If you are managing a team, then you already know the importance of a collaborative meeting. Through this process, all of your team members come together, share ideas, and work on your common project.
However, there is no denying that organizing a successful collaborative meeting is a challenge. If you are trying to host one, you will have to take into consideration several factors, such as the number of participants, their roles, and the agenda among others. By planning the collaborative meeting in advance, you can guarantee that your team will enjoy a fruitful meeting that will enhance its productivity.
In this article, you will learn what you need to do to bring a collaborative meeting to the next level so that you can achieve the best performance.
Know About Collaborative Meeting
What Is the Collaborative Meeting
A collaborative meeting is a discussion between numerous individuals that combine their thought processes and skills to achieve a common goal. This discussion is facilitated by a person that has taken the time to create the right atmosphere that will nurture creativity and collaboration.
For this reason, a collaborative meeting is nothing like a regular one. In a collaborative meeting, every team member has a clear objective and brings his skills and responsibilities to the table. This way, you are encouraging collaboration between different divisions that might not have the chance to come together in any other way.
Why Do You Need a Collaborative Meeting
As you may already realize, a collaborative meeting is something very positive for both your projects and your team members. First and foremost, it combines the thought processes and perspectives of different individuals. Through the discussion in the collaborative meeting, you can get insights into how different people are processing ideas and even finding solutions in unexpected places.
Another reason why you need to explore this option is because it boosts efficiency. If you are dealing with complex projects and problems, it is better to get your most skillful employees together. This can easily happen in a collaborative meeting, where the experts can exchange opinions to spot the right solution.
Lastly, a collaborative meeting boosts communication within your company. The different teams in an organization rarely find opportunities to interact with one another. Therefore, having them in the same space and working towards the same goal will create a sense of familiarity.
How to Organize a High-Quality Collaborative Meeting
Now that you know the benefits of a collaborative meeting, you must learn what you need to do to host a successful one. The steps for doing this are the following:
#1 Plan the Meeting
The first step to creating a successful collaborative meeting is to plan ahead. This step takes into consideration every possible element of the meeting. For instance, you will need to find a suitable location if the meeting will be in-person. In the same way, you will need to spot the most suitable software if it takes place online. Moreover, you will have to determine which teams you would like to bring together, depending on the project at hand. Other elements include the agenda of the meeting and the roles of specific team members.
#2 Set Specific Goals
Another essential part of this type of meeting is to have clear and predefined objectives in mind. In a collaborative meeting, every participant needs to come prepared, and for this reason, the goal should be stated well beforehand. In addition to this, you also need to have these goals in mind since you are going to facilitate the meeting. A great piece of advice is to set goals that you can measure so that you can determine how successful was the meeting.
#3 Enhance Inclusivity
Whenever there are numerous individuals in the same room or video call, there is a chance that some don’t get to contribute all that much. The same can be applied to a collaborative meeting. For this reason, you need to find activities that can motivate the participants to join the discussion. Furthermore, as the facilitator of the meeting, you need to spot these individuals and ask questions that will drive them into the brainstorming.
#4 Create a Meeting Agenda
An easy way to make your meeting a success is to create an agenda beforehand. This can be a simple checklist of items that you want to discuss or a detailed table with resources that you want to share with the participants. Either way, it will help you immensely to organize the time and create a schedule that fits every topic that you need to go through. Additionally, you can also share the agenda with the participants in advance, so that they have time to prepare answers.
#5 Make Sure Everyone Is Comfortable
Just because it is a business meeting, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to create a pleasant atmosphere. If the team members are feeling comfortable, they won’t hesitate to explain their ideas and discuss their opinions.
If you are hosting an in-person meeting, then you will also have to consider how to arrange the space so that everyone is comfortable. If you are organizing an online meeting, then you will have to dedicate a few minutes to break the ice and let the participants feel welcome.
#6 Take Notes
In a meeting like this, there is a great chance that you will hear a lot of interesting and innovative ideas. For this reason, it is important to take notes throughout the duration of the meeting, even when the participants haven’t reached a conclusion yet. Then, you can take the time to review these notes and consider if there is an idea that you can implement. A good idea to get down everything that will be said in the meeting is to record the whole session, with the consent of the participants.
#7 Discuss the Takeaways
Finally, the meeting should end with a brief discussion of what you have managed to achieve in the session. This will help both you and the participants summarize the key takeaways of the meeting. By the end of the session, you will certainly have found solutions that will make your projects move forward. Then, the next step would be to implement them.
A Top-Notch Collaborative Meeting Tool – Boardmix
Right now, you can take advantage of a great collaborative tool to host your meetings. This app is none other than Boardmix, which is an online tool that promotes collaboration.
In essence, Boardmix is an online whiteboard that comes with multiple additional features. Every member of your team can add things to the board, upload multimedia, and leave feedback. The other users will see the changes in real-time.
However, what makes Boardmix amazing for your collaborative meeting is that it has dedicated features for it. All the members can join the same call to discuss the progress on the boards. While you are in the meeting, you can review what’s on the screen and make changes as you discuss the issues at hand.
Wrapping Up
Collaboration meetings are ideal for every team that wants to collaborate for the completion of a project. With Boardmix, you now have access to the software that facilitates these meetings, even when your team members are working remotely. Try the app to discover its full capabilities and start hosting successful collaborative meetings.
