Measuring the impact of your meetings: the art of concluding well

To follow up on Caroline Laroche’s excellent advice last week about optimizing your team meetings, I now draw your attention to a crucial element in success rate of these: the conclusion. Here are 3 ways to measure the real impact of your meetings.

First, your conclusion should be one-third the length of your meeting. Surprising? Not when you think about it. The conclusion guarantees the common understanding of all and ensures the achievement of the initial objectives. Review all the elements of the discussion. The conclusion is in itself your first measuring tool.

In addition, the conclusion allows you to return to your parking, that is to say the “varia” section. » in your minutes, the place dedicated to any other important topic or idea that came up during the meeting. Make sure the facilitator quickly detects these out-of-context topics to reframe participants during the meeting. At the time of conclusion, you will then have to return to these points. Will it be necessary to schedule an additional meeting? Does any of the topics interfere with the objective of the current meeting? This is what you will be able to establish.

Also measure the participation and satisfaction of your employees. This assessment should include two dimensions: an introspective self-assessment and an assessment of the quality of the meeting. Did the participants have the opportunity to express themselves? Are they happy with the logistics? Did they see the relevance of the meeting?  This will help you determine if improvements are needed.

In closing, don’t forget to establish what actions should be taken following the meeting. Appoint responsible people, establish deadlines and follow up on these actions. This way, you will mobilize your stakeholders. You will see, the art of the conclusion will then take on its full meaning!