Tips for Effective Meetings of your construction project
Published: 2022-07-06 16:44:08

Meetings are for generating ideas, moving projects forward and fostering collaboration. Even the most difficult challenges can be overcome when all team members are on the same page and know exactly what needs to be done. Especially on construction projects, where a variety of different stakeholders need to come together and coordinate, effective meetings can contribute significantly to project success.

In reality, week after week we find ourselves in long and anything but goal-oriented meetings that do not fulfill their actual purpose, but rather can be classified as productivity killers.

At least this is the result of countless studies. In the USA, according to one study, around 37 billion US dollars are wasted each year as a result of bad meetings. An article in the business magazine Brand Eins states that of the approximately six hours of meeting time that occur on average per week, around half are demonstrably unproductive and therefore superfluous.

Whether you are a meeting fan or a meeting muffle, sooner or later you will not be able to avoid them. It is therefore all the more important that you organize your meetings as constructively and effectively as possible and thus realize time and cost benefits.

In the following, we have compiled tips that have proven their worth in our work together. 

**Think carefully about whether it really has to be a meeting?**

First of all, ask yourself whether a meeting is absolutely necessary for the specific issue. Reasons for a meeting can be, for example, the making of important decisions or the joint development of solution proposals. But meetings are also more suitable than any other medium for developing a strong team and group dynamics. If, on the other hand, the problem can be solved with a phone call or in a group chat, these communication methods are definitely to be preferred.

you have the opportunity to come together as a team through a variety of functions, without necessarily having to sit down together. For example, you can inform project participants about project progress in a shared document base, provide targeted feedback in plans in the form of comments, or exchange information with each other via our direct messages.

**The fewer participants, the better**

As a general rule, the fewer participants, the better. Only those who can contribute need to be present. This definitely includes the decision-makers and the respective subject matter experts. If the project manager differs from the decision-maker, it makes sense to include the latter as well. We have come to the conclusion that a number of three to four people is ideal, while we generally avoid meetings with more than eight people.

However, a smaller group of people does not mean that the remaining project members are to be excluded from the meeting. Rather, they should be informed afterwards with appropriate minutes. With YourProject, project participants can create meeting minutes directly on the platform and share them with the other project members. More about this later.

In our online workspace, meeting minutes can be created directly in the projects, which can then be viewed and commented on by all team members.

**Choose the right time of day**

Even if the ideal time of day is often difficult to reconcile, especially in meetings with many participants, we recommend that you don't disregard its importance. Studies show that at certain times of the day we are more attentive and can make decisions more quickly, whereas just before lunch we are already thinking about something else. Recommended times are between 08:30 and 11:30 and 14:30 and 17:30.

To address the problem of coordinating appointments, YourProject gives you the option of handling them with all project members directly on the platform. This is of considerable advantage, especially with a group of three or more people. Otherwise, of course, simply picking up the phone is sufficient.

**Creating an agenda including objectives**

If we had to choose one tip, it would be this one. The agenda is for the meeting what the project plan is for the project. Here it is necessary to record in writing how the meeting is to be held and what goals are to be achieved with it. Or to say it with the Entrepreneur

In addition to preparing the content, it is just as important that the agenda is prepared in good time and made available to all participants. The earlier, the better. In order to guarantee that the agenda is read and discussed, it should reach every participant at least two days before the actual meeting, also known as the 48-hour rule.

With our appointment management, you can not only coordinate appointments, but also create an agenda or minutes directly in the respective appointment. The advantage is that all participants have access to it and are automatically informed about changes. The meeting leader can therefore create an agenda directly on the platform, which can then be viewed and commented on by the remaining participants.

**Prepare properly for the meeting**

Even if the meeting leader has only limited influence on this, a meeting only makes sense if each member prepares for it accordingly and deals with the content and goals in advance. The basis for this is the agenda just mentioned. In addition, team members who regularly appear unprepared for the joint meetings should be addressed.

**Designating a facilitator**

Just as every project needs a project manager, it's a good idea to designate a facilitator for meetings. Even if this person doesn't need to be explicitly designated, a person who is as neutral as possible should have the upper hand. In most cases, this is probably the inviting person. In addition to leading the conversation, the moderator is primarily responsible for keeping the agenda on track, which we'll get to in the next tip.

**Never lose focus**

A meeting can have very different goals. For example, a kick-off meeting at the beginning of a project can ensure that the project members are motivated and committed to the project. The key to success is that goals are set in advance and followed up during the meeting. We are of the opinion that there must be a certain amount of leeway, especially in creative meetings, and that stringently working through a detailed agenda does not necessarily make for a successful meeting. Nevertheless, under no circumstances should you lose sight of the predefined goals and do everything to achieve them.

**Summarize the meeting briefly**

Once all the points have been dealt with, the group should briefly summarize what has been discussed. Ideally, the moderator should also take on this task. This is also an opportunity to ask the participants for feedback and possible ambiguities.

**Create a protocol including tasks**
In addition to writing a well-structured agenda, the creation of a meeting protocol is another important building block on the way to an effective meeting. On the one hand, what was discussed is recorded in writing, which significantly increases the probability of successful implementation. On the other hand, other project members who did not participate in the meeting can be informed.

We structure our minutes internally in exactly the same way as the agenda and briefly summarize the most important points under each topic. In addition, each participant gets immediate access to the minutes and confirms this briefly. This again serves to avoid ambiguities. Furthermore, it is essential to record the tasks to be completed. Ideally, both the person responsible and the due date should be specified.

On [our platform](https://ajbtp.com/) you have the possibility to create protocols directly in your project. While the participants of the meeting get access to them automatically, the contents can be made available to the other project members with just one click. This means that the minutes do not have to be distributed to everyone individually as usual. Rather, a joint exchange takes place, which ultimately benefits everyone involved.