How to organize efficient project meetings

1. Summary
Project meetings are an effective means for project managers to communicate with project information, track project progress, develop project plans, form project decisions, resolve project conflicts, and track projects. By holding a project meeting, the Project Manager can fully and effectively communicate with the project management team, functional department managers, project team members, and related stakeholders of the customer, so as to brainstorm and enrich the audience, fully listen to opinions from various parties, improve the morale of the project team, make project decisions, and resolve project conflicts.
In the software industry, Wenshan huihai seems to be quite normal. If we cannot efficiently organize project meetings, we will not be able to reasonably utilize the functions of meetings, but will bring many negative effects. Therefore, the importance of efficient project meetings is self-evident. Let's talk about how to organize efficient project meetings.

2. Representation
I do not know whether you have encountered the following phenomena, or whether you have encountered the following phenomena:

I just received a new email saying that I will hold the xxx meeting in the xxx meeting room in 20 minutes;
You really want to attend a very important meeting, but you have to give up because of more important things;
The meeting was held for a long time and I did not know the cloud of the meeting ......;
In less than five minutes, you have to wait for two hours before the meeting ends;
The meeting time has passed, but few people have arrived, and the Conference sponsor has to go out and find someone;
The participants have arrived, but because an important participant is absent, they will have to wait for half an hour or longer;
During the meeting, several people were too busy to compete, while others chatted about where to eat at noon;
At the meeting, the leader spoke about the rise and burst into tears. Seeing that it was too late to eat, he was not as keen as he was;
The Conference was half open, and the spokesman's cell phone rang, so he received the call for half a day. Everyone was waiting for a hurry;
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held for one hour. The result is three hours;
The meeting lasted for several hours, but there was no result;
The meeting was over in a few hours, and nothing was left after the meeting;
No one will follow up and implement the tasks arranged at the meeting;
......

The above appearances seem to be disorganized. In fact, they are organized based on three processes: preparation before the meeting, control during the meeting, and tracking after the meeting. The first three phenomena are due to insufficient preparation before the meeting, eight problems in the middle of the meeting because of insufficient control in the upper part, and the last two phenomena are caused by no tracking after the meeting. Such proportion allocation is also in line with the allocation of the relative importance of the various processes of the meeting.
I don't know how many of these phenomena have you ever encountered? But sadly, I have met all of the above situations. Therefore, I posted this post to share with you how to organize efficient project meetings to inspire others to think and discuss ......

3. Cost

We often hold meetings and organize meetings, but few people pay attention to the costs of meetings. If you calculate the cost of the meeting, it may surprise you. It doesn't matter if you haven't followed the Conference cost before. It's not too late to start focusing on it now. Now let's take a look at how high the conference costs are.
3.1 meeting cost components

The meeting cost is composed of three parts: the meeting labor cost, the meeting direct cost and the benefit loss cost. In fact, there are other costs, but they are not very high and cannot be listed one by one. We will not consider them. How is the meeting cost calculated? First, let's take a look at the computing methods of the components of the meeting cost, so that we know the actual cost of the meeting.
3.1.1 meeting hour cost
Meeting labor cost: it is the labor cost incurred by the participants who take up the work time when they attend the meeting. The calculation method of working hours is as follows: Meeting hours cost = average monthly salary of participants/monthly working days/daily working hours * salary Value-Added Coefficient * meeting hours * (number of participants + 2 ).
After providing the formula for calculating the cost of meeting hours, we will introduce the parameters used in this formula. Since "average monthly salary of participants/monthly working days/daily working hours" = average hourly salary of participants, the company is simplified: meeting hours cost = average hourly salary of participants * salary Value-Added Coefficient * meeting hours * (participants + 2 ).
The value-added salary coefficient of the IT industry is generally about 1.5 to 2, because the company's management level, welfare conditions, office environment and location are different, the size of this coefficient may be slightly different, but the difference will not be too large. Generally, it is no more than 2, but it is not easy to be less than 1.5. In fact, this series of values is what every company knows about its finances, and every boss knows it well, just not to mention it.
Finally, I want to explain why two more participants are required. The reason is actually very simple, because preparation before and after the meeting minutes and other work requires at least two people to attend the meeting for the same time. Therefore, in this calculation method, we need to increase the number of participants by 2.
3.1.2 direct Conference cost
What is the direct cost of meetings? The direct cost of a meeting is the cost incurred by the conference room, projector equipment, audio and video conferencing equipment and other related conference equipment used during the meeting.
The calculation method of the direct cost of the Meeting is also very simple, that is, the sum of the costs of the meeting room and all related equipment used by the Meeting. Therefore, this article does not detail the direct cost of meetings.
3.1.3 cost-effectiveness loss
What is the cost of benefit loss? The participants had to interrupt the originally planned work because they wanted to attend the meeting. Imagine, if you don't need to attend the meeting, which part of the Participation time work can bring benefits to the company, but because you want to attend the meeting, the benefits of this part of work are lost due to meetings. This is the cost of benefits. At the same time, because you want to attend the meeting, other people will not be able to find you for the moment, so the losses incurred will also be included in the meeting cost. For the sake of simplicity, we also include this part of the cost into the cost of benefits.
Cost of benefit loss is easy to talk about, but it is difficult to quantify and calculate. Therefore, we can only use the parameter model for estimation. Although it cannot be precise, it will not deviate too much. The simplest algorithm is: Cost of benefit loss = labor cost of the same working hours * 1.5. Why do we still need to multiply the value by 1.5? Obviously, the cost of benefit loss should be higher than the labor cost of the same working hours, right? No, what do bosses earn? What bosses earn is not the difference between employee output and actual labor cost!

3.2 Conference cost calculation method
After learning about the computing methods of the three conference cost components above, the calculation method of the Conference cost will come out, as long as the sum of the three is the meeting cost. That is, the cost of meeting = the cost of meeting hours + the cost of benefit loss + the direct cost of meeting. After the above formula is combined, it is the formula for calculating the Conference cost.
That is, the meeting cost = the average hourly salary of participants/* New Capital Value-Added Coefficient * meeting hours * (participants + 2) * (1 + 1.5) + the direct cost of the meeting.

3.3 example of meeting cost

To clearly understand the Conference cost, let's give an example to calculate the cost of the meeting? Suppose you want to organize a project meeting attended by eight people. The meeting lasts for 2 hours and the project will use a projection device. The per capita labor cost is 40 yuan/hour (in the IT industry, it should be similar), the salary value-added coefficient is 1.8, And the use cost of the conference room is 150 yuan per hour, the cost of projection is 100 RMB per hour (if you have rented a conference room, you will know that the price is not expensive ).
Such a meeting should be commonplace in the IT industry. Well, according to the formula for calculating the Conference cost, how much is the actual cost of the meeting?
Meeting cost = 40*1.8*2*(8 + 2) * (1 + 1.5) + (150 + 100) * 2 = 4100 RMB.
Now we know that the cost of opening a two-hour meeting attended by eight people exceeded 4000 yuan, much higher than we thought!

4. Process

What processes can a project meeting be divided? In accordance with the simple principle, we will simply divide the meeting into three main processes: "pre-meeting preparation", "intra-meeting control", and "post-meeting tracking. Then, the specific items and content of each meeting are described one by one.

4.1 preparations before the meeting

During the preparations for a meeting, we need to do seven things well: clarify the meeting objectives, determine participants, select appropriate meeting time and time periods, arrange appropriate meeting durations, clarify meeting topics, prepare sufficient meeting materials, and send formal meetings in a timely manner notification.

4.1.1 clear meeting objectives
A clear meeting goal is a prerequisite for a valid meeting. This is obvious. You don't need to understand it. Project management is goal-oriented. The same applies to project meetings. There is a clear goal to convene a meeting. This is the primary consideration of the conference sponsor. Otherwise, it is best not to hold a meeting. In addition to wasting everyone's time, energy, and money, this kind of meeting basically won't have much effect. It may even cause many side effects, such as reducing the team cohesion, making everyone feel tired, and becoming a trigger of contradictions.

4.1.2 determined participants
Who will attend a meeting? This is what the Conference initiators should consider with caution. The convening of the meeting is not as good as the number of people. A large number of people will not only increase the Conference cost, extend the meeting time, but also increase the possibility of wrangling. It is not easy to form a consistent meeting conclusion, and it is not conducive to meeting control. It's amazing!
Therefore, participants of the Meeting should be closely related to the meeting. If they are not necessary, it is best not to have them participate in meetings, that is, to avoid wasting their time or saving time costs.
Another case is that it is related to a person, but the associated time is very short. For example, only five to ten minutes of content is related to him, and the rest of the time has nothing to do with him. How can this problem be solved? In this case, you can consider the content related to him at the meeting. After the content is completed, you can choose whether to leave or continue listening.

4.1.3 appropriate meeting time and time periods

A meeting always requires the participation of many people. The problem is that everyone has their own affairs and everyone is very busy. Even if they are not busy, they will pretend to be very busy! If you do not select a time, everyone has time to participate. If important personnel are not allowed to participate, the effect of the Meeting will be greatly reduced, or even extended because the meeting cannot be held.
In order to avoid this situation, before the meeting is held, we must first communicate with you about the appropriate date of the meeting, to ensure that the meeting can be held on schedule, and the meeting notification will not be too late.
It may be a waste of time for the Conference sponsor. However, such seemingly wasted time has its own value. If you do not do this, it will waste more time and longer time.
It should also be noted that, before communicating with everyone, we should try to make some advance so that everyone can arrange their own time and things before the event. With everyone's consent, it is not easy to change the date of the meeting. There is no suitable excuse if someone has not arranged their work and cannot attend the meeting on time.
Confirm the date of the meeting. Let's talk about the problem during the meeting. What time is the meeting more suitable? To answer this question, let's take a look at the time when the meeting is not suitable.
At Am, some people may not be completely awake. The meeting is obviously out of date, and some people will be late due to congestion. At noon, I think everyone is empty at this time. Who has the strength to think about the problem! What about one o'clock P.M? At this time, everyone just had a good meal. I think everyone knows that people are too full to eat. As the digestion pressure of the stomach increases, a large amount of blood and oxygen is required, and many people have insufficient brains at this time! Even if you want to think about it, you have more than enough power. Obviously, this is not a good time period for a meeting. At half past five P.M., after a hard day, who doesn't want to rush home first?
Well, the above time periods have been ruled out. Which time periods should be correct! Based on my personal experience, I think ten o'clock A.M. to half past two P.M. and half past four to are the most appropriate time periods for the meeting. This is because everyone has entered normal working conditions and is energetic. It should be the best meeting time. Therefore, if possible, the meeting should be held during this period of time.

4.1.4 proper meeting duration
The duration of a meeting is usually determined according to the content of the meeting. It takes only half an hour to complete, and a few hours to complete. However, according to surveys and research, the best meeting time is one and a half hours, and the maximum length is not more than two hours. When the Conference lasts for more than two hours, everyone's energy, attention, and response capabilities will be clearly degraded. Therefore, if it is not necessary, the meeting duration should not exceed two hours.

4.1.5 clear conference topics
As mentioned above, the meeting must have clear objectives, which is a prerequisite for holding an efficient project meeting, the goals of a meeting can usually be discussed and communicated on different topics. Therefore, before a meeting is held, the topics of the meeting should be very clear, and those related to the Meeting should be relatively clear. Of course, the topics of each meeting should be divided according to the characteristics of the meeting. Finally, the Meeting conclusions should be summarized to form a clear and effective meeting conclusion.

4.1.6 adequate meeting materials and pre-meeting preparation time
In various meetings, some meetings require participants to study the meeting materials in advance. Participants must have a full understanding of the meeting materials before they can participate in the discussion and exchange. For such meetings, the Conference sponsor should send the relevant meeting materials to the participants and stakeholders in advance. It is more appropriate for participants to have sufficient time to study the meeting materials and to hold the meeting on the basis of a certain understanding of the meeting materials. If possible, you should learn the degree of mastery of the meeting materials in advance and, if necessary, give certain supervision.

4.1.7 send formal meeting notifications
If the above preparations are complete, we should send a formal meeting notification. The meeting notification should not be too hasty. Do not send an email and write two sentences to complete the process. Meeting notifications should be formal and standardized. The content of the meeting notification should include the name, initiator, date and start time, length, subject, and participants. Estimation of meeting topics and time of various topics. For more information, see the "meeting notification template ".

Control in session 4.2
4.2.1 notify the meeting in advance
If preparations are completed before the meeting, you can wait for the meeting. Before the formal meeting, do not forget to inform everyone in advance. Because many people are still very forgetful, they will take the initiative to talk to the participants about a meeting on schedule ten minutes to give them time to organize their work. If the company has the habit of meeting on time, this step may be omitted, but it is always correct to remind you. If the company never has such a culture, this step should not be omitted in any case.
By the way, if you are used to sending meeting notifications using the outlook task reminder function, this step can be omitted.

4.2.2 prepare for the meeting
Before the formal meeting, the conference sponsor usually has some work to do, such as debugging the projection device and preparing the PPT. Before the meeting, make sure that all preparations for the formal meeting are made.

4.2.3 start the meeting on time
After all the above work is done, you can have a meeting on time. The meeting is on time! At this moment, we will no longer care about who did not get there. What is their own business? Even if they only have one person, how should they do it? As a project manager, we must have such courage. If someone is late, no matter what he has not heard before, he will never repeat it. Remember, you must stick to this point. The purpose is to emphasize the importance of meeting on time. Most people's inertia is achieved by good people. We should not do bad things well. At this time, you cannot be too soft-hearted. You should try it when you try it!

4.2.4 control the time of each topic
As mentioned above, the topics of the meeting and the time of each topic should be clear. The purpose of doing so is to strictly control the duration of the meeting, it is more effective and time-out easier to control each meeting topic rather than the whole meeting.
Meeting on time is very important. Closing on time is equally important.

4.2.5 clarify the conclusions of each topic
When discussing the topics of each meeting, we should draw clear conclusions on the topics. What if everyone cannot reach an agreement? It should be noted that, as the Conference initiator, the default issue conclusions should be prepared in advance. Otherwise, such an issue should not be discussed at the meeting. Instead, you should communicate with the relevant personnel in private and get an acceptable conclusion before holding the meeting for discussion. If a better conclusion can be discussed at the meeting, of course, it is better. If a better conclusion cannot be discussed, it will not end with failure.

4.2.6 give participants the opportunity to speak
For discussing topics, the Conference sponsor should try to give everyone the opportunity to speak. If you encounter a relatively silent participant, the Conference sponsor can listen to his opinion by name. When there are too many speakers, it becomes important to control the time. The Conference initiators should be able to flexibly grasp the issue.

4.2.7 avoiding language expression comprehension errors
At the meeting, there may be a situation where some people have good technical skills but may be lacking in verbal expression ability. If such a person speaks at the meeting, others may not be able to understand his meaning. What should I do at this time? It depends on the conference sponsor's own efforts to understand his meaning. If this person's speech is hard to understand, he should use the previous method to communicate with each other privately before the meeting. After the Conference sponsor makes it clear, the Conference sponsor will use a short statement to make a summary. For example, you are talking about ...... Right? After confirmation from the Spokesman, it is correct. The advantage of doing so is to make everyone understand and avoid ambiguity in understanding. In fact, it is best for the Conference sponsor to make such a simple summary for other people's speeches.

4.2.8 remind or suspend too long speeches
During the meeting, there may be people who are very funny and there will be no end to talking about it. For such a person, the Conference sponsor should remind him to be as concise as possible before he speaks, and not to time out. If the time is approaching and there is no conclusion, a warning will be issued. How long will it take for you to speak! This is also important to avoid meeting timeout.

4.2.9 discussion on correcting digress
In meeting discussions, there are often digress discussions, which should be common. What should we do? Of course, it depends on the conference sponsor. The conference sponsors should concentrate on the topics and be closely linked to them. They should not be misled by the topics that deviate from the topics. The discussion should be terminated in a timely manner. For example, this topic is not discussed at our meeting today. If necessary, we can organize a special discussion after the meeting. If the Conference sponsor also joins the discussion on the off-line topic, it is hard to predict how long the Meeting will take.
4.2.10 do not forget the meeting summary
After the discussion, we may have to wait for a meeting. In fact, it is still an important thing to forget, that is, we did not make a summary of the meeting.
The meeting summary time should also be reserved during the preparation of the meeting. The meeting summary can be determined based on the remaining time of the meeting. If the time is short, the summary will be concise. If the time is long, you can just say a few more words.
After the heated discussion, we can use a concise summary of the meeting to help everyone calm down. It is still very useful. It can also help everyone to gain a deeper impression on the conclusion of the meeting. At the same time, it is also a good way to exercise the summary ability.

4.2.11 closing the meeting on time
Now, the meeting will be finished and the Meeting will be completed on time.

4.3 post-meeting tracking
After the meeting, is it true that everything is done? In fact, there is no post-meeting tracking.

4.3.1 send meeting minutes in a timely manner
After the meeting, the most important thing is the meeting minutes, which is the output of the whole meeting. The meeting minutes should be organized as soon as possible after the opening meeting, so that it is not easy to omit and produce deviations. It is best to send the meeting minutes to relevant personnel on the day of the meeting. If the task cannot be completed on the current day, try not to send it more than 24 hours at the latest, but the effect will be compromised.
4.3.2 registration of meeting minutes and Materials
The Meeting Minutes formed after the meeting should be kept for Record Filing in addition to being sent to relevant personnel. This is also part of the knowledge accumulation.
4.3.3 actively follows up with meeting feedback
The meeting conclusion has been passed. Are there any consistent actions? This cannot be seen at the meeting. It can only be tracked and understood after the meeting. This is the role of tracking feedback after the meeting. It can verify whether the conclusions at the meeting are effectively implemented and implemented.
4.3.4 actively follows up on meeting tasks
After many meetings, some meeting distribution tasks will be generated, which is also required to be tracked, just like the feedback from the follow-up meetings. After the meeting, we need to implement it. It is truly effective only when it is in place as required.

5. Template
The meeting notifications and minutes have been mentioned many times. Finally, we provide a personal meeting notification and meeting minutes template for your reference. If you have a better template, you can share it.

6. Habits
How to organize efficient meetings should be cultivated as a habit. Efficient project meetings are of great benefit to enterprises and teams.
Although we know that efficient meetings should be organized as a habit, but the reality may not be as expected, many IT companies do not have the habit of meeting on time. Almost all of these reasons are influenced by the founders of the company, which are rooted in strength and hard to be changed.
Many CEOs often change the meeting time to reflect their authority and importance, or let others wait for him to start the meeting. This kind of bad effect is not just about cost, but its negative impact is hard to estimate.

7. Conclusion
The effect of a meeting is mainly determined by the project sponsor. We cannot use absolute words, because the effect of meetings will also be affected by the quality of team members and the enterprise environment. However, it is more appropriate to use the principle to explain the phenomenon. That is, the effect of a meeting is good or bad. 80% is determined by the Conference sponsor, and 20% is affected by the personnel and environment. Knowing this conclusion, if we cannot organize a valid project meeting, as a project manager, we should first reflect on ourselves!
At the end of the article, let's talk about it again. If the founder of an enterprise does not pay attention to the meeting and does not attend the meeting on time, it will affect the staff of the company. What should we do now?
This is my opinion. If we really have such a boss, we can talk to the boss bluntly about the importance of efficient meetings. If the problem persists, we cannot change the boss. We should also start from me. If we can't change others, we should first change ourselves and achieve the purpose of influencing or even assimilation of others by changing ourselves. Instead of adapting to bad environments and habits, we should not abandon ourselves.
As a project manager, you should have the courage, confidence, responsibility, and mission!

8. Discussion
The above is only my personal opinion on how to organize efficient project meetings. It may be just the tip of the iceberg. Do you have any comments, opinions, and experiences? You are welcome to participate in the discussion and share the pain and happiness of growth, learn from each other, learn from each other, and improve your experience together!