The key mental health benefit of an effective meeting agenda
So why have a meeting agenda?
Agendas drive accountability during meetings. The mental health benefits of practicing a constructive approach to meeting accountability include:
improved performance,
more attendee participation and involvement,
increased feelings of competency, and
more creativity and innovation.
There are instances where meetings may not require an agenda,, but they’re rarer than you might think. We’ve all felt the dread of a meeting with too many participants, no agenda and a lack of clarity for our attendance. These group meetings are the bane of every organization and all of their employees. The Harvard Business Review has some shocking statistics in their recent survey of 182 senior managers; and Hybryd's own insights show that even casual one-to-one catch ups can better benefit both parties, if there is a meeting agenda.
Health experts tell us that one in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Anxiety and depression are the most common problems experienced, and work-related issues are frequently the cause of these problems. We all have a duty to consider how our working practices can affect our colleagues’ mental health and emotional wellbeing. Hybryd's goal is to provide an easy to use tool that can improve workplace mental health, by seamlessly reducing the stress and anxiety caused by ineffective meetings for attendees.
Why do meetings without agendas cause stress?
Meeting agendas not only provide structure, they communicate important information to all attendees before the meeting even begins.
Meetings without agendas can cause stress in 3 main ways:
Preparation - Without an agenda attendees cannot prepare for the meeting
Goal - Lack of an agenda usually mean the meeting has no stated objective
Engagement - Without the thought that goes into an agenda you may invite people who do not need to attend and miss inviting those who should
All these failures leave your attendees wondering and often worried, concerned why the meeting is taking place and what their role is supposed to be.
Why meeting agendas are the best solution
A meeting agenda should be an important part of your strategy to ensure your meetings actually produce the results you are looking for - both from an outcomes-driven and an attendee wellbeing point of view. Not only does a meeting agenda help remove many of the common stresses associated with meetings - but a recent MIT study has shown that time spent creating an agenda is actually time saved in the meeting itself.
Hybryd meetings are about making meetings work better through the duration of the meeting. Certainly in the planning of and holding, but also the follow through. We see that a well-run meeting is one made up of clear decisions and defined actions. That’s what makes what we do even more exciting. From our insights, meetings that produce anxious or stressed attendees are by their nature less productive. This leads to less well-performing teams, possibly due to a missed opportunity to engage and connect with those individuals during the meetings.
Having used Hybryd in thousands of meetings ourselves, we’ve seen the impact that this preparation and follow through can have: positive effects on clarity, communication and wellbeing. We have seen our meeting culture transformed to one with greater focus and less stress. We’re certainly not claiming to have found the silver bullet to meeting stress. But we do think we can help to reduce the stress and anxiety that may be experienced. We do this by providing you and your team with some helpful tools and light guidance.
Goals and Wrap Up
Let’s make the meeting work for you. At Hybryd we dedicate time in the meeting to the Wrap Up, a portion of time dedicated to reviewing notes, assigning actions or just giving your team some breathing room. Summarising as a team can make sure nothing is missed off the to-do list. Assigning actions on the spot can help ensure that nothing gets dropped. Wrap Up is also the perfect opportunity to end a meeting a bit early, making sure you and your team have some time to get up, move around and clear your heads between meetings.
All of these things help ensure that your meetings are productive, engaging, effective and healthy. Just remember: with better meetings you can have fewer meetings and a better meeting is a Hybryd meeting!