The average office worker spends 31 hours in unproductive meetings every month. That's a lot of time that they could use more efficiently. One step is to improve skills in ad-hoc meetings!
What Is an Ad Hoc Meeting?
An ad-hoc meeting is a one-time meeting that doesn't happen on a regularly scheduled basis. Most companies have regular meetings, whether they're weekly, monthly, or semi-annually. Ad-hoc meetings fit in between.
Ad hoc meetings can happen for any number of reasons, including:
- Making an announcement
- Something related to a particular project
- Addressing an unexpected situation in the workplace
- Brainstorming solutions to a problem
Effective Meeting Management
Managing an ad-hoc meeting is no different than managing a regularly scheduled meeting. If you're not careful, they can go overtime and get off track.
In some ways, these meetings take even more work to keep focused since you likely don't have as much time to prepare ahead of time.
Tips for Running Effective Ad-Hoc Meetings
We've all been in poorly run meetings that we couldn't wait to get out of. There's nothing worse than wasting time in a meeting while thinking about all the work waiting for you back at your desk.
To avoid this problem, try the following tips.
The most important factor in a well-run meeting is having a purpose for being there. Never meet for the sake of meeting. Have a goal in mind, create an agenda, and stick to it. The meeting should only be as long as it needs to be to reach the goal.
- Go for a Change of Scenery
If you typically meet in the same meeting room or office, try a change of scenery. Meet outside or find a different meeting room where you can gather. With Meetio Personal, you can find an available room for your ad hoc meeting on the spur-of-the-moment using your smartphone.
Your ad-hoc meeting doesn't need the entire department to be there. Only invite the necessary people. Fewer people can mean a shorter meeting. You can always take notes and pass them along to anyone who's interested in what went on later.
Don't let people get off track during the meeting. Sometimes someone will have an ax to grind or they get hung up on a minor point. If the meeting starts to lose focus, table that discussion for another time and get back on track.
If possible, have the attendees turn their phones off and leave their laptops at their desks. They're usually more of a distraction than a necessity.
- Using Meeting Space Wisely
When you need to hold an ad hoc meeting, it can be challenging to find space. If your office is like most companies, meeting space is at a premium. Even if the room is empty when you get there, it could be booked soon, and you don't want to steal it out from under someone else.
Meetio Room makes it easy to find meeting space when you need it. Every room will have a tablet outside that shows whether the room is free, booked, or booked soon. You can quickly find a spot for your ad-hoc meeting without stepping on anyone else's plans.
And if you've got a larger office with several meeting rooms, Meetio View gives you an easy way to see the availability for all your rooms, making it easy to manage unexpected meetings.
Download our ebook below and get more tips on how to hold great ad-hoc meetings.
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