinds of layouts work for different kinds of activity. See here for the different layouts.
Boardroom
When you see the US government around the table in the White House in Washington DC or the Cabinet room at Number 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister’s residence and office in London, you’re looking at a boardroom layout. It’s good for
