Internal SQ Digital

GENERAL – How to – Meeting Best Practice

Purpose of this How To Guide: A guide of SQ Digital best practices for holding a meeting.

Applicable to: All

Customers: All

Timescale: Usually 15 minutes to 2 hours

Introduction

In this How To we run through some SQ Digital best practices for holding & attending meetings.

Before

Before a meeting, ensure you know who actually needs to be there. Ensure that the people who are attending know why the meeting is happening before booking the meeting out of the blue.

All good meetings should have some form of Agenda – ensure you have clear goals as to what you are trying to get out of the meeting. Make sure you put this agenda into the meeting description when booking.

When you are invited to a meeting only accept the invitation if you are clear what you are to contribute and that your attendance is justified. Ask the organiser for more information if in any doubt.

Once you accept a meeting invitation read the Agenda, be prepared and make sure you have performed any actions that were asked of you (EG if you were asked to bring a report then make sure you do).

During

Key principles that are integral to holding an efficient meeting at SQ Digital include:

1. Start on time regardless of absentees.
2. Arrive punctually
3. Follow the agenda & stick to the meeting length arranged.
4. Keep an eye on the time and move through Agenda Items at an appropriate rate.
5. If the meeting is falling off topic, ‘Park’ the subject, halt the conversation and revisit it at the end of the meeting or in a subsequent meeting where it is included on the agenda.
6. Keep your contributions on topic and “self police” yourself to avoid going on tangents.
7. Do speak up and do your mind.
8. Meetings must be chaired and it is the chair’s responsibility to manage time, encourage contribution and keep things on topic.
9. Meetings should be minuted (with a dedicated note taker who is not the chair).
10. Meetings should end with lists of Actions to be taken that are assigned to the responsible people.

After the Meeting

Leave the meeting with a clear list of action points and elect people to take ownership of these

Ensure you log your time for the meeting in Accelo, and make sure the meeting chair has logged their time first so they link the meeting to the right task in Accelo.

The Chair is to email attendees to remind them of Action Points and minutes.

After a meeting Attendees should complete all of their Action Points that are small enough to complete in 2 Minutes (EG send the email). Attendees should schedule their remaining Action Points for future completion.