By Ángela Colón |
Ángela Colón outlines the many ways to improve meeting effectiveness and states that employee feedback is perhaps the most valuable and cost-effective to utilize.
Have you ever been in a meeting that takes hours and realized that the topic could have been a 30-minute check-in? Or in a team meeting where only one or two people really participated? Have you led a meeting and left it wondering if your point was clearly made and understood?
These are common scenarios that undermine employees’ productivity and time management, two measures of success in business that are at risk if we don’t know how to deliver effective meetings. Though there are many ways to improve meeting effectiveness, employee feedback is perhaps the most valuable and cost-effective to utilize.
Content marketing expert Paige Magarrey in her article, “Why you should get meeting feedback (every single time!),” highlights the reasons why it is necessary to ask employees for feedback after conducting meetings: employee feedback will help you cut out unnecessary meetings, fix unproductive meetings, eliminate bad habits and check on your team.
When receiving feedback from your team, you can detect how to improve the timing and other aspects of your meetings, such as employee participation and attention. Moreover, asking your colleagues for feedback may reinforce your team’s trust in your organization. You will gain valuable insights and communicate to your teammates that you are interested in their perspectives. This type of feedback is definitely relevant as it allows you to strategize your meetings and make them more effective.
Another aspect you should consider here for delivering effective meetings is that employee feedback not only contributes to review how meetings can improve, but it also helps to comprehend which are the positive factors from previous meetings that can be replicated in upcoming ones. “If you get really good meeting feedback, you can use that intel to fix other meetings that are struggling,” indicates Magarrey in her article. For example, you may receive positive feedback about a methodology used in a meeting that engaged the team; information that can be used in future meetings. Both positive and negative employee feedback will provide you with the information needed to make your meetings more productive and enjoyable for the participants.
Receiving feedback
Now, how do you receive this feedback? Which tools can you use to gather the information of your coworkers? There are a number of ways you can do this:
1. Using the ROTI meeting measurement: According to American writer Chris Higgins in his article, “2 Fast and Easy Ways to Get Meeting Feedback,” this method measures how effective a meeting was in terms of the time invested. The method evaluates effectiveness by qualifying the meeting using a zero-to-four scale. The main variable from this system of measurement is the time. However, you can change the variable to “relevance of the topic discussed” in order to evaluate other aspects of the meeting.
2. Creating a personalized questionnaire in SurveyMonkey: This online platform allows you to collect information using different types of questions (e.g. multiple-choice questions, rating scale, etc.) and compare data after compiling the responses. One positive feature from SurveyMonkey is that it allows you to access different survey templates that match your survey goals. Among these are event planning, market research and customer satisfaction surveys. Any template can be edited to add new questions.
3. Designing an online survey using the platform Zoho: Similar to SurveyMonkey, this tool allows you to create a questionnaire using the questions of your choice. In addition, the surveys you create are mobile-friendly and are easily adaptable to the screen of your device, providing respondents a greater facility to respond to your questions. There is also a free version as well as a pro version that you can check if you want to add more features to your survey.
Overall, it’s highly recommended that you seek employee feedback on your meetings. Our colleagues’ insight will help you determine which aspects of your meetings can be improved and which ones can be replicated in follow-up meetings. In addition, asking for feedback fosters a positive communication environment and shows your team that you’re interested in their opinions.
Ángela Colón is a Corporate Communication and Journalism professional with experience in the diplomatic and beauty industry. She worked for the skincare company Neora and did her internship in the Embassy of Colombia in the Republic of South Korea. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Intercultural and International Communication at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. By Matisse Hamel-Nelis Matisse Hamel-Nelis reminds us that IDEA are more than just buzzwords; they are vital principles that can transform the world of communications. In the ever-evolving world of communications, the principles IDEA are gaining increasing significance. When applied effectively, they help foster a more enriched, engaging and impactful communication environment – enhancing meaningful internal […] By Amanda Cosentino Amanda Cosentino poses the question: When you think about the word “accessibility,” what images pop up in your head? When you think about the word “accessibility,” what images pop up in your head? Perhaps a person in a wheelchair, or a reserved parking spot? But those are only small pieces of accessibility. […] By Loretta Lam Loretta Lam poses the question: What does it mean to Canadian businesses when 1 in 4 Canadians are foreign-born? Many corporate business leaders and business owners of all sizes are experiencing a shortage of employees and workers despite a soft economy after the three-year global pandemic. The worst is yet to come, when […] By Caterina Valentino Caterina Valentino provides a view at diversity through fresh eyes; charting a different course to achieve organizational DEI goals. Professional communicators, you know the drill. It’s the end of the quarter and you need to assess how successfully the organization achieved its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals. What objectives remain unfulfilled, and more […] By Matisse Hamel-Nelis, VP, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility | toronto-idea@iabc.to We’re incredibly excited to welcome you to this special issue of the Communicator, dedicated entirely to the crucial themes of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA). Communications lie at the heart of our shared human experience, shaping the narratives that define our societies and […]
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