Almost each of us has had to participate in various meetings more than once. And, I think, many have heard the following statement from colleagues: “Again, the meeting, but when to work?”. Hundreds of thousands of meetings are held every day in our country. But, unfortunately, this is the case when quantity does not turn into quality, because the principle “the more the better” clearly does not work here. Only effective meetings can give a noticeable tangible result and affect the quality of the enterprise. I would like enterprises whose employees could join the famous lines from the poem by V.V. Mayakovsky's "Seated", became less and less:

You won't fall asleep with excitement.
Early morning.
I dream of meeting the early dawn:
"Oh at least
More
One session
Concerning the eradication of all meetings!

Meeting Types

meeting - meeting, assembly dedicated to the discussion of some special issue or several issues.

Varieties of an extended meeting are:

• symposium— extended meeting on a special scientific issue;
• conference– an extended meeting, for example, among scientists, politicians;
• congress, congress- a meeting of a wide composition, as a rule, of a regional, all-Russian or international scale.

Within a particular enterprise, depending on the main task, there are the following types meetings:

• operational;
• instructive;
• problematic.

Other criteria can also be used as the basis for classifying meetings, such as the frequency of: scheduled, unscheduled.

In addition, according to the nature of the meeting, they are divided into the following types:

• dictatorial- it is characteristic of an authoritarian type of management, when only the leader leads the meeting and has the actual right to vote, the rest of the participants are only given the opportunity to ask questions, but not to express their own opinion;
• autocratic- based on the leader's questions to the participants and their answers to them, as a rule, there are no discussions, only dialogue is possible;
• segregative- the report is discussed only by the participants chosen by the head, the rest listen and take into account the information presented;
• debatable- free exchange of opinions and development of a common solution; the right to make a decision in the final wording remains with the head;
• free- it does not adopt a clear agenda, sometimes there is no chairman, sometimes it ends with a decision, but basically it comes down to an exchange of views.

Gathering together, the participants of the meeting have the opportunity to express their point of view on the topics under discussion, to bring the information they have to all participants in the meeting, to discuss controversial issues, to consider alternative solutions. After all, it is not in vain that they say that truth is born in a dispute.

But the meeting is an expensive undertaking. Keep in mind that if your organization has an hour-long meeting with eight participants every day, this means that one employee is paid only for participating in meetings. The meeting cannot be viewed as a way to inform employees, it is the best means of evaluation and decision-making. A collective decision carries more weight than a single decision. Therefore, the meeting is ideal where the participation of the team in discussing the problem and finding solutions is necessary, where it is necessary to consider different points of view.

Meeting preparation

The success of a meeting is 90% dependent on the quality of its preparation. Any, even the shortest meeting, will only benefit from preliminary study.

The person responsible for the preparation of the event, first of all, must find out:

• purpose of the meeting
• main points for discussion,
• list of participants,
• place, time and form.

It should be noted that in a number of organizations there is a certain procedure for holding meetings, which can be enshrined in special Regulations. In this case, the task is greatly simplified.

If several people participate in the preparation of the meeting, then, as a rule, the enterprise issues an order to hold a meeting, which determines the composition of the working group and the plan for its preparation (see Example 1).

Agenda setting

Setting the agenda is the task of the chairman, but it is the responsibility of the secretary to document it.

The agenda is drawn up only after the purpose of the meeting is determined. At the same time, the goal should be clearly formulated, have logical completeness and unambiguous interpretation. The agenda should include a small number of items so that they can be discussed in detail at the meeting. But, unfortunately, this requirement is not always fulfilled and the agenda is overloaded, which makes it impossible to prepare and discuss all issues thoroughly. Here the principle “better less, but better” applies. Therefore, always try to get rid of secondary issues that can be resolved outside the meeting.

The agenda is usually drawn up in written (printed) form. . Of course, meetings can be held without a pre-prepared list of questions, but in this case they should at least oral communicated to meeting participants. I think no one will argue that a written agenda is a more efficient form and allows everyone to focus on what needs to be done: before the meeting, during the meeting and after it. It is the plan for the event. Meetings without it very often turn into general discussions, the participants of which do not focus on key issues. Many witnesses to unprepared meetings more than once had to deal with such a situation when someone urgently requested information from their subordinates, and the rest were forced to waste time waiting. Such shortcomings adversely affect the rhythm of the discussion, and consequently, its effectiveness.

About that How should items be placed on the agenda? There are two diametrically opposed opinions.

In accordance with the first point of view, questions should be arranged in order of their importance and complexity. The arguments here are as follows: at the beginning of the meeting, employees are more active, they are not yet tired and, therefore, it is better to discuss the most important and difficult issues at the beginning.

Adherents of the second point of view believe that issues that require extended discussion and elaboration are best addressed in the second third of the meeting, when the physical and mental performance of the participants reaches its peak. Current issues that do not require a lot of time can be solved first, and the easiest questions, interesting and pleasant things, can be left for the end.

Based on the practice of work, we can recommend readers to adhere to the second point of view, because. starting with simpler questions, you can set a certain rhythm, because they do not require detailed study, employees discussing them do not have time to get tired - they serve as a “kind of warm-up” before working on more complex problems. When the main work is done and the attention of the audience weakens, you can move on to discussing more interesting issues that do not require tension (in the last third of the meeting), for example, about organizing a corporate event in honor of the company's anniversary or about the results of participation in an exhibition.

We live in a dynamic world. During the preparation of the meeting, as a result of obtaining more reliable and timely information, priorities may change repeatedly. What was relevant to us just a few hours ago may become completely uninteresting. Therefore, one should never consider the approved agenda of a workshop as something unshakable. In this case, it can be recommended to develop a procedure for adjusting the agenda after its approval, which should be reflected in the Rules for holding meetings.

Scheduled agenda approved by the head, a sample of such a document is presented in Example 2. But in practice, a simplified form is also often used. As can be seen from Example 3, it does not have an approval stamp (there are even design options without the signature of the responsible executor), but it is these forms of summonses that are the most common. The first form is more informative, contains information about the place, date and participants of the meeting, has a stamp of approval. Therefore, it can be recommended to use it for the most important meetings, and for the working and operational agenda, the secretary can also sign it after a preliminary oral discussion with the chairman. The procedure for drawing up the agenda is fixed in the Regulations for holding meetings, if there is one at the enterprise.

Meeting participants

After determining the purpose of the meeting and the range of issues that will be discussed at it, you can proceed to the selection of candidates for participants. For a meeting employees should be invited :

• who make key decisions on issues brought up for discussion (their opinion may be decisive);
• who, in accordance with their official duties, have certain information on the issues under consideration;
• who, by the nature of their activities, should be familiar with the information presented at the meeting;
• who will organize the implementation of the decisions of the meeting.

People should be invited who are able to voice different points of view and at the same time are ready for fruitful interaction.

The usefulness of a meeting is inversely proportional to the number of participants. Amount recommended by psychologists for an internal business meeting — 6 to 9 people, this ensures high productivity, people are not lost in the mass, and such a group is easier to control. In practice, meetings are held in both smaller and large groups, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The agenda may be attached guest list indicating their positions. This is the case when organizing large meetings with a large number of participants. This is actively practiced in federal executive bodies. In commercial organizations, it is better to include meeting participants and invitees on the meeting agenda, as shown in Example 2.

In large institutions, meetings on the most important issues are compiled information about them , which indicates the reason and purpose of raising the issue for discussion. Along with the help can be offered draft decision .

If the meeting is attended by a large number of people, branch managers, subsidiaries or representatives of third parties, then sent invitations (notices) to the meeting. As a rule, such a document consists of:

• appeals;
• information about the date, place and time of the event;
• agenda;
• invitations to participate;
• requests for confirmation of participation in the meeting.

Invitations (notices) are signed by persons responsible for the preparation of the event. A possible design option is shown in Example 4.

The type of document that should be sent to the participants also depends on the type of meeting. As a rule, this is:

• an invitation (notice) to hold a meeting, issued on the letterhead of the organization, or
• agenda in the form adopted by the enterprise.

The agenda should be sent out a few days before the start of the event (usually 3-5 days) to give attendees the opportunity to prepare. The materials to be discussed are attached to it (draft reports on each issue, information materials submitted by responsible persons). Such supporting documentation can be sent out later - 1-2 days before the meeting. In this case, you should take into account the real ratio of the amount of information that you need to familiarize yourself with the remaining time.

Meeting organizers not only need to send out invitations (or agendas) to attendees, they also need to support feedback. It should be clarified whether they will be able to attend, whether they need to be present technical means.

Preparation of documents for the meeting (reports, information materials)

So, 10-15 pages of continuous text typed small print no one will read. Therefore, do not save on your employees and use optimal size font - 12. Smaller text can be used, for example, for page footnotes.

Do not use too many font styles at the same time (2 are enough, for example, the most common ones - Times New Roman and Arial). It is better to highlight text fragments with different styles (italics, bold) or underlining.

Think about how many levels of headings in the text you will need, do you need to number them, how will you highlight the names of tables, diagrams and figures? All this will help the reader quickly navigate the document.

The main thing is that the formatting logic chosen by you is not violated within one document, and it is desirable that it be observed (even with small deviations) within the entire set of materials.

Participants' presentations can be supported written reports . Note that the report is one of the longest business documents. Its writing is one of the skills required for successful career. Therefore, we will give some basic recommendations for drafting the text of the report. It should be:

• concise, as far as the content and purpose allows;
• understandable (simple, not confusing);
• logical;
• structured.

Very often, the purpose of writing a report is to influence readers in some way: to convince them to accept a certain point of view, change their own minds, or take specific actions. The report should be addressed to a predetermined group, contain convincing arguments and anticipate possible objections.

In addition to reports, the meeting is being prepared information materials that presenters use. No wonder the Russian proverb says: "It is better to see once than hear a hundred times." There are many visual aids. For example, two simple graphs can be more efficient than one complex one, and they are easier and faster to build. Modern computer technology allows you to include in the report a lot of graphic images down to color illustrations.

Room preparation

The meeting room must be prepared in advance.

It needs to be ventilated or the air conditioning system turned on in a few hours.

Chairs should be neatly arranged, and their number should be 1-2 more than the planned number of participants and invitees. After all, during the discussion, you may urgently need to invite one of the employees. Then they will have a place to sit.

There should be writing utensils on the tables (pens, pencils and sheets of A4 paper or convenient A5 notepads or larger). The use of branded stationery is encouraged.

Mineral water and glasses are placed on the tables, which are placed upside down on napkins, and their number should be 1-2 more than those present.

If marker boards are used for clarity, it is necessary to provide for the presence of several multi-colored markers, as well as pre-soak the so-called “eraser” with a special liquid.

In the case of using technical means, they must be installed in advance, familiarized with the operating rules and checked for operability, it is imperative to provide for the possibility of connecting laptops. When using slides, it is necessary to ensure their presence at the meeting, place the projection screen in such a way that it can be seen by all those present.

More exotic equipment may be required. For example, at food enterprises, it is possible to conduct a tasting of a product and compare it with competitors' products. In this case, it is necessary to provide for the availability of disposable tableware for each participant.

Some companies do not allow mobile phones to be brought to meetings for security reasons. In this case, it should be possible to store them with the secretary of the head.

Holding a meeting

If the agenda is full, then we recommend setting the rules for discussion . He disciplines the participants and helps the chairman to control the course of the meeting. A sample agenda for a meeting dedicated to discussing one issue might look like this:

• introductory remarks (time limits during the meeting and the approximate time of its end are stipulated) - no more than 10 minutes;
• keynote - up to 30 minutes;
• questions to the speaker - no more than 2 minutes. each;
• co-report, message - no more than 10 minutes;
• questions to the co-speaker - no more than 1 min. each;
• performances - 5-7 minutes. each;
• speaker's answer - no more than 5 minutes;
• answers of the co-speakers - no more than 3 minutes. each;
• reference during the meeting - no more than 3 minutes;
• reading the draft decision - no more than 3 minutes;
• Summing up the results of the meeting - no more than 10 minutes.

Maximum duration meetings should not exceed three to four hours a day. Based on the psychophysiological characteristics of a person, it is recommended to take a break after 1.5 - 2 hours of work for 15 minutes.

The specific time of the meeting is determined by the chairman. In this case, human biorhythms should be taken into account. For example, ergonomic studies have shown that the best time to make decisions is late in the morning. Psychologists recommend holding most meetings in the afternoon. According to the theory of biorhythms, a person has two peaks of working capacity - between 9-12 hours and between 16-18 hours. Although long meetings at the end of the day can force people to make quick and not always optimal decisions. Success does not depend on the duration of the meeting, but on how active all its participants are.

On average, the duration of meetings at the enterprise ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours. It is necessary to try to keep the meeting as short as possible, as far as the set goals allow. It's no secret that in many companies, meetings on issues that could be discussed in 20 minutes turn into a long 2-hour discussion. The world has accumulated a lot of experience in rational and even original solutions to this problem. For example, in some Japanese corporations, employees go to the lobby, and the meeting is held there, and standing up. There is no doubt that such discussions fit into the time frame recommended by experts - an hour, a maximum of one and a half. It is difficult for me to imagine such a form of holding meetings on Russian enterprises— we are still far from Japan in matters of business organization, but we still have everything ahead of us.

• informative and operational meetings should not exceed 20-30 minutes, and problematic meetings - 1.5-2 hours;
• discussion of one difficult question should not stretch for more than 40-45 minutes;
• after 30-40 minutes of work, the participants' attention begins to wane;
• after 70-80 minutes, physical fatigue appears;
• after 80-90 minutes, negative activity develops - conversations and extraneous activities begin;
• if the meeting continues without a break for more than 2 hours, then there are participants who agree to any decision.

Documentation of the meeting

The most important thing begins just after the meeting. After all, its effectiveness will depend on the implementation of the decisions made. To do this, it is necessary to draw up a protocol in which the decisions are recorded in writing, indicating the responsible executors and the deadlines for completing the task. Typically, at the end of the meeting, the chairperson summarizes the discussion and briefly announces what actions should be taken, by whom and when. It is the protocol that documents the agreements reached and indicates the direction of future work.

The protocol is an obligatory element of the final stage of the meeting. The minutes record the course of discussion of issues and the decisions made. The protocol reflects the activities of joint decision-making by a collegial body or a group of employees.

Depending on the type of meeting and other factors, the following protocol forms :

• full minutes, which contains a record of all speeches at the meeting (it records the issues discussed and decisions made, speeches of participants, questions, comments, etc.);
• brief protocol, which contains the names of the speakers and brief notes about the topic of the speech, decisions taken(no details of the discussion).

The decision on what form of protocol to keep at the meeting is made by the head of the collegiate body or the head of the organization.

At its core, the protocol is a summary of the meeting. It can become the basis for discussing issues raised at the next meeting. From this document, those absent from the meeting will be able to draw valuable information (they may be responsible executors who were not invited to the discussion). Therefore, when drawing up a protocol, it is necessary to include the following points:

• date and time of the workshop;
• participants;
• the agenda and its execution;
• decisions made;
• intended actions;
• responsible executors;
• period of execution.

The minutes are kept during the meeting by the secretary, who takes notes (stenographs) or records the speeches of the meeting participants on a dictaphone. The main professional quality of a secretary should be the ability to listen, which is currently an underestimated quality. Most people in a meeting very often start talking at the same time. Of all the words that we use, only a small part carries objective information that is worth recording in a document. Many people frame their thoughts with words that express how they feel about the audience or how they feel about the group. To extract the essence from such a verbal stream requires a significant concentration of attention, as well as knowledge of the main business processes of the organization. We will give a number of recommendations to those who record:

• perceive facts and ideas, not just words;
• listen to words about actions: performed, expected or approved;
• note the words that would speak of possible changes;
• do not hesitate to ask those present if you do not catch or understand the decision made during the active discussion or the upcoming action;
• before moving on to the next point of discussion, summarize the previous one. At the same time, as a rule, the chairman asks to read aloud the draft decision and, if necessary, makes adjustments to it (it should be noted that if a working group was created for the meeting, then it is she who should prepare the draft decision), and the task of the secretary includes only fixing the adopted decision in the draft protocol.

The design of the protocol has a number of features. If it lasted several days, then a dash indicates the start and end dates of the meeting. The protocol number is serial number meetings of the collegial body since the beginning of the year.

Protocol signs chairman and secretary. On particularly important occasions, speakers should endorse protocol, visas are affixed on the left margin of the document, at the level of recording the performance.
The materials submitted for consideration are attached to the protocol: certificates, reports, projects, etc., which are drawn up as annexes.

As a rule, the time allotted for the preparation of the protocol depends on the type of meeting and should be fixed in the local regulations of the enterprise. Usually the minutes are finalized within a few hours after the meeting or the next day, while the memory of the discussion of the secretary, chairman and all those present is fresh.

All participants of the meeting must be sent a copy of the minutes, and to responsible executors on specific issues who were not present at the meeting, an extract from the minutes, which would include only the information necessary for the execution of the order. Sample issuance of an extract from the minutes of the production meeting is given in Example 5. The timing of distribution of a copy of the minutes to the meeting participants or an extract from the minutes should be determined in the local regulations of the enterprise.

Usually, copy of the protocol is done by making a photocopy of the original protocol signed by the chairman and secretary of the meeting. In this case, in the upper right corner of the document is placed stamp "COPY", and not “CORRECT COPY”, as is done in many organizations, and at the end of the protocol a certification note is made in accordance with GOST R6.30-2003: when certifying a copy of a document, a certification inscription is affixed below the “Signature” attribute "Correct", the position of the person who certified the copy, his personal signature and full name (initials, surname), date of certification(see Example 6). At the same time, the person who has the right to certify copies of the protocols must be endowed with such powers by the local regulations of the enterprise, for example, this may be reflected in the Instructions for office work.

A copy of the protocol (as well as an extract from the protocol) is allowed certify with a seal organization at its discretion. But, as a rule, copies of documents (on extracts) used within the organization are not stamped. Therefore, in our Examples 5 and 6 it is not.

If you are making a copy of a multi-page protocol, then the photocopied sheets of the document must first be stitched, and in this case a certification inscription is made on the back of the last sheet of the document. In practice, multi-page copies used only within an organization are not flashed.

Control is time-bound and substantive. Responsibility for time control rests with the records management service, and control is essentially carried out by the immediate supervisor. At the next meeting, employees can be informed about the implementation of the decisions of the previous meeting.

In accordance with Art. 5 of the List of standard management documents generated in the activities of organizations (2000), the following are established protocol storage periods :

• protocols of the collegial executive body of the organization (board, council, directorate, board, etc.) - constantly;
• protocols of scientific, expert, methodological, advisory bodies of the organization (committees, commissions, councils, etc.) - constantly;
• minutes of meetings with the head of the organization - constantly;
• minutes of meetings of labor collectives of the organization - constantly;
• minutes of meetings of the structural divisions of the organization - 5 years of EIC;
• minutes of general meetings of shareholders, shareholders - constantly.

Most of protocols has a permanent storage period, which determines the importance of working with this type of document in the enterprise. Therefore, it is important not only archival storage, but also the organization of operational storage of protocols at the enterprise in accordance with the approved nomenclature of cases.

Electronic document management and meetings: what do they have in common?

Enterprises increasingly feel the need for effective management. The introduction of electronic document management systems (EDMS) is aimed at this. We draw your attention to the fact that in many EDMS there is a module designed to automate the workflow that accompanies the meetings of collegiate management bodies. He is able to effectively solve the following tasks:

• planning and preparing meetings;
• providing the manager with convenient tools for analyzing previous meetings;
• control over the execution of decisions taken as a result of the meeting.

In one form or another (depending on the specific software) the following functions can be implemented:

• formation of the draft agenda;
• sending messages to the executors responsible for the preparation of draft decisions;
• obtaining draft decisions and certificates from responsible executors;
• formation of a package of documents for the meeting;
• distribution of a package of documents to the participants of the meeting;
• distribution of invitations, agendas;
• formation of the minutes of the meeting;
• monitoring the implementation of decisions of the meetings.

If a full-fledged block for automating the control over the execution of instructions is implemented in the EDMS, then it allows you to generate the necessary reporting. As a rule, you can make selections on:

• F.I. O. the leader who gave the order;
• F.I. O. responsible executor;
• deadline for the execution of orders;
• overdue orders.

Proper use of EDMS is designed to facilitate our work and free up time for solving problems that machines are not yet able to cope with.

* * *

Considering that the CEO of a large enterprise spends on average 17 hours a week, the CEO 23 hours, and the middle manager 11 hours a week attending meetings, meeting efficiency can free up a lot of useful time and energy. And your contribution to this noble cause can be significant!

Organization of meetings

meeting- This is a specific type of management activity that has its own rules and patterns, an integral part of the life of the organization. Production meetings allow you to exchange information, identify the full range of opinions, determine possible ways problem solving and make the necessary management decisions. During the meeting, each participant gets the opportunity to clarify their position, to understand the variety of approaches to the subject of discussion.

The meeting is a good means of uniting and developing a team, it increases interest in joint activities, ensures the adoption of optimal decisions. At the same time, the meeting is a complex process that takes up a significant part of the working time of both managers and subordinates. In order to increase the effectiveness of the meeting, it must be carefully prepared.

Meetings can be classified according to features (9) given in Table 21.2.3.

Organization of the meeting consists of three stages:

/. Meeting preparation. The preparatory stage includes:

1. determination of the need and expediency of holding a meeting;

2. development of the agenda;

3. determination of the composition of participants;

4. determination of the date and time of the event;

5. determination of the venue.

Defining necessity and expediency of the meeting, the manager must analyze all other possibilities for achieving the set goal and only after making sure that the meeting is useful, decide on holding it.

Main goals The production meetings held during project management are:

1. control and coordination of activities;

2. improve work efficiency;

3. search for new ideas;

4. carrying out detailed planning;

5. analysis of complex information;

6. allocation of resources;

7. conflict resolution;

8. team development.

Developing agenda, it is necessary to clearly formulate the purpose of the meeting in order to familiarize the participants with the topics and objectives of the meeting in advance, to give them the opportunity to prepare.

List of participants meetings should be selected in such a way that their experience and erudition make it possible to find a solution to the problem. In addition, it is necessary to invite those specialists who are directly affected by this problem. Having determined the composition of the participants, it is advisable to compile a list of them with addresses and telephone numbers, which will ensure the possibility of subsequent contact with them.

Appointing date and time of the event meetings, it is necessary to take into account its frequency. Regular meetings are usually held on the same days, at the same time, in the same place.

Venue meeting may be the manager's office, a specially equipped room.

//. Holding a meeting a complex process that requires certain skills from the moderator (chairman) and from the meeting participants. The chairman is responsible for creating a special climate during the meeting - a climate of trust, therefore, in the course of his work, he must play two roles at once: a leader and a participant. Ensuring the consistency of roles is an important point, since the predominance of the role of the leader leads to administration, formal management and the purpose of the meeting may not be achieved, and the predominance of the second role leads to the loss of threads of management of the meeting. However, as a participant, he has more power and decision-making capabilities.

The roles of other meeting participants are distributed as follows:

1. referent (helps the chairman to conduct a meeting);

2. secretary (keeps the minutes of the meeting, prepares the necessary documents and reference materials, provides them to the meeting participants, usually does not participate in the discussion of issues);

3. group members (discuss the problem and propose solutions).

When holding a meeting, you need to remember about the time allotted for this. Prompt conduct of the meeting is facilitated by compliance with regulations. The absence of pre-established regulations leads to a delay in the discussion, a decrease in its effectiveness, and the development of an unbusinesslike situation.

During any meeting, a number of socio-psychological functions are implemented: collection of information in the amounts necessary for a clear understanding of the essence of the problem by each participant in the meeting; processing, evaluation, selection of information, search for possible solutions and making a specific decision. To do this, the chairperson should make sure that the specialization of the participants in the discussion is clear, everyone can make a useful contribution. It is advisable to introduce participants to each other with names and positions. Of great importance is the unambiguous understanding of the problem by all participants, therefore, it is necessary to clearly state the problem, show what its significance is, what results its solution can give, and what are the consequences of the unresolved problem.

Further, the chairman should provide an opportunity to freely express his views and proposals to all participants, observing the course of the discussion and activating the passive ones. During the discussion, it is advisable to bring ideas in a certain sequence, to maintain the thread of the discussion, avoiding the repetition of topics, avoiding the topic, lengthy monologues and personal confrontation of the participants. It is desirable to highlight all aspects of the problem, to collect as many proposals as possible.

After listening to everyone, the chairman can express his own opinion, highlight the main constructive proposals, draw the attention of the group members to the available resources, and make a preliminary analysis.

///. End of the meeting. The final stage of the meeting is the adoption of a decision and its implementation. At the meeting, the decision is made by all participants and can be developed in two ways.

The first way is that a specially elected commission, which is entrusted with the preparation of a decision, prepares its draft in advance. The draft is heard by the meeting participants, after which adjustments are made. Taking into account the amendments made, a decision is formed, which is adopted based on the results of voting.

The second way is that the chairman himself summarizes the statements of the participants, sums up the results and forms a decision. He must find consensus, ensuring that a decision is made that suits everyone to one degree or another. After the decision is made, it is necessary to clearly distribute all further actions, specify responsible persons, terms and mechanism for verification of performance.

The course of the meeting, the decisions taken, the executors and the dates should be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Protocol of the meeting is a primary official document that allows the manager to demand the performance of assigned work from specific performers.

It happens that individual ideas expressed during the meeting are not subsequently used, however, they should be recorded, written down.

The minutes of the meeting must be approved and distributed to the participants. Is the success of the meeting determined by comparing the initial goals with the results obtained?

Decision making is the main type of managerial work. A managerial decision is the choice of an alternative, an action aimed at resolving problem situation. Management decision is the result of managerial activity of the manager and represents creative process meaningful transformation of information about the state of the object into control information.

Depending on the criteria adopted as a basis, a different classification of management decisions is acceptable (Table 21.2.4.).

Table 21.2.4. classification of management decisions
Classification sign	Types of solutions Characteristics of types
duration of effects	1. long-term 2. medium-term 3. short-term
by frequency of adoption	1. one-time 2. recurring
by breadth of coverage	1. general 2. highly specialized
according to the form of preparation	1. individual 2. group 3. collective
by complexity	1. simple 2. complex
according to the rigidity of the regulation	1. contour, give an approximate scheme of the actions of the performers, giving them the freedom to choose techniques and methods for implementing the solution 2. structured, strictly regulate the actions of the performers, providing the opportunity to take the initiative in solving only issues of secondary importance 3. algorithmic, extremely strictly regulate the activities of the performers, practically completely excluding the initiative on their part
on the conditions and methods of decision-making	1. organizational decision, the choice of the head, necessary for the performance of his official duties to achieve the goals set for the organization, including: a. programmed decision, which assumes the presence of a limited number possible alternatives with the possibility of choice only within the directions given by the project b. an unprogrammed decision that is associated with new situations that are not internally structured or coupled With unknown factors 2. intuitive decision, which is a choice based on the feeling of its correctness 3. judgment-based decision - it is a choice made on the basis of knowledge or past experience 4. a rational decision is justified through an objective analytical process and does not depend on past experience

The decision making process can be represented as a series of steps, presented in Table 21.2.5.

Table 21.2.5. sequence of decision making
Formation stage	Stage content
1. Statement of the production problem	analysis of a problematic situation that needs to be resolved, study of the state of affairs, goals, diagnosis of the problem, preliminary formulation of criteria
2. Identification of restrictions and substantiation of criteria for decision making	identification of possible limitations (lack of necessary labor, material, financial resources, lack of required technology, availability of certain legislative acts, ethical standards), which narrow the possibility of making optimal decisions. Establishing the source and essence of restrictions. Substantiation of criteria for evaluating alternative options
3. Definition of alternatives	development of possible alternative ways to solve the problem
4. Comparison and evaluation of alternatives	evaluation of each alternative, taking into account the positive and negative sides, as well as possible general consequences
5. Choosing the best solution	choosing the alternative with the most favorable overall consequences
6. Implementation of the solution	taking measures to specify the decision and bring it to the direct executive
7. Control over execution	establishing feedback between the control and managed systems, which allows to identify not only deviations from the execution plan, but also the shortcomings of the solution itself and make the necessary adjustments, determine the causes

As a rule, decisions are made in the absence of information, therefore, decision-making processes involve both components of the decision-making process and their substitutes (Table 21.2.6.).

Table 21.2.6. components of the decision-making process and their substitutes
COMPONENTS	SUBSTITUTES
1. Facts - a. irrefutable, undeniable, undoubted; b. may change and become obsolete; c. necessary for decision making, but often not available	1. Information - a. can be true and false; b. associated with judgments; contains facts; used in the absence of facts; should be reliable and justified
2. Knowledge - a. carefully weighed facts with all the revealed shades and relationships from past experience; b. are attached to the facts to draw up complete picture; in case of insufficiency, they require advice and judgment	2. Tips - a. due to the mass of personal factors, presentation of the facts of the past and other people's experience with conclusions; b. often have a hidden connotation, directly opposite to the words, advisers are not responsible for these tips; c. advice is always considered in terms of their knowledge and experience.
3. Experience - a. does not have to be personal, but must be accessible; b. it should be carefully stored, not classifying from those. who needs it, not only positive, but also negative: it must be fixed on the beds; fractional use of experience by each department only for its own should be excluded.	3. . Experiment - a. required in the absence of experience; b. should be carried out with due attention and thoroughness: due to the high cost, experts should only be called upon to solve strategic tasks or in emergency cases
4. Analysis - a. the process of bringing together paragraphs 1-3 in both columns, processing them and evaluating them in a given context, taking into account precedents. 5. Judgment - a. there is no substitute for it, this is the main quality by which a person who makes decisions is evaluated.	4. Intuition - b. used when analysis is not possible; c. on the basis of an instinctive idea of ​​the correct decision, a competent, reasonable guess is made; d. analysis is carried out at the earliest opportunity.

Among the factors influencing the process of preparing and making a decision, the decision-making environment, the influence of a social group, a team, as well as personality traits of a leader are of great importance. Decisions can be made individually or using a group approach.

Group approach decision-making provides a high degree of validity, a lower probability of errors, the presence of multi-variant studies. This is facilitated by an atmosphere of open communication and cooperation, the possibility of mutual adjustment of decisions.

Forms of group work to develop solutions are a meeting, work in a commission, etc.

If the group is in front of difficult problem, then an effective method of preparing managerial decisions is the method of "brainstorming" ("brainstorming"). It is also advisable to use collective methods to solve problems associated with radical changes in the organization, as this ensures their better perception and thereby contributes to an increase in the effectiveness of the implementation of the solution.

However, the group approach requires a lot of time for development, discussion, agreement and decision making.

Individual solutions usually used in cases where the time factor is of decisive importance. These decisions may be novelty, non-standard approach, especially if they are taken by an outstanding person.

Aggregate individual characteristics leader who carry With is a solution to the performers, forms personality profile management decision, characteristics of the types of personal decision profiles are given in table 21.2.7.

Type of personality profile	Characteristic
Management type solution	are typical for people who start solving a problem with a pre-formulated initial idea that arose in the process of a preliminary analysis of the conditions and requirements of the problem. The attention of a person is equally attracted by the advancement of hypotheses and their testing. This balanced approach to decision making is the most productive
impulsive decision	are characteristic of people who easily generate ideas, who prefer the process of developing hypotheses to actions to evaluate and refine them, so there is no stage of justification in the decision-making process. The manager's desire to implement a decision without the necessary justification can lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of the management process.
inert solution	represent the result of an uncertain, extremely cautious search. After the development of the initial hypothesis, the process of its refinement slows down. A person critically evaluates his approaches to the decision, repeatedly checks them, which slows down the decision-making process.

Table 21.2.7. Types of personal decision profiles
Type of personality profile	Characteristic
risky decision	similar to impulsive, but unlike them, in the course of making a decision, the stage of substantiating the hypothesis is not excluded, although a person begins to evaluate only after discovering a discrepancy. As a result, although not immediately, the elements of constructing hypotheses and testing them are balanced
Cautious Decision	are the result of a careful assessment of hypotheses, are characterized by high criticality. Such decisions are characterized by a proactive assessment of the consequences. A cautious person is more afraid of mistakes than happy with success, so his goal is to avoid mistakes. This forces him to perform a large number of various preparatory actions before a decision is made.

The conditions in which they are made have a great influence on the decision-making process. Decisions can be made in an environment of certainty and risk (uncertainty). Under certainty, the manager is confident in the outcome of each alternative. In a situation of risk, the manager can only determine the probability of success of each of the available alternatives. Of great importance when making a decision is the culture of the manager, the values ​​and traditions of the organizational culture, which has a significant impact on the behavior and interaction of employees.

In the course of the formation of a solution, it is necessary to coordinate conflicting requirements, to smooth out the existing contradictions. It is advisable to do this not in a formal way, but through reasonable compromises aimed at achieving end result. An important decision usually causes the need to make many subsequent decisions, and therefore the manager must have a good understanding of the interdependence of decisions in the project management system. In addition, the manager must remember the double effect of the decision: production-economic and moral-psychological. The assessment of the correctness of the decision taken is not only production indicators, but also the behavior of employees when they achieve production goals, their activity, initiative, and collectivism.

Part requirements for management decisions includes:

1. efficiency, which is understood as the most complete ensuring the achievement of the organization's goal;

2. economy, which involves ensuring the achievement of the goal at the lowest cost;

3. timeliness, which is understood not only as a timely decision, but also the timeliness of achieving the goal. A delay in making a decision or an unrealized decision may reduce the expected results (due to inflation, changes in the political situation and other factors). As time passes, the solution may become obsolete and lose its meaning in the future;

4. validity decision, which is understood as the presence of evidence of its reliability and compulsion;

5. realism solution, which implies the possibility of its real implementation. The decision should correspond to the capabilities and resources of the team that implements it. Abstract solutions are not effective, they cause a division of opinion among performers.

Of no small importance in achieving the effectiveness of decisions are the methods of bringing the decisions made to the direct participants in the implementation process. Bringing the solution to the executors, it is advisable to start with its breakdown into group or individual tasks and the selection of executors. The assignment of a task to each executor is carried out taking into account his official duties, the ability to transfer tasks to executors is a determining factor in ensuring the effectiveness of the decision made.

Common reasons for failure to implement decisions are (9):

1. lack of clarity in the wording of the decision;

2. the decision was formulated clearly and clearly, but poorly understood by the executor;

3. the decision was clearly formulated and understood by the executor, but there were no necessary conditions and means for its implementation;

4. The decision was clearly formulated, understood by the executor, who has all the necessary means for its implementation, however, there was no internal agreement of the executor with this version of the solution. Perhaps the performer had his own solution to the problem, more effective from his point of view. Thus, the manager's ability to choose the right methods for implementing the decisions made, the ability to take into account and overcome both objective and subjective factors in their entirety eliminate unnecessary actions and costs, improve relationships between employees, encourage them to vigorous activity, facilitate the control over the implementation of decisions and the identification of possible errors.

It is unthinkable to imagine the work of any organization without business communications. Properly built communication between employees allows you to smoothly and quickly solve the tasks.

There are many types of meetings in organizations, and each of them has its own characteristics and tasks. Knowing such nuances will help facilitate the discussion of business issues. This article will tell you about the types of meetings, help you understand why they are held and how they are recorded in office work.

Goals of business meetings

Any type of business meetings allows you to see a comprehensive picture of the situation in the organization, to identify its weak and strengths. It is worth noting that with the participation in this format of business communications, a fast company or enterprise takes place.

Tasks

The following tasks of all types of meetings can be distinguished:

• solving current problems and issues;
• integration of activities of departments in accordance with the strategic goal of the company;
• evaluation of the company and its individual structural divisions;
• maintenance and development of company policy.

In order to understand in what format to hold such a business event, it is necessary to decide which of the above tasks will correspond to it, and after that you can understand which classification it will belong to.

Types and classification

meeting like view business communication, may have a different form of holding, on which its subject matter and the list of officials present depend.

The main classification of meetings should be distinguished:

1. Ownership area. Here we can distinguish such types of meetings as administrative (which provide for the discussion problematic issues), scientific (seminars and conferences, the purpose of which is to discuss topical scientific issues), political (providing a meeting of members of any political parties and movements) and mixed types.
2. Scale. Here, international ones are distinguished, where specialists from other countries or foreign partners are involved, national, regional, and also city.
3. Regularity. In either format, meetings can be ongoing or recurring.
4. According to the place of deployment - local or traveling.

And also all types of meetings can be divided as follows:

1. Instructive, providing for a directive format for conducting, where a superior leader conveys information directly to his subordinates, which then diverges and is transmitted along the vertical of power. Most often, in the course of such business communication, orders of the CEO are heard, which can significantly affect the course of the enterprise, and these can also be norms of behavior or important innovations.
2. Operational (dispatching). The purpose of this type of meeting is to obtain information about the state of affairs in an organization or enterprise. The flow of information in this case is directed from subordinate subordinates to the heads of departments or to CEO. Basically, at the operational meetings, issues on the implementation of road maps, planned activities, strategic and operational plans are considered. An important difference between the operational (dispatch) meeting and all the others is that they are held regularly and have a fixed list of participants. It is also worth noting that during the meeting there may be no agenda.
3. Problematic. Such a meeting is convened in case of an urgent need to make a decision to complete tasks in a short time or to solve a global problem for the enterprise.

In addition to all of the above, one can separately single out one of the most popular view production meeting - planning meeting. As a rule, such an event is held daily or once a week, at which the head of the department and direct performers are present, who receive tasks for the day and discuss the progress of their implementation.

The topic of the meeting of the personnel of the enterprise for the meeting can be any kind of issues that arise in the course of the activities of the enterprise, and the course of the discussion can be devoted to changes external environment in which a particular organization operates.

Organization of the meeting

Any kind of meeting, regardless of its format, requires careful preparation for it, since its effectiveness depends on this moment. Initially, you need to determine the following points:

• goal;
• issues discussed;
• setting tasks for personnel (based on functionality and subordination);
• stages of task execution.

Today, most meetings are conducted in a very mediocre manner, because of which their meaning is lost, and the tasks assigned can be performed poorly. Therefore, it is extremely important to think through the entire course of such business meetings and build a working discussion in such a way that it does not just take time, but has a feedback from the team.

Meetings

It should be noted that large firms and organizations seeking to win a certain market share and develop their company in order to obtain big profits make a big bet on the discussion of important issues through meetings. From the practice of successful managers, you can form the following set of rules on how to prepare for a meeting:

To begin with, a list of participants is determined. It should be clear who to invite to the meeting and what role he will play at it. It often happens that the invited persons may not understand the issue, and are invited "just in case", but at that moment they could do their own thing. official duties and don't waste time.

It is important to have an agenda. If the meeting is planned, then an agenda is developed in advance, which indicates the issues discussed, and also determines the main speakers. It is important to remember that this document should be sent to those responsible for the preparation of information and those who will be present so that all participants can prepare reports, proposals and additional questions. If necessary, the agenda can be adjusted.

The main and strategic issues should be brought to the fore of the meeting. The speakers of such issues must necessarily be persons (heads of departments, sections, workshops) who are personally responsible for the implementation of any strategic measures of the company.

Important Points

It is important to remember that any meeting has two main stages - preparation for it and its conduct itself. The first stage includes determining the relevance of holding a business meeting, designating tasks, main and secondary goals, forming a list of participants and speakers, preparing reports, presentations and a report according to the topic or a previously defined agenda. The second stage involves the implementation of the previously planned course of the meeting, listening to reports and discussing current and strategic issues.

If during such business communication it is necessary to decide what and to whom to do from employees, then we can single out the third stage - decision-making. As a rule, decisions are made by the chairman, who chairs the meeting, based on his own discretion or through discussion or collective voting.

Sample meeting plan

With a well-defined plan in front of him, any leader can conduct a meeting efficiently and effectively, which will allow him to get feedback from the staff and set the right tasks for them. This plan may include the following aspects:

• listening to reports and summarizing results for a certain time period (quarter, week, half year, month);
• coverage of current issues relevant to the company;
• listening to proposals for troubleshooting (brainstorming);
• evaluation of the proposed options and discussion of their implementation;
• accumulation of options;
• voting for the adoption of one or another option;
• definition of boundaries during problem solving (definition of responsible persons, terms, methods and methods).

logging

Most types of meetings need to be fixed on paper (document), which is called a protocol. Keeping this kind of documentation allows you to legitimize the decisions made. And also thanks to the protocol, you can always track the progress of the implementation of activities, and in case of non-fulfillment of the tasks set, determine who is responsible for this.

The puncture, as a rule, is conducted by the secretary of the leader who is the chairman of the meeting. However, often this function can be performed by other employees.

Functions and tasks of the secretary

Before the start of business meetings, the secretary should be familiar with the list of invitees and the list of issues discussed. However, it is worth noting that if the meeting is held on a regular basis, then it is this official who collects all the documentation (lists, plans, agenda, etc.) and helps the manager prepare for the meeting.

At first, and if necessary, the secretary may ask the persons who appear to fill out a registration sheet, where their full names will be indicated. and position. This will be needed when drafting the protocol. Next, the secretary announces the agenda, which marks the beginning of the meeting. Further, when those present begin to discuss issues, the secretary records the progress of this event. At the end of the meeting, this official prepares the finished version of the protocol, after which he signs it with the chairman and sends everything to the persons involved.

When drawing up, it is extremely important for the secretary to pay due attention to the appearance of the minutes of the meeting. It must include a header, venue, list of attendees, issues discussed and decisions made.

Conclusion

From the above information, it becomes clear that holding meetings at enterprises is extremely important. However, it is always worth remembering that high-quality preparation for such events carries more than 50% of the key to success in covering information, setting goals and their high-quality implementation.

For a meeting to be productive, engaging, and not a waste of valuable time, a clear purpose, open dialogue, and a strong leader are required. This will ensure that the meeting will give the desired result and effectively save you and your team members time and money!

Steps

Make sure every meeting makes sense—or don't meet at all. Determine if a meeting is really necessary and invite only the necessary people. A huge amount of valuable time is wasted simply because managers believe that personal contact time is important, or simply get used to a certain routine. Typically to keep your team up to date recent events or project status, enough email. But if you need an immediate reaction from all team members, then a personal meeting of the participants will be much more effective than correspondence.

Set goals ahead of time and let everyone know about the meeting plan. Consider the structure of the meeting. Oftentimes, a single statement of a desired outcome will inspire a team and increase the productivity of a meeting. At the very least, the emphasis is on what each such meeting needs: a purpose. Before the meeting starts, make sure everyone knows what the purpose of the meeting is. To do this, inform everyone in advance of the agenda.

Be the moderator of your meeting, control the flow of the discussion, and keep the agenda on track. Good meetings always result good leadership. Take control and make it clear to all participants that you intend to ensure that the discussion is useful, time-bound, and on-topic. Show co-workers that you respect their time by having everyone watch the clock or timer. The key point is also to follow the theme of the meeting. If the conversation drifts off, bring the group back to the subject by saying something like, "That's interesting, but I don't think we're going to get there. Let's get back to the agenda."

Challenge yourself to get constructive input from each participant. Since the main feature of the meeting is two-way communication, it is critical to hear everyone's honest opinion. It is the leader's responsibility to ensure that everyone has a say. In order to reach consensus among the entire group, don't keep your opinion up your sleeve; a manager can easily wind down a discussion if everyone assumes that the outcome is already decided. Avoid the temptation to immediately reject proposed ideas - even if they are really terrible.

End the meeting with a plan of action. Try to make sure everyone present understands what the next step is. Also, at the end, ask the participants for their opinion on whether they found the time spent in the meeting useful, and if not, what could be done better next time. Conduct a self-assessment of the meeting to improve your own level of meeting skills.

Follow the development of events and the implementation of the decisions made at the meeting. Ask the group to write a progress report. This will help you organize your next meeting even more effectively.

1. Make sure your meeting doesn't remain an isolated event. Inform all relevant people of the decisions made and the plan of action. It's extremely easy to leave the meeting room, return to your desk and forget all the changes, decisions, and new ideas your group has come up with. Develop a system for monitoring the execution of decisions so that it is convenient for you to track which decisions have been made, which tasks are assigned to whom, and manage further movement.

   • An excellent tool for preparing and holding an EFFECTIVE meeting is the "CPRO": goals, agenda, roles and responsibilities. First of all, your meeting must have a PURPOSE. If you're holding a meeting just to share information, don't waste people's time. Send them a newsletter. The goal should include an active component and, if possible, a desired outcome: "Define quarterly team goals. Agenda is a list of topics that you consider to achieve the goal, as well as a time frame to control the progress of the discussion. For example, "1. Review the status of previous quarterly goals (15 minutes). 2. Circle the participants to propose new goals (20 minutes). 3. Select 5 goals (10 minutes), etc." In terms of roles and responsibilities, determine who leads the meeting, who takes notes, who assigns responsibility for completing the tasks identified during the meeting.
   • Make sure to start and end the meeting on time.
   • Allow all participants to freely give feedback. Avoid ridicule and humiliation.
   • Prepare for the meeting. Obviously, but neglected by many.

   Warnings

   • Some reasons why a meeting should be canceled or rescheduled:
     • Key member cannot be present. Rescheduling a meeting is inconvenient, but it's even worse to get everyone together and not be able to get the job done. If you require this key person to attend, please reschedule the meeting.
     • The summons was not sent or was sent too late. People need time to prepare. Perhaps they could make proposals to change the agenda. Agenda should be sent to participants at least three days in advance.
     • The purpose of the meeting is unclear. If the meeting is purely informational, participants feel like their time is wasted. Give them a clear vision of what needs to be done, why, how and when.
     • Work can be done faster and better in a different format (by mail or phone). Do not hold meetings unless it is the most efficient way to get the job done.
     • Participants did not receive reading materials in advance. Everyone should read on their own, and not while at a meeting.
     • The only available room does not meet the technical needs. If the material cannot be presented in the required form, wait for a better opportunity.
     • Recent events have influenced the purpose of the meeting.
   • The manager must know not only how to conduct a good meeting, but also when it is better NOT to have it.

Rules for preparing meetings

Meeting Types

Meetings classified depending on the importance and content of the problems brought up for discussion and the tasks to be solved, as well as the place, time and duration of the work.

operational meetings may have the goal of providing the manager with the information he needs about the current state of affairs in the organization; a brief exchange of views on the merits of issues that arise in the course of the production process, as well as the development of a common tactic for the actions of various links organizational structure in connection with current production tasks.

Information at such meetings moves from bottom to top, i.e. from subordinates to leaders. The information obtained allows the manager directly during the meeting (quickly) to assess the situation, determine the backlog, make decisions and set tasks for subordinates indicating the performers and deadlines. As a rule, subordinates do not make detailed and detailed reports at operational meetings. Operational meetings may take place in various forms: five minutes, flyers, etc. Main Feature such meetings is their short duration.

briefing meetings are designed to transfer information, orders and requirements from top to bottom along the vertical of control.

The main feature of such meetings is that the leader not only brings the necessary information to the attention of subordinates and issues orders, but specifies the tasks set to the maximum, appointing performers and deadlines. At the same time, discussion of information and methods for solving the tasks set is allowed at briefing meetings. Subordinates can clarify some points, make constructive proposals for consideration by management.

Problem meetings are aimed at finding the optimal solution as a result of discussion and analysis of the problem under consideration.

Problem meetings are the most difficult kind of meetings. In the process of a problematic meeting, a collective solution is developed on complex issues affecting the change in the functional tasks of the structural units or their adaptation to new areas of the organization's activities.

Problem meetings often take the form of discussions. The way in which a decision is made depends on the leadership style. The most common is following diagram problem meeting:

1. Formulation of the problem, statement of the problem.

2. Reports of participants.

3. Questions to the speakers.

4. Discussion, discussion, debate.

5. Formation of a decision.

6. Correction of the solution.

7. Adoption of the final version of the decision.

The formulation of the problem, the formulation of the problem, its analysis and the search for a solution are carried out, as a rule, before the start of the meeting itself. This stage can take the form of a preliminary conversation with the meeting participants (a few days before the meeting itself), the distribution of newsletters, or a work plan for periodic problem meetings.

At problem meetings, the degree of democracy and creative activity should be quite high. The leader plays the role of chairman, coordinating the course of the meeting.

In addition, the following types of meetings can be used in various organizations:

§ informing employees (including in the form of

instructive-methodical lesson);

§ work planning for certain period;

§ summing up the results for various periods of time (as well as sub-

maintaining the results of work on a specific project), etc.

If a business conversation makes visual mediation of interpersonal interaction in an organization a status, functional position of a person, then a business meeting allows you to point out another important factor in business interaction, namely the group factor. When preparing and holding a business meeting, it should be remembered that the characteristics of group behavior (from the distribution of roles in the group to group pressure) will have a serious impact on the nature of the interaction of its participants.

Rules for preparing meetings

A business or office meeting is a technologically complex and time-consuming event. The work of preparing for a meeting begins with a clear definition of its purpose.

Purpose of the meeting is a description of the desired result, the desired type of solution, the desired outcome of the work ( possible options purposes: preliminary exchange of views, preparation of recommendations for decision-making, decision-making on a specific issue, etc.).

The leader must clearly understand why he is convening the meeting, and also be able to clearly communicate the purpose of the meeting to its participants. When setting the purpose of the meeting, vague, non-specific formulations should be avoided. This causes a decrease in interest in the proposed problem and subconsciously leads to a feeling that its substantive solution is not necessary. The formulation of the goal should primarily reflect the features of the intended outcome of the discussion of issues. Depending on the purpose of the meeting, its agenda is formulated and the list of participants is selected.

If the purpose of the meeting is to exchange information and set forthcoming tasks in the course of current work, then only heads of departments are invited. At such a meeting, those present are introduced to the state of affairs, they are informed about the progress in implementing the decisions taken at the previous meeting, and clearly formulate tasks for the future.

If the purpose of the meeting is to solve a specific problem, then those who can professionally cope with the task, who are able to offer their own solution to the problem, are attracted to work in it. In this case, the meeting participants are provided with information on the problem, the task is formulated clearly and unambiguously.

The purpose of the meeting determines the place, date and time of the meeting.

Scheduled meetings(e.g. debriefing board meetings, scheduling) are more convenient to schedule on specific days of the week or specific days of the month.

Unscheduled meetings, especially with a large number of participants (for example, emergency informing), it is advisable to carry out at the end of the working day in order to exclude the expenditure of working time on the resumption of interrupted work.

Short operational meetings(five-minute or summer meetings) are recommended to be carried out at the beginning of the working day.

The time of meetings should be determined by the schedule established in the organization (department). Unscheduled meetings knock out the rhythm, thereby reducing the culture of business communication, deprive the manager of the opportunity to plan his working time and manage it, disrupt planned meetings and affairs.

Meetings are recommended to be scheduled in the afternoon or 1.5 - 2 hours before the end of work. As a rule, the first half of the day is more productive, and it is better if employees are busy with their duties at this time. There is one more thing to consider if the meeting is scheduled at the end of the working day. The leader gets the opportunity to hold the meeting promptly, without delaying the discussion, as he has an excuse to stop it in case of unfavorable development.

Meeting topic is the subject of discussion. The topic should be formulated in such a way as to interest each participant of the meeting. It is necessary to bring to meetings only those issues that cannot always be resolved in a working order.

One of the rules of management organization and ethics service relations should become obligatory preliminary mailing of the agenda to the participants of the meeting. In addition, the ethical business relations should be considered a preliminary distribution of brief written information on the substance of the issues considered at the meeting. It is unacceptable if a person who is incompetent in the issues submitted to the meeting is engaged in such mailing - this obviously reduces the feeling of relevance.

Meeting agenda is a written document distributed in advance to meeting participants and includes the following information:

§ topic of the meeting;

§ purpose of the meeting;

§ list of issues to be discussed;

§ the start and end time of the meeting (ideally, the start and end time of the discussion of each issue);

§ the exact location of the meeting;

§ names of speakers, co-speakers responsible for preparing questions;

§ the time and place where one can get acquainted with the materials on each issue (the presence of such instructions will not allow negligent employees to justify their unpreparedness for the discussion of the issue by the lack of information).

Draft decisions, abstracts of reports, references can be sent as an annex to the agenda. It is very good if, before the start of the meeting, the persons preparing the questions are given in advance comments from the meeting participants on draft decisions, abstracts of speeches.

Regardless of the importance and speed of the meeting, the number of issues submitted to it should remain within three to five (sometimes seven). At the same time, it is most convenient to prepare the agenda in such a way that it includes one or two main issues and two to five minor ones that do not require lengthy discussion. A large number of agenda items tires the participants of the meeting and does not allow to catch the main focus of the meeting as a whole. A meeting will also be unproductive, all the issues discussed of which will be of equal importance and require a deep detailed discussion.

Of great importance is the selection of meeting participants, i.e. the effectiveness of the meeting largely depends on how the competence and authority of the invited staff correspond to the goals and objectives of the meeting. The number of participants is also determined by the goals and objectives of the meeting and, in some cases, by the status or level of solemnity of the meeting.

The optimal number of people invited to a meeting is 7 - 9, with a maximum of 12 people. The main rule here is the highest activity of participants in the discussion of issues. Increasing the number of invitees drastically lowers the average attendance (or return) rate while lengthening the meeting.

The organizers of the meeting require, as a rule, the participation of the first persons of the departments of the organizational structure. However, more competent in solving specific tasks may be one of the non-management employees. Therefore, it is advisable to give the head the right to determine who will represent his unit at the meeting. It is desirable that the meeting participants include people who are capable of performing the roles of an “expert”, “idea generator”, and “critic” in the course of collective mental activity.

In order to avoid the presence of extras, it is recommended to use the method of "changing" participants (the method of "split discussion"). A carefully prepared agenda allows you to organize the meeting in such a way that, after discussing your issue, some of the employees can leave it, giving way to those whose issue is being discussed. It turns out that some employees are present at the meeting from beginning to end, while others are invited specifically at the time of the discussion of a particular issue. Thus, each participant will attend only part of the meeting, which, of course, reduces the total time, and therefore indirectly increases the effectiveness of the event itself.

The composition of the meeting participants is optimized by using the principle of “telephone distance” to an employee whose participation is dictated by the course of the meeting itself and the need to obtain additional information from this employee. Specialists (whose information may be needed, instead of being invited to a meeting, you can be asked to be at their workplace at the specified time interval in order to call them if necessary or get help by phone.

Meeting duration. The duration of the meeting depends largely on the type of meeting:

§ optimal duration problematic meetings are considered 1.5 - 2 hours (in exceptional cases - 2 - 5 hours);

§ the time for consideration of one issue should not exceed 45 minutes;

§ operational and instructional meeting should not last more than 20 - 30 minutes;

§ meeting flyer (five minutes) is carried out, as a rule, within 5 - 10 minutes.

The meeting should begin and end at a strictly appointed time so as not to undermine the credibility of the manager and the employees who prepared him.

Breaks. During a meeting that lasts two or more hours, it is recommended to take breaks, otherwise after two hours the participants may experience a period of “negative activity”. Optimal break times:

§ after 45 – 50 min. work - 10 minutes;

§ after 1.5 hours of work - 15 minutes.

Breaks are necessary, first of all, for rest, and, secondly, during breaks, in a different, relaxed atmosphere, in private conversations, work on the topic of the meeting continues.

Meeting agenda. Compliance with procedural issues (rules) is the responsibility of the chairman. The importance of following the rules is:

§ the regulations allow to achieve the elaboration of the planned issues;

§ disciplines the participants of the meeting, increasing their business

attitude and respect for the meeting as a collegiate body for the adoption important decisions;

§ The regulations do not allow unreasonably delaying the meeting.

A leader who strictly adheres to the rules - good example to emulate.

Location of the meeting. The active and efficient course of the meeting is facilitated by the fulfillment of certain requirements for the equipment of the premises for its holding.

The room where the meeting is to be held and the number of seats in it should correspond to the number of participants. Naturally, it should be spacious enough and have a reserve of empty seats in case the number of participants increases for one reason or another. However, one should not choose too large an audience for a small meeting - the presence a large number empty seats psychologically negatively affects the participants of the meeting.

In addition, when equipping a special room with furniture, one should be guided by the principle that the relative position of the participants during the meeting should not emphasize differences in their service-hierarchical status. In this case, the concept round table"has a direct and figurative meaning as a means of ensuring the ease of mutual contacts between people and their optimal spatial arrangement.

In the case when a sufficiently large meeting is held, it is necessary to take care of the installation of microphones and visualization tools. It is necessary to control the air temperature, lighting and sound insulation so that the meeting participants are not distracted by extraneous stimuli.

One of the most important points is to prepare the leader for the meeting. The leader must:

§ formulation of the main goal of the meeting and sub-goals by levels

logical subordination;

§ introductory report or message;

§ sequence of participants' speeches;

§ draft decision.

In order for the meeting to be effective, the manager should have at hand the “Memo for the leader” (Table 11.1) and the “Meeting Preparation Form” (appendix).

Table 11.1

Memo for the head

Before the meeting	During the meeting	After the meeting
Is a meeting required at all? What is the alternative to the meeting? Do I have to personally take part in it? Can I keep my participation to a minimum? Reduce the number of participants to a minimum? Is the building closed to outsiders? Is there visual information? What are the objectives of the individual agenda items? Are times given for individual topics of discussion? Have invitations been sent out indicating the topics and objectives of the meeting?	Start just in time Agree on the rules of work Appoint a person responsible for the rules and protocol Eliminate unnecessary pauses and “killer” phrases Do not miss critical moments in the discussion Monitor progress towards the set goals Reiterate decisions and planned actions Summarize the results End at the right time Closing remarks on a positive note	Was the composition of the participants optimal? Were the seats for the meeting participants correctly identified? Were the meeting participants interested enough? Did you manage to reduce the contradictions between the participants of the meeting (bring their positions together)? Were there unforeseen blocking situations and how were they neutralized? Did the idea of ​​the problem (problems) become clear after its (their) discussion? Has the optimal decision been made and has the risk of its implementation been predicted? Check the progress and results of the meeting Draw up a protocol of results Duplicate and distribute a summary protocol Monitor the implementation of decisions Put forward items that are not implemented at the next meeting