Last Updated on March 19, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev
Types of Business Meetings
The business meeting is a type of gathering whose members consist of two or more people that have common goals that they consider one of the important tools to achieve their goals in a meeting. The business meeting is important because it can play an important role in making decisions and changing methods.
Different meetings may be held in each organization, some of which are:
- Problem-solving meetings: There are many issues and ambiguities in any organization that meetings are held to resolve and deal with them. Such meetings are called problem-solving meetings.
- Decision-making meeting: In many cases, it is necessary to hold meetings to decide on a topic (small or large). The result of such meetings is a final decision taken collectively or in consultation.
- Reporting and information meeting: The purpose of managers in holding such meetings is to establish trust and ensure that things are done.
- Evaluation meeting (feedback): The dynamics of feedback meetings is more than reporting. In such meetings, many people make comments and suggestions.
- Thinking Room: The thinking room is one of the creative tools to solve problems and develop creativity in any organization. A place to think about an issue or topic, without the presence of factors that hinder free-thinking or restrictions.
- Orientation meeting: To justify the people present in the small business meetings about how to take action or the process of an activity.
- Training meeting: In these meetings, the attendees gather like a classroom and receive training (like church business meeting).
Business Meeting Members
The business meeting includes the chairperson, secretary, and member (or members) of the meeting. The President and Secretary of the meetings are responsible for the executive and management of the meeting.
Chairman of the Meeting
The chair of the meetings has to guide and lead the meetings, to determine the amount of time of the members so that the possibility of consensus and consultation is possible and also the meeting does not deviate from the main path.
Secretary of the Meeting
The secretary of the meetings has an effective role in holding and following up before and after the meeting. It is recommended that the secretary use special forms to complete her duties and complete them so that she can perform her duties better. The duties of the secretary are as follows:
- Prepare a business meeting invitation and send it to members
- Interacting with meeting members to prepare for the meeting
- Coordination to take the place of the meeting and monitor it
- Making arrangements to prepare the necessities of the meeting
- Identify the composition, prioritization, and scheduling of issues for the business meeting agenda
- Set up minutes, get member approval and send minutes to members
- Track meeting results
- Records archive.
The secretary has to attend the meeting to perform his/her duties, and it is better that would not be among the members of the meeting (who have the right to vote or have an opinion) so as not to interfere in the performance of his duties as secretary.
Meeting Members
Meeting members are attending because of their legal duties and responsibilities, or attending as a substitute or supervisory member. Therefore, it is better to consider specific criteria for inviting people, among which the following can be mentioned.
- Knowing the topic of the meetings
- Committing to solving the problem
- Knowing the subject and having the necessary authority to participate in decision making
- Having enough time to attend the meetings
- Having different experiences, opinions, and ideas
- Independence in commenting
Invitation to the Meeting
The secretary of the meetings completes the “invitation to the meeting” form to invite the members of the meeting. The items on this form must be carefully completed to create the least amount of questions or ambiguity for the guests. It is recommended that the invitation form be communicated electronically to the guests. To remind the meeting and ensure that the invitation is received by the guests is one of the main duties of the secretary.
The Readiness for the Meeting
Equipment and supplies required to conduct meetings, particularly annual business meetings, must be provided properly. For example, technology makes a significant contribution to meeting management. For example, videoconferencing can reduce travel costs for multiple individuals between cities. For example, videoconferencing can reduce travel costs for multiple individuals between cities. Regarding the importance of the business meeting presentation, it is recommended that the equipment be checked before the start of the meeting.
It is mandatory and courteous to organize hospitality meetings. Servers should preferably entertain members, and efforts should be made to provide a reception as simple as possible as snacks for business meetings and also consider avoiding luxury.
Business Meeting Locations
The business meeting room should be a quiet space with a suitable and clean temperature and the presence of some beautiful pots. A round table is more appropriate because in meetings all members are equal. The space in the room should not be such that even a member feels marginalized and thus all members should feel that their presence is helpful. So finding business meeting venues that have this kind of room is very important even if you have decided to conduct a business meeting at a local coffee shop.
Also, when planning hotels and restaurants for business meetings in a restaurant, people are looking for a relaxed environment with professional staff to at least make the business position of the business more effective. For this purpose, find suitable business meeting locations is so important.
Workshops are conducted based on a set of principles and rules, among which we can easily mention the workspace, the existence of a quiet environment, the proportion of light and brightness of the environment, the variety of food on the menu, and attention to aesthetics.
Business Meeting Etiquette
Business Meetings generally have general rules that can have their own rules depending on the type of meeting. All invited members are expected to respect the rules of the meeting that follow.
- Meeting hours should be adjusted as much as possible so that there are no interruptions to the current assignment process.
- The same person must be present at the meeting. Unless the possibility of the presence of their representative is stated in the invitation form to the meeting.
- If managers or chairpersons or any of the guests are unable to attend the meeting for a good reason, they must notify the invitee before the meeting and as soon as possible so that if the meeting is canceled, there is enough time to notify the other guests.
- It is necessary for the guests to review the documents, documents, and records related to the subject before attending the meeting and to participate in the meeting with sufficient preparation.
- All participants in the meeting are required to attend at the appointed time.
Minutes of Meeting
With the consultation of the members, a formal meeting is formed and the sign of the meeting is the preparation of the minutes that formalize the meeting. The minutes are prepared by the meeting secretary and consist of the following:
- Meeting time and location
- Start and end time of the meeting
- Meeting number
- Details of participating members and their position
- Agenda
- Rapporteur (who raised the issue?)
- Description of the subject of the resolution (why was the resolution proposed?)
- Name of the place of implementation (where or in which organizational unit)
- Name of the executor of the resolution (who is responsible for the implementation of the resolution?)
- The exact time of implementation
- How to implement the resolution (How is the resolution implemented?)
- The proposer of the implementation method (who suggested the implementation method?)
- Assign the next business meeting
- Signatures of participants
Follow up Email After a Business Meeting
As mentioned earlier, the task of following up on the results of the meeting is the responsibility of the secretary of the meeting. In this regard, if any of the responsible persons do not perform their duties properly or do not complete them in the allotted time, the secretary must follow up on the reasons and report to the moderator and other members participating in the meeting. Present the meeting in writing.
Therefore, it is necessary for all those who take on the tasks through the minutes to work closely with the secretary of the meeting. The report of all meetings within the organization and employees who are sent to meetings outside the organization should be reported to the higher authority as soon as possible.
