Tips to Run a Successful In-Person Meeting

Over the last two years, many of us had to learn how to connect differently than we were used to. Instead of putting on our best suit, we’re still in our jammies from the waist down. Instead of shaking hands we’re pushing unmute.

Slowly but surely, the world is beginning to open back up. Where it’s safe to do so, many meetings are returning to an in-person format. Since we’ve all become accustomed to doing things virtually, it may take a little time and effort to get back into the swing of the face-to-face meetings. Here are a few tips to help make your meetings run as smoothly as possible.

Set the Agenda:

Municipalities know this, but meetings always run more efficiently when there is an agenda to follow. Having a clear agenda helps set the expectations. If the conversation starts going off track, you can always point back to the agenda items to steer things in the right direction. Setting out estimated times each agenda item should take for discussion, will also help provide direction and keep folks on track.

Start on Time. End on Time.

While it may seem polite to wait for some late arrivals to join, there’s a bigger downside to holding off until everyone is in the room. First and foremost, this sets a bad precedent. Accommodating the latecomers shows the others that arrival times are lax. This can spiral out of control quickly. Secondly, the attendees who’ve prioritized arriving on time are now feeling frustrated that their time isn’t being seen as valuable.

Set Ground Rules:

Having a few basic ground rules around meeting etiquette can help provide great flow in your meeting. Some solid rules, or expectations, can be something simple like; participate, get focus, maintain momentum, and reach closure. If you list these rules at the top of your agenda, both new and returning attendees will understand the direction of the meeting.

End with an Action Plan:

We’ve all been in meetings where the conversation seems to go around in circles without resolving anything. It’s important to establish a plan of action for the agenda items that need follow-up. Assigning certain people to particular tasks and plotting out a course of accountability will ensure that your meetings have purpose and value to all of those involved. We’ve conducted meetings by video teleconference for so long, (and honestly, we’ve become pretty good at them), it will be an adjustment for everyone to start attending again in person. But a well-organized meeting, and Chairperson with good leadership skills, will get us all back
in the swing of things soon.

Oh, and one more thing – dig out that suit again. Things may have changed over the last couple of years, but it’s still not considered socially acceptable to wear pajama bottoms to an in-person meeting.

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The Benefits of Digital Training

The manner in which technology has become a part of our daily lives has grown exponentially with each passing day. Working with, and taking advantage of technology has made us capable of reaching new heights of communication and has improved our ease of access to information. Finding new careers has never been easier, and neither has completing the training to go with them. When you’re able to offer online, digital training, the benefits are plentiful for not just the company, but the employees as well. Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits of offering digital training.

 

Flexibility

With the on-demand nature of digital training, employees are able to complete their courses on their own time. This can make everyone breathe a little easier. Employers can easily set out learning plans for employees and assign the course work with a deadline for completion, and staff are able to pick out the best time in their day to work on it. The whole training process can successfully accommodate everyone’s schedules, as the employer doesn’t have to dedicate extra resources to setting up a training day, hiring trainers and/or arranging to send employees to a training event on a specific day, and the employees can all work at their own pace.

Affordability

On-site training can be expensive. Having to pay the dedicated trainers to attend the workplace, to train the trainees can cause labour costs to soar quicker than you realize. Not to mention room rentals, catering costs for lunches and snacks, etc. These costs are even much greater if employees need to travel to off-site training courses.  It just makes sense not to disrupt the daily operational activities at work and instead assign the training to a laptop, computer or phone.

 

Versatility

Digital training can encapsulate a whole variety of methods to keep it interesting, engaging, and, most importantly, retentive. Using more than just pages upon pages of text is crucial. Switching things up with videos, graphics and quizzes and even incorporating gamification keeps the pace moving while shaking things up for the trainee so they don’t get bored.  It’s been proven that the more interactive digital training is, the more the learner will retain the information presented.

 

Accessibility 

 

With access to phones, laptops, computers and tablets, training can be done on nearly any type of current device. The streamlined, ease of access to online training ensures that everyone is capable of getting on board. Never requiring more than an internet connection and an internet browser like Edge, Firefox, Opera or Chrome, logging in to an online training profile to complete the training on any and all devices, has never been easier.

 

Keeping municipal operations running smoothly while educating your employees can be stressful. However, be sure you’re setting aside dedicated time for employees during the day to work on their digital courses because squeezing courses in between other daily activities are just too disruptive and employees will view it as another task that has been added to them. You want to be sure they’re given the time to enjoy the courses and receiving the soft skills training they need to be ready for the job at hand.  Taking the leap and investing in a digital training platform can ensure you are getting the best value for your training budget and that you have complete control over the learning and development plans for each individual in your organization. Consistency is key!

 

Course Quality Matters

 

Unfortunately, some digital courses can aptly be described as purely for entertainment value.  If you’re simply wanting to check off a box that says an employee received training to comply with organizational policy, then a 20-minute entertainment-style digital course might fit the bill for you. That doesn’t mean that all 20-minute courses don’t deliver value – just be careful that you are getting value. 

 

However, quality, certified digital courses will ensure your employees not only have taken the course but that they have comprehended and retained what they’ve learned because they will have been tested and graded. It seems to be a waste of time and money, and there’s no real value to the individual or the organization if they didn’t understand or retain important information that can help them to do their job better and better. 

muniSERV is a leader in quality, certified digital training and learning development solutions for municipalities.  Our new PERFORM® leadership soft skills training is used by governments, educational institutions, private enterprises and organizations worldwide to deliver tangible, real-life competency-based skills.  

 

Through the use of free learning assessments to get learners started, PERFORM® is able to identify soft skills gaps and recommend a training solution targeted to key leadership development areas for your team.  Ask us for the links to these free assessments.

Finding the right training organization to help you achieve your learning and development goals takes time. It’s more than just hiring someone who says they have the materials that meet your needs.  Do your homework and go with proven, reputable training organizations and you’ll experience all the benefits of digital learning!

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