1. Remember, it’s a TEAM meeting

The weekly team meeting shouldn’t be a one-sided process. Get everyone involved! This isn’t an opportunity to talk at the team, try and orchestrate a well-rounded discussion. 

A few days before the meeting takes place, the agenda should be sent out for your team to contribute their points of discussion. This way, even the quietest voices will get heard as their point will be on the agenda. The agenda is your map so let it guide you through discussion and keep you on track. Don’t take the first point and then let conversation run away with itself!

During the meeting, a good team leader will make sure everyone is heard. Just because someone is talking doesn’t mean they have something to say… and vice versa.  

2. Watch the Clock

Everyone’s time is precious and costly so try to keep it concise as possible. If you have allotted 30 minutes for the meeting, make sure you keep an eye on the time and don’t let the meeting run over. 

If you can feel a discussion going beyond the point of being productive, park the subject and move on. Just make sure you do eventually come back to that point when the time is right. 

It’s always nice to have a friendly catchup with your colleagues, especially after the weekend. However, try to keep small talk to a minimum within the meeting room. Not everyone is interested, and it will eat into your meeting. Save it for the water cooler! 

3. Celebrate the highs! 

It can be easy to get caught up in what needs to be done and what needs to be changed. Take just a minute each meeting to celebrate someone’s success of the last week. Having your team all in one meeting space is a brilliant opportunity to highlight each other’s achievements. 

Celebrating the hights will boost team morale, encourage further hard work and motivate other individuals to do the same. It’s important to show that you value and recognise the efforts of your team. 

4. Top Three

An efficient way to gage where your team is at, is to ask everyone to provide their top three action points for the week. Within fifteen minutes, you can get a sound idea of how your team are progressing and what they need to overcome this week. It will also give you an idea of who may need your support this week. 

Doing this exercise while everyone is together in the meeting room ensures your team will be all on the same page. Employing this as a regular process will prompt your team into evaluating their weekly priorities which is always a good thing!

5. The right space

It is important to hold your weekly meetings in the right environment. Ideally, you will have access to a meeting room. At THIS Workspace, all members have access to a variety of meeting rooms fitted out with high-speed internet, TV projector screens, and unlimited tea and coffee. (Just make sure the tea and coffee making happens BEFORE the start of the meeting!) Our meeting rooms are also available to hire for external members. 

Technical hiccups or room mix-ups will waste your team’s time, so make sure someone is responsible for setting up. It’s always best to discover any technical difficulties with plenty of time to fix them. Luckily at THIS Workspace, the management team are always on hand to help you out! 

6. Take in turns to lead

Weekly meetings can get a bit monotonous and can eventually lose their momentum. A small change can really freshen up the atmosphere and bring a new life to the meeting. 

One way of achieving this is by changing up who leads the meeting each week. Once the team have attended enough weekly meetings to know the score, have them take in turns to lead. This can bring a fresh take on your standard meetings, and you never know what it might uncover. 

Leading a meeting is an invaluable skill to master, so allowing your team to take on this responsibility will be great for their professional growth too. 

7. Every seat counts

Although it is important to maintain structure within your meetings, don’t be afraid to tweak as you go. It’s crucial to be agile and make smart decisions that will maximise the productivity of the meeting. 

A good question is, who needs to be here? And who really needs to be here? Assess this week on week to make sure no one’s time is wasted. Meeting invites should be split into ‘required’ and ‘optional’ and trust your team to make the right call on whether they need to be there or not. 

Another option is to offer remote attendance to those ‘optional’ attendees to really limit the amount of time that is spent away from their work. Be agile when it comes to these everyday management decisions. 

8. Consistency is key (…to an extent)

Yes, we value adaptability and flexibility HOWEVER, try and keep a few things consistent each week. This should be the day, the time and the place. The weekly team meeting should be a sure thing in your team’s diaries, so they can plan their day around it and make sure to fit it in.

If there is any uncertainty about what time and day the meeting will be, your team will start planning their days and may not have time to attend once you confirm. Mondays are generally best. A positive Monday meeting sets the tone for a successful week!

So there you have it, a few tips from us on holding a weekly team meeting. Oh and tip number 9…biscuits never go amiss. 

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