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Online meetings can increase productivity, reduce costs, and allow better collaboration between teams.  Even so, a majority of business owners that have small business websites are hesitant to allow employees to leave their desk and attend a meeting online.  The reason for this is that they might be worried there could be a technical issue and employees wouldn’t be able to hear each other or carry on a conversation like they do in a face-to-face meeting.

 

That’s why it’s so important that the person in charge of the meeting takes a few steps to make sure employees are able to hear each other.  Here are some essential tips for making sure your small business has productive online meetings.

 

It is best to set strict time limits for your meetings.  No more than two hours per day, depending on how many hours you normally devote each day to your business.  That way, your meetings will be productive without taking up too much of your time that is already planned for other priorities.  If you have time left in a meeting, encourage people to talk about ideas they found on small business websites.

 

Another way to ensure you have productive meetings is to create a checklist or agenda that participants can use.  This way, everyone will know what will be covered before the meeting starts so it isn’t necessary for every participant to read over previous emails or messages from other participants.  Once the agenda is finalized, send it out to all participants for them to know what to expect.  As a result, you will decrease the chances of someone asking a question off topic or bringing something up that wasn’t on the agenda.

 

A key aspect of managing an online meeting is to appoint a moderator as they ensure everyone has a chance to speak, and they can also make sure the conversation stays on topic.  Since the moderator is charge of technology, it is up to them to confirm other attendees have what they need and know when it is their turn to speak.

Meetings are an inevitable part of any business, no matter how small.  Whether you are working from home or meeting with many people in person each day, a face-to-face meeting is always more productive with the right tools and skills.  In order to for your small business to have productive online meetings, you should set a time limit, create a checklist or agenda, and appoint a moderator.