IMPROVING MEETING MANAGEMENT SKILL

Selain daripada panduan mesyuarat yang terdapat dalam Pekeliling Kemajuan Perkhidmatan Awam (PKPA), idea penulis Clara Campbell dari petikan rencana New Straits Times boleh dijadikan panduan untuk kita semua.

Meetings can be very productive. And they can also be a waste of time! Here are some ways to improve your meeting management skill.

Stand PAT : I use a "PAT" approach to meetings. A meeting has to have : a purpose, an agenda, and a timeframe. Otherwise don't do it, scrap the meeting!

Purpose : You should be able to define the purpose of the meeting in one or two sentences at most. " This meeting is to plan the new marketing campaign" or "this meeting is to review shipping's new policy for handling returns". That way, everyone knows why they are there, what needs to be done, and how to know if they are successful.

Set an agenda : List the items you are going to review/discuss/inspect. I like to assign a time limit to each agenda item and identify the person responsible to speak or moderate the discussion.

Set a timeframe : At the very least set a start and end time. I also recommend setting a duration for each time in the agenda. These should total the overall meeting timeframe.

Don't wait : Meetings need to start on time. Don't wait for stragglers to show up. When someone arrives late, don't review what was already been covered. That will waste the time of the people who showed up on time for the meeting.

Keep and send minutes : Someone should keep minutes of the meeting. The minutes should record who attended, what was discussed, any agreement that were reached, and any action items that were assigned. Soon after the meeting, usually within 24 hours, the minutes of the meeting should be distributed to all who attended, any invitees who did not attend, and anyone else effected by the discussion. E-mail is a great vehicle for distributing them.

I believe these things will make your meetings more productive.