Tips to get the most out of business meetings

The progress towards continuous improvement is one of the hallmarks of Dacsa Group, to carry out interdepartmental meetings in which sharing experiences and making decisions is vital for the proper functioning of any company. If you have always wondered how to organize a business meeting, here is the answer.

 Elena Subiela is our expert in this area. She has worked at the Dacsa Group since 2011, where she started as a Group Shipment Execution Coordinator and supported the financial department. After several years developing numerous tasks, including those related to the optimization of purchases, she is currently Director’s Assistant and Corporate Executive Coordinator at Dacsa Group.

One of her responsibilities, focusses on the coordination of the Executive Team and the organization of meetings, with the aim of maximizing them for better decision making in the company,  coordinating the different work lines, always oriented towards results and focused on our spirit of continuous improvement.

Ensuring these business meetings are effective is part of her job, and this coordination requires a high level of leadership, empathy, and communication.

Nowadays, team coordination is vital to get the most out of the people who make up the company. People are, without a doubt, the most essential element of a company’s success and, therefore, its future depends on them.

We asked Elena Subiela for any small tips that must be taken into account when organizing a meeting. She told us about the following key elements to get the most out of workgroup meetings in a company:

Before the meeting

• The success of a work meeting will always depend on good preparation: Having a clear goal and knowing in advance the interests of the rest of the participants of the meeting, will give you an advantage.
• It is important to always ask yourself the following question: What is the purpose of the meeting?The answer to this question, as well as an agenda with the topics to be discussed, will help you reach your goal. It is essential that attendees are always informed in advance about the points that will be discussed in the meeting so that they can research the contents.

 

During the meeting

• One of the great challenges of any meeting is the timing since productivity depends on it. It has been demonstrated that extensive meetings are less productive than short ones. Avoid long speeches by attendees and private conversations, exercise moderation, maintain the flow and adhere to timings. These are some of the small challenges for people who coordinate senior management meetings.
• Always take note of the agreed topics. During the meetings, conversations and ramblings arise and it is not always easy to find the solution. Therefore, it is important that you write down the points to be highlighted and the conclusions reached so as not to forget any detail.
• Encourage participation. From small opinions, contributions and suggestions have always come great ideas and projects, so try to keep your team open to participation and collaboration. A motivated team will always give the best of itself.
• Find your goal, focus on it and get it!

 

After the meeting

• It is always advisable to draw up a record of the conclusions, summarise the topics discussed and agreed upon and send it to all the participants.
• Draw up an action plan with the tasks that each participant must carry out. A good plan of action must have the following elements: description of the action, who is responsible for it, time and resources that will be needed to carry it out. The follow-up of this action plan will be essential for the meeting to have fulfilled its purpose.

 

By following these little tips on how to organize a business meeting, success will be assured!