Guidelines and Etiquette for Internal Meetings

Determine meeting objective “At the close of this meeting, I want the group to…”

Make sure the agenda is specific.

Phrase topics as questions rather than general discussion points.

Post agenda in the meeting invite.

When possible, schedule meetings at least 3 days in advance.

Use the Outlook Scheduling Assistant to make sure participants and the room is available.

Allow appropriate time to cover your agenda.

For meeting that require more than 2 hours, schedule multiple meetings.

Include any background material that should be read prior to the meeting and send in the meeting invite.

Be prepared (have materials and accurate data available in a format that is easy to digest in a meeting environment).

Only invite participants that need to be there – (recaps can be sent to other team members not at the meeting).

Be on time, start and end the meeting on time and stay on topic per the agenda. At the beginning of the meeting, explain you expect everyone to focus their discussions on the agenda. Further, explain that this rule will help the meeting stay productive and end on time.

If you see the discussions exceeding the time, make a note for further discussion and schedule a new meeting.

Begin the meeting with the goals of the meeting and what decisions you expect to have made by the end of the meeting.

If you expect the meeting to be controversial, remind participants at the start of the meeting of the rules and to be fair to everyone.

As the host, you will be in charge of keeping the meeting on topic. This role can also be deferred to the General Manager if necessary.

When someone raises an interesting point that does not relate to the agenda, say the following: “Thank you for that point, Tim. However, that topic goes beyond the purpose of this meeting. Let me write down that item and so we can explore that point at the right time.

Ask ALL participants to voice their opinion even if they do not request it. If certain people are dominating the conversation, make a point of asking others for their ideas.

If necessary, designate a note taker so you can focus on leading the meeting.

Always be respectful of your team members, be empathetic to their point of view even if you do not agree, ask for facts. If necessary, halt the meeting and reschedule when more research is needed.

Note action items, assign them to a person, and agree on a deadline.

Close with a strong positive statement.

Thank the participants for their opinions especially when you disagree and acknowledge everyone’s efforts.

Summarize key decisions to make sure everyone is agreed what was decided.

Always send an email within 48 hours of the meeting recapping decisions made to participants and other relevant people.

CC the GM (These are logged for future reference).