Planning meeting with employees: an effective plan for conducting. The technology of effective meetings and planning meetings in the sales department

In Russia, it is not customary to gather in a team for work tasks. This is due to the fact that everyone is in a hurry to do their business at work, and not sit at meetings and procrastinate on obvious topics. But what if such meetings will be useful for everyone, they will be held efficiently and quickly? Then it is foolish to refuse them. Therefore, we introduce in your company such an event as a planning meeting, from the basics to ready-made templates.

Maybe we should not?

Have you ever tried to hold meetings with employees? If yes, then I'm sure you have come across at the end of the event with such statements as "We talked about nothing again." This is a classic situation and it is associated with not knowing how to conduct planning meetings, and not with the fact that it is generally bad and inefficient.

And in order to immediately dot all the points, let's fix the very concept of what a planning meeting is. And pay attention, I take it not from my head, but from any dictionary by type: Ozhegov, Efremov, Dal, Tikhonov or Kuznetsov. They all give, plus or minus, the same description.

Planerka - a short meeting to evaluate and determine the progress of the tasks.

Keyword- a short meeting. This is what distinguishes a planning meeting from a meeting. And since everything in the world is relative, let's define the maximum limit for how long such a meeting lasts - it's 60 minutes. Everything else is not a planning meeting, but, as we have already said, a meeting.

Types of gliders

Planerka planerka strife. At first glance, they are all the same, but in reality their structures and purposes differ from each other. Therefore, you need to know their types and use exactly those that your team needs.

Time spending

We can divide all meetings into three times: daily, weekly and monthly. Usually the company has only one of these options, all the others are considered unnecessary. Although they all carry different tasks and are carried out according to a different plan.

1. Daily planner. It is necessary in case of vigorous activity or motivation of employees. Its duration does not exceed 15 minutes, everything is short and to the point.
2. Weekly planner. We use it to take stock of the past week and make plans for the future. The duration of such a meeting is up to 30 minutes.
3. Monthly planner. A mandatory event to evaluate the results obtained for the month of work, which has developed from all days and weeks. Duration up to 1 hour.

Often the monthly planning is stretched to 2-3 hours. In this case, according to the rules of the Russian language, this is already a meeting. But since it is more important for us not the actual name, but the real appointment, we can allow such a meeting up to 3 hours. The main thing is that all this should be in the case.

You also need to consider that there are non-systemic meetings to address urgent or pressing issues. Such planning meetings are called - unscheduled. Gathered, held and finished pretty quickly. But they are there and you can't run away from them.

It was noticeable if everyone, or at least many companies, worked like in the anecdote above. But, alas, such a scheme is almost never found. Therefore, we move on to the topics of planning meetings.

Topic of the meeting

In addition to the fact that planning meetings are divided into time intervals, they are also divided into topics. Although for the majority, planning is an assessment of the tasks completed for the week and a summary of the achievement of the sales plan. This format also exists, but everything is gradual.

1. Distribution of tasks. The purpose and result of such a meeting is employees who are overburdened with tasks for the near future.
2. One question. Most often these are unscheduled meetings, the topic for which is separate issues on the agenda.
3. Brainstorm. We often practice short meetings with a small part of the team to generate ideas on a given topic.
4. Informational. The same planning meeting that we are all so used to, voicing the actual situation on this moment time.
5. Motivational. People need to be energized, especially if they have a very stressful job. Through such meetings you will have the opportunity to do this, because this is a great method of motivation.
6. Educational. Little knowledge in a short amount of time. This will not get boring and will be useful, especially if you do it often.

In the conditions of realities, our planning meetings are like a snowball of different topics. It's not bad. The main thing is that everything can be given sufficient attention. The strategy of “Golop across Europe” will not lead to anything good, since eating a fish and not washing a frying pan will not work. It is a myth.

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Components of a successful planning

Before we move on to specific templates for planning a meeting, let's define the main points for conducting such a meeting. Because it is important not only WHAT, but also HOW to carry out. Everything gradually colleagues, do not rush.

• Reason for the meeting. We figured it out, every meeting should have a reason. And everyone should know about it;
• People. You must know in advance who will participate in the planning meeting and notify the participants about this;
• Location. Conference room, office or corridor - decide for yourself. I'm sure it's not difficult;
• Time spending. It takes a specific time, preferably always the same thing, to develop a habit;
• Meeting schedule. You and staff need to know the subtopics and timing of this meeting;
• Additional materials. Flipchart, paper, pens and other paraphernalia should be ready before the meeting;
• Curator. Usually the leader of the planning meeting is the boss or one of the leaders, but it may well be an employee;
• Secretary. The person who will record all the results of the planning meeting, the so-called protocol, for further distribution.

If you take into account these components, then the effectiveness of the planning meeting will be much higher, because you will be able to properly prepare for it and will know exactly what to say at the planning meeting.

Some of the list is obvious. But you think about how each of the points can be improved relative to the situation now. For example, what other people besides sales managers can be called to a meeting. Or he can make part of the planning meetings that the employees themselves conduct.

And one more significant plus for those who still doubt, see the video below.

Planning plan for implementation

I don't really like templates and swatches as they don't take into account individual characteristics every company. And after all each business is specific (I hear it constantly from heads). But if you are not a timid person, then you can easily convert this sample into a plan for a planning meeting for your company.

This is a plan for how to hold a meeting in the sales department once a week, the monthly version will look more ambitious, and the plan for the daily meeting will look more modest. And, of course, the results will be summed up either for a month or a day. But already on the basis of this, you can form your plan, regardless of what you have - retail, wholesale or services.

Fans of chips or important nuances

Any action can be done better. Therefore, when we are asked to evaluate the effectiveness of planning meetings, we can say with our eyes closed that there is room for improvement. Whether they are many or few, and most importantly, whether they are impressive or not, is another question. But you can definitely find them. And here is a list of the most popular improvements from our practice.

Planner on Skype. If employees cannot meet in life, this is not a reason to cancel the meeting. Spend it on Skype. You can also connect via Skype those who could not come, and hold a planning meeting offline and online at the same time.

Only positive. Try at such meetings to talk about everything from the side “How to improve it” and “What was done well”, then your meetings will be more motivational and positive.

Bonuses for attendance. By default, you can fine for absenteeism or being late for a planning meeting, or you can give a bonus to those who did not miss even one.

Latecomers are standing. Those who are late not only receive a reprimand and a lot of contemptuous glances, but also spend the entire planning meeting standing on their feet. Funny? You definitely, but not so much for a latecomer.

Time keeping. Determine a specific amount of time for each block, and if you go beyond it, then just cut off the conversation. At first it will be bad, then learn to be more effective.

Snack before planning. You can pour yourself coffee and eat cookies only before the meeting. After the start, the regime operates - “Who did not have time, he was late”.

Gift for the active. The most active can and should be encouraged. You can single out each planning meeting those who participate a lot and give a mini-gift for this. A trifle, but nice.

Glider summary. When the “secretary of the meeting” sums up, then it must be distributed to everyone or, even better, placed in the most visible place for better assimilation.

Briefly about the main

In my entire team, 90% of the people are team players, so we like to fanatically hold small meetings. Since our team is relatively young (up to 35 years old), it is very difficult for us to hold planning meetings, because everyone strives to laugh and talk “for life”. We could hold a planning meeting for 3-4 hours. But it was like that before.

Now we are a team that really understands the power, the process of planning meetings and what they are for. We have internal rules(no phones, we speak the language of decisions, no negativity, etc.), we have ready-made regulations, there are responsible persons (each time new ones) and much more. All this helps us to be more efficient.

When we come to a company for marketing consulting, the planning meeting is one of the first tools that we implement. And every time we see how “the cart barely moves”. But everything passes. And the main rule in this is not only the quality of the planning meeting, but also its regularity. Therefore, here you can use a slightly modified famous phrase- “Having tried SEVERAL times, I eat now.” Successful implementation. There will be questions, write in the comments.

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in-scale.ru

How to hold a planner

Planning meetings, operational meetings and meetings are an integral part of the working day of almost every employee. Sooner or later, the leader is faced with the need to independently conduct a daily planning meeting. But as often happens, no one really teaches this. Therefore, the question often arises - how to conduct a planning meeting?

Goals of the planning meeting

The first thing to do is determine the goals you want to achieve with the meeting. As a rule, the main goal of such meetings is the creation of a single information space among all employees, as a result, the achievement of higher staff motivation and coherence of work. Planners help to solve the following tasks:

1. Setting goals and objectives for the team;
2. Bringing general information to the whole team;
3. Solving general issues;
4. Motivation and involvement of personnel;
5. Training of employees, through the transfer of best practices;
6. Teambuilding

Agree, the achievement of such goals is of great interest to any manager. Therefore, the practice of planning meetings is so common in business. But achieving efficiency from meetings is not so easy, it is important to adhere to a clearly defined plan of action and prepare for each planning meeting.

Planning meeting

So, we have determined that the meeting is an important and useful thing, but in order not to turn this tool into another useless torture of subordinates, the leader should approach the preparation of the planning meeting with all seriousness. Earlier, we discussed the goals of the meeting, the task of the leader, depending on the goal, is to draw up a plan for the planning meeting. Naturally, the meeting for sellers and for TOP managers will be radically different from each other. Although the structure itself will be approximately the same.

A very important point in holding any meeting is to give subordinates the opportunity to speak as soon as possible. It is desirable from the first minutes to involve as many participants of the planning meeting as possible. This will help set up the team.

Secrets of the success of the planning meeting

The most important! For a meeting to be interesting, you must prepare for it. The success of a meeting depends on several important factors:

1. information component. The information provided at the meeting should be useful and interesting. If the information is boring and monotonous, then make an interesting way of presenting information. Remove boring and not useful information;
2. emotional component. Even the most interesting topic can be ruined by improper feeding. Remember your teachers from the university, at some lectures the entire audience is sleeping, and at others it is full house.
3. The leader who leads the meeting. The more authoritative the host, the better the audience perceives him. If your authority is not high, carefully work on points 1 and 2.

Rules for holding a planning meeting

Late employees

Someone is always late for a meeting. Such employees bring great destructiveness and you need to fight desperately. I'll forgive you just to agree in advance with all team members what we do with latecomers. There are several examples: a latecomer brings everyone coffee or fruit, a latecomer tells a joke, a latecomer sings a song, etc. The most important thing is that everyone knows the rules and everyone follows them. If the rule is thought out and accepted by the team, then you will reduce lateness to a minimum.

Same meeting times

It is very important to follow a strict schedule of meetings. There is nothing worse than unscheduled meetings, it disrupts the plans of subordinates, does not allow them to properly prepare. The attitude towards such meetings is initially negative, which does not have a working mood.

Any meeting should be notified in advance, it is best not to change the dates and times of meetings unless absolutely necessary.

Don't delay meetings

It is very important to follow the timing, if you have determined that the meeting should not last more than 30 minutes, then keep your word. The longer the meeting, the less effective it is. If you need to solve complex issues and it takes a long time to work out the details, then create working groups of competent employees. Often, most of the meeting is spent on working out organizational issues, and most of the listeners generally fly out of the dialogue.

Only the presenter speaks

I often see a picture when employees are afraid of their boss and as a result the meeting turns into a dictator's monologue. As a rule, all this happens in deathly silence, and tension is felt in the air. The directive style of management is not appropriate at meetings, it contradicts the essence of this event. Ideally, all participants should speak at the planning meeting.

Discussion of private issues

Sometimes one of the participants in the planning meeting may try to use this event to solve a private issue. As a rule, it is beneficial for an employee to raise a question publicly. This approach can turn the meeting into a farce. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately stop such manipulations and set time to resolve private issues.

Impact of the meeting on work

Everything that you agreed on at the meeting should be carried out and controlled by you. If there is no control, employees will quickly adapt and stop following your orders.

How to check the effectiveness of a meeting

The effectiveness of the assembly is easy enough to check. Ask your subordinates what happened at the meeting? 5 minutes after the meeting, 3 hours later, and the next day. The answers to these questions are feedback for the planning meeting organizer. If there is a lot of information, make employees keep records. But in any case, everyone should record information.

worldsellers.ru

"Planerka" as a way to increase the loyalty of the company's staff

If the number of your company is two or more people, then communication, that is, the exchange of information, is an integral element of your management activities. After all, information is the link between all parts of the organization. Disruption of communication (errors in the transfer of information, poorly structured exchange, etc.) by levels, for example, a boss - a subordinate or a sales department - a purchasing department, always entails a decrease in performance indicators. And here one of your main tasks is to provide employees not only with tools or raw materials, but also, most importantly, with information for quality performance their duties, and, therefore, to increase the profits of your business.

Communication in an organization can take a variety of forms and be implemented in a variety of ways. A good example of communication is the holding of "gliders" (meetings, "meetings") with employees. We will talk about what a planning meeting is, as well as, most importantly, why regularly gather employees in one place, as part of a series of posts on HR on our blog today.

Why do you need a planner?

The planning meeting can be described as a short operational meeting to discuss the results of work and current problems. Options for solving these problems can also be discussed, but then it will be a longer meeting on a specific issue. And the main goal of the planning meeting is to control the current situation and monitor current problems in the company's work.

Let's figure out what to say at the planning meeting and what questions you answer together with your employees:

• what happened yesterday (the day before yesterday, last week), why;
• what failed to do, why;
• what and how we plan to do today (tomorrow, next week), what results we expect.

It is also necessary to note the role of the planning meeting in shaping the loyalty of the company's personnel. Loyalty of staff, or, to put it plain language, loyalty to the company is formed among employees not only and not so much at the expense of wages and other material benefits (although they certainly play a role). Loyalty is not bought. Then how to hold a planning meeting to increase it? Loyalty arises through properly built communication. Thus, the planning meeting can be an excellent tool for increasing this very loyalty.

During the planning meeting, barriers between departments of the company are destroyed, disunity is reduced. Everything that happens in the company (plans, tasks, problems) becomes closer and clearer to each employee, which increases the motivation and interest of people. After all, if an employee does not know (do not understand) the long-term and short-term goals of the company, performance indicators of its work, tasks for the next week, this inevitably leads to demotivation and, as a result, deterioration in performance and loss of controllability.

On the other hand, if you know how to conduct a planning meeting correctly, then employees understand well what is happening in the company, in each department, rejoice at common “successes” and achievements, share (just share, even if they do not solve jointly) problems. It is through such experiences that you can get at the planning meeting that loyalty and team spirit are formed.

A well-organized "planning meeting" allows you to quickly and effectively stimulate staff to solve daily tasks, motivate them to achieve common goals. This is one of ideal tools the formation of a team spirit among employees - in this regard, it should be emphasized that it is especially important to hold planning meetings during the period of introduction of changes in the company. Through the planning meeting, it is easy to receive feedback from the staff and adjust the innovation plan.

The signs of the effectiveness of the planning meeting are its results - they planned something, received feedback, resolved a controversial situation, disseminated or collected new information, etc. By the way, it happens that employees, and sometimes managers perceive the “planning meeting” as a waste of time, but in fact, this can only be said about an inefficient, incorrectly organized planning meeting. In this article, you will learn how to run a planning meeting in a way that is beneficial.

Rules for organizing planning meetings

First, the start and end times must be fixed and known in advance to all participants. It is better not to gather employees for more than 30 minutes: the work of the company or department will “get up”. If the company is small, you can bring all departments together, if it is large - only the heads of departments (they will conduct internal "planning meetings" themselves) - one way or another, an adequate approach to the composition of participants is needed.

Secondly, at the place of the planning meeting. How to hold planning meetings in the sales department if there is no separate meeting room? You can gather everyone in the head's office or just in the largest office. By the way, if there is not enough space, it is even better to hold a “planning meeting” standing up - people will not be “tuned” for a long conversation: everything is short and clear, to the point.

In addition, today there are services that allow you to hold meetings and conferences online (for example, Skype). This is a good option if your company is very large or its departments are located in different geographic locations.

Thirdly, how to properly hold planning meetings in the sales department and how often should this be done? The frequency of this event may vary. In some companies it is customary to "get together" every morning, in others - on Mondays or at the beginning and end of the week. It all depends on the specifics of the company, the intensity of business processes, the speed of receipt new information and the quality of communications between departments.

Fourthly, like any other effective communication, it is better to start a planning meeting with a positive and end with a positive. It is imperative to discuss problems, but it’s good when the planning meeting ends with some inspiring words from the leadership, a call to action (“We are a team!”).

In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that the planning meeting, as a form of communication within the organization, is an excellent way to increase the loyalty of your employees, to make them “more loyal” to the company. And loyal employees unequivocally bring profit, while disloyal ones carry only rumors, speculation and mistrust.

Recognition from colleagues, praise from superiors, friendly, warm atmosphere in the team - this is all the “right planning meeting”, which forms a healthy desire to “break” competitors for your company. This is what you need - moving forward. So "plan" wisely - bring everyone together, solve problems and inspire!

High conversions for you!

Daria Khoromskaya, Head of HR Department at LPgenerator

image source Pavel Kirillov

lpgenerator.com

why and how to carry out, pros and cons - SKB Kontur

Planerka is a derivative of the English plan, a short workshop dedicated to the progress of the planned plan. According to their typology, all planning meetings can be divided into categories according to three criteria - specific, temporal and quantitative.

According to the specific criterion, all planning meetings are divided into reporting (short meetings at which managers report on the progress of the relevant tasks), discussion (briefings on the possible change in the chosen path to achieve a particular goal) and motivational (meetings at which tasks are distributed and roles are determined in the process of working on a question, task).

According to the time criterion, the planning meeting can be a daily, weekly, monthly process.

According to the quantitative criterion, the planning meeting can be either mass (for all employees) or closed (for a separate initiative group, managers, board of directors of the company.)

Why hold a planner?

If you organize this process as a good tradition before the start of the working day, it will help discipline the team (reduce the number of morning lates), more clearly outline goals and objectives for employees (after all, as you know, a rational plan for the day is much more effective than a plan for six months) , makes it possible to see real results work more clearly (in the event that the reporting of the team to the leader and the leader to the team become mandatory elements of the planning meeting). In addition to the benefits already mentioned, a well-executed morning meeting can energize employees, increase productivity, and encourage effective work throughout the day. This psychological aspect definitely plays important role in establishing positive relations between the employee and the employer, and also contributes to team building.

Why do many people consider planning meetings a relic of the past?

Firstly, the very emergence of this process, most people refer to those times when they didn’t even hear about the telephone, but they didn’t even know what the Internet and multimedia technologies were. It turns out that the only way to meet in person and discuss important working moments was just those planning meetings. For lack of operational means of communication, a lot of questions accumulated, and such an action took a lot of time (on average, three to four hours). On this occasion, a well-known American economist once remarked: “If there are planning meetings in your company, then you are on the right track. It remains only to fire all those who go there, and leave all those who are working at this time.

Secondly, most office workers have a negative attitude towards planning meetings just because about 20% of the time is devoted to this, and, according to many of them, the boss’s speech lasts, on average, half the time allotted for this process.

Thirdly, if planning meetings in the company are held daily, then soon this will definitely turn into a kind of formality. After all, most of the tasks that a successful businessman sets are long-term, and a two-sentence daily report will sound like this: “Everything is fine, we are working on it.” The need for a daily planning meeting usually pops up at the moment when the company begins to implement a new strategic task in a critically short time, or during a crisis. At such moments, it is really necessary to constantly monitor the situation, to monitor the slightest changes.

Regulations

Any, even the shortest planning meeting should have its own rules. One way or another, it helps to work out pressing issues much more productively, to make the process more dynamic and efficient. It is good manners to send out the regulations to employees in the evening so that they can think over all the issues raised and come up with a constructive, meaningful proposal. Among other things, it is worth considering that by the time the morning meeting is held, each employee must have a copy of the regulations on hand. It is also important to assign responsibility to a certain person who would keep track of time (if the speaker gets out of the time limit described in the regulations, this delays the process of holding the meeting and, as a result, negatively affects the mood of the team).

To conduct or not to conduct? That's the question

The planning meeting is certainly an important process, at least in the context of timely goal setting and motivation of employees, but it's time to go beyond the ordinary understanding of this term. Perhaps it is not so important to gather the whole team every day in a stuffy office, but to master the conference technologies in Skype. It is also important to take into account the aspect that a constructive planning meeting should last no more than 15-20 minutes. Reporting on the activities of each department can be accepted and discussed with managers during the day, and the morning time can be devoted exclusively to the alignment of forces, the definition of tasks and priorities.

In any case, each entrepreneur chooses his management concept, however, in order to understand a little more carefully whether short meetings are necessary for your workforce, it is worth weighing the pros and cons:

Discipline the team

Possibility of morning motivation of employees;

Clear setting of goals and objectives;

The opportunity to be creative and hold a planning meeting in an unconventional style;

Protracted planning meetings tire and reduce the efficiency of employees;

Unscheduled planning meetings are usually ineffective.

kontur.ru

Secrets of an effective planning - Rjob.ru

Planning is an important part of the workflow. However, it can both become an incentive for an employee, a stronghold and springboard, or completely discourage all desire to work. How to effectively hold meetings to “ignite” subordinates? How can employees behave in meetings to make good use of their time?

What are planners for?

For about a year I worked in the editorial office of a magazine about construction and houses. The publisher, who is also the owner, was very fond of planning meetings. We gathered in her office every morning for one and a half to two hours and watched a play by one actor. The announced goal of this meeting is to tell at what stage relations with advertisers are now. Hidden - to explain what kind of losers gathered at this table. Me (the editor) and the designer also needed to be present. Only the accountant received the “release”: she had to constantly monitor the account for the receipt of money that did not arrive at all. Because instead of working, we were sitting at a planning meeting.

We would have been glad to hear what our employer thinks of us, and see how she can sell by phone, but the work was standing. The fact is that money will appear in the editorial office if managers sell advertising. To make an appointment with a potential advertiser, you need to get through to him. And it was most realistic to catch someone on the spot from 9 to 10, after which the people dispersed to their planning meetings, productions and meetings. In general, it was necessary to call just at the time when we were sitting in the director's office.

It was impossible to break this vicious circle. No, we said that managers need to be on the phone, and the editor and designer would like to return to magazine pages. We asked many times to reschedule the meeting to another time. But if you gather for the sake of the meeting, forgetting about the benefits for the company, good times will not come soon.

1. Make a plan:

what is the main purpose of the meeting: to talk about innovations, listen to opinions, solve a problem, collect reports, etc.,

What questions should be discussed first?

what can be skipped and solved in working order if there is no time left, etc.

2. Define a goal

Formulate the query in the format of the result. Not "discuss the problem", but "develop a solution to the problem".

3. Fix the agreements and secure the responsibility with deadlines

If a proposal for a solution comes up, the result of the meeting will be an agreement on what steps will be taken, who will take responsibility and in what time frame.

4. Set a "convenient" time

So that employees do not stretch out reports, be more collected and think faster, schedule a meeting an hour before lunch break or the end of the working day. Tightened - skip lunch or go home later. And, of course, no one wants this.

5. Be close to the people

If you want to get frankness from your subordinates, to hear what they really think on this issue, sit among them. When you are at the head of the table, you are the boss and your opinion takes precedence. When you sit next to an employee, you are a colleague ready to discuss and find a solution together.

General Director of Skladovka LLC, a network of warehouses for individual storage of things (Self storage), skladovka.ru

The meeting should always be prepared by the leader in terms of the issues you want to discuss. Before you start, it is best to send out the agenda on which you want to get a response or organize a discussion. The meeting should end with a protocol, where the decisions made, the deadline for execution and those responsible are recorded.

Each meeting is held on the principle of continuity, so that people understand the logic of the development of projects and have the opportunity to give feedback, report on the problems that have arisen in the process of implementing decisions.

Meetings at the sites are very useful, and not in the manager's office. On the spot, you can immediately see what is really happening at the facility, what needs to be done for it to achieve its intended goals.

Working meetings of the head of the organization with representatives of departments make it possible to eventually track whether each department and the enterprise as a whole is moving towards the intended goal or deviating from it.

Development Director of CenterAgro

In our company, meetings are classified: councils, committees, meetings, which in turn have a clear time limit and agenda. Only situational meetings on force majeure do not have a predetermined agenda. For the rest, documents are prepared in advance and sent by mail to interested parties.

The rules for the meetings are:

do not interrupt each other;

do not go out;

turn off phones;

show up on time.

The effectiveness of meetings is increased by preparing and pre-distributing documents, a clear schedule of meetings for planning the working time of employees.

Gliders in the distance

Every year there are more and more companies that refuse offices and switch to a remote format. How to hold planning meetings when all employees live not only in different cities, but also in different parts of the world?

Natalya Odegova

founder of the online training center 1day1step.ru

I used to work for a large corporation. Now all my employees are from different cities and even countries, and we communicate a lot online. Previous experience allowed us to take the best and change what was clearly ineffective.

People work online in order to have more time, so all meetings are much shorter and much more efficient. We do not gather people who cannot influence the solution of the issue to a meeting, and therefore we do not waste their time in vain. Planning meeting is concise and only on business. Often this is a Skype call for 5-10 minutes with a discussion of a specific issue.

There are indicators that we regularly monitor, but we don’t call each other on them at all, but post new data in a general chat and make decisions, discuss new steps for improvement.

In terms of deadlines: since we generally have a lot of freedom, I never squeeze the shortest deadlines in development projects, but I ask: “What deadline do you believe in? How long can you answer? This approach allows the employee to consciously take responsibility and work on the task with great desire and pleasure.

And it helps a lot with intermediate checkpoints when I look into the process and see if things are moving in the right direction.

Leave your phone, tablet and other gadgets in the office. You should not take your favorite toy to a meeting with the management.

Remember that the same principle applies in the meeting as in the school. Who listens attentively, nods and asks clarifying questions, well done. And why should we be good at work? That's right - so that they remember us when they distribute the prize.

Another school rule is “eye to eye”. When praised, send the manager an open look. Cursing fell down, start looking for the most interesting feature on the table or pay attention to your pen.

Record everything, everything. Then figure out what is useful and what can be thrown away. First, bosses love to be reviewed. Secondly, the records are an alternate airfield, if you need to hide from the menacing gaze. By the way, between the pearls of the leader, you can fix your thoughts.

Actively express your opinion, if it is provided for by the format of the meeting. Even if you share a banality, you will still look more respectable against the background of colleagues who are silent and looking at their shoes. Now the main thing is to show who is the most active participant here.

We don’t even talk about sleep, yawning and an absent look. You yourself understand that this is inappropriate.

If you are completely overcome by boredom, try working in your mind. Make a to-do list, think about your project globally. Or just dream.

Do not take the planning meeting as an empty pastime. This is part of your job. And if the boss agrees to pay you a salary for spending time in his office, this is his right. But how effectively you spend this time depends on you.

© Natalia Zhilyakova, RJob

When using materials from the site rjob.ru, the author's indication and an active link to the site are required!

rjob.ru

Planning meeting in the department: an effective tool or a formality?

The head of the department is a very busy person. Indicators, regulations, decisions challenging tasks, organizing everyone and everything to move towards the goal - everything is on his shoulders. The more correctly the set of management tools is selected, the more effective the leader. Is it worth spending time on such a tool as a planning meeting in a linear division?

Even in companies where planning meetings are mandatory and regulated, managers often approach them formally - shoot back for show and work on. Planning meetings are considered a waste of time, which theorists came up with. Their motto is "Practitioners need to work, not consult." At the same time, in companies where the planning meeting is optional and is a personal initiative, there are managers who, without additional reminders, gather employees at a certain time and talk to them.

Why are these "strange" leaders so "inefficiently" wasting their precious time, if no one obliges them to do so? I had to delve deeply into this issue in recent times. The crisis has required top managers to dive deeper into the business. The rules of the game in the market have changed, and in order for the company not only to stay afloat, but also to use the crisis to strengthen its position in the market, it is necessary to become closer to customers - both external and internal.

In order to quickly respond to changes and increase the level of control over the situation, I, among other things, began to regularly join planning meetings in departments, compared various styles their conduct. The figures were revealing: it turned out that of the 12 single-profile departments in which both sales and contract enforcement are carried out, the highest and most stable indicators are where planning meetings are held weekly. And this is no coincidence.

Purpose of the meeting

If the manager answers the question about the purpose of the planning meeting: “Because it’s supposed to,” it’s better not to hold it at all. Any formal events "for show" only work in the negative, they teach you to work not for the result, but for "the appearance of movement towards the goal." The name "plannerka" suggests that its purpose is to update the movement according to the planned plan towards the goals set.

If we consider this event from the point of view of the Deming cycle (Plan - Do - Check - Akt), then the planning meeting is a regular control (Check) of activities in order to draw conclusions and, if necessary, correct the movement (Akt). But there are statistics for this! Is it worth it to gather more people? It is certainly worth it, and the main functions of the planning meeting help us to make sure of this.

The main functions of the planner

1) Information. Employees have few ways to get information about the situation in the company and the market:

• official published information, which is sometimes overlooked or not fully understood;
• gossip, often very far from the truth, but discussed with great pleasure in canteens and smoking rooms;
• first-hand information, with explanations and emphasis on important points, which the leader gives at the planning meeting, paying due attention to working out objections and reducing the effectiveness of word of mouth.

And obligatory informing employees about the movement of the department along the intended path.

2) Control. In addition to dry and categorical figures, the ability to control the atmosphere in the team, clarify the reasons for success or decline in performance. Based on the results of the planning meeting, failures in the chain of interaction within the unit and in the company are often found out, and the manager immediately takes action to eliminate them.

3) Motivational. Employees need attention. Recall the famous Hawthorne effect in management - labor productivity increases from the fact that attention is paid to the activities of employees. A planning meeting is one of the best ways to regularly remind employees that they are important and their work is given enough attention.

One of the employees in the department had a breakthrough, a take-off - a good reason to recognize achievements and, if necessary, support the competitive spirit in the department. And yet, in addition to numbers, you need to see the eyes of your employees. Managers need to listen carefully to their employees. The behavior of the employee has changed, the fuse has disappeared - a reason for the manager to include an individual conversation in the weekly plan.

4) Educational. In this function, the planning meeting is an indispensable tool for simplifying the manager's difficult managerial work. During the week, a work case, indicative for everyone, took place - the head writes it down and makes it public at the planning meeting. Thus, the annoying need to repeat the same different people many times left in the past, and we regularly and consciously “sharpen” our working tool.

5) Organizational. It is a good practice to invite representatives of related departments to meetings, especially at moments of innovation. The opportunity to establish or adjust interaction, remove conflicts, exchange experiences.

6) Disciplining. Motivation, as a management tool, has one very significant drawback: its action is short-lived. Few people are capable of self-motivation, and it is people with this ability who most often become leaders.

Discipline, regular rituals and rules, which include the planning meeting, are designed to help motivate employees. Planerka is an event. Employees are getting used to the fact that they will need not only reporting in numbers, but also a willingness to justify their indicators. Questions are prepared for the planning meeting, employees collect and transfer cases to the head, which should be shown to the entire department in their opinion. Like a family dinner on Fridays, the planning meeting becomes a habitual disciplinary action according to the rules, when everyone must postpone their business, be sure to be present at the workplace, turn to face each other, finally. This is especially important.

How often to hold meetings

I believe that the daily team briefings are only suitable for newcomers who need a mentoring style of management and support every step of the way. For an established team, planning meetings should be weekly. The main thing is that they are carried out on the same day, at the same time, and approximately coincide in duration and order of actions, which will allow maintaining the disciplining function.

An example of a possible planning scenario:

• The head makes an informational message, following the results, employees can ask clarifying questions.
• The manager announces planned indicators and asks employees questions about them. Arranges individual appointments as needed.
• The leader talks about a case study of the week or introduces an invited employee.
• The manager clarifies whether there are urgent work issues that are important for the entire department and require discussion at the planning meeting. Evaluates issues, decides what to discuss immediately, what will require a delayed decision.
• The leader talks about plans for the current week - significant events, meetings and completes the planning meeting.

Time costs

For a long time, we spend time - this is the main reason why leaders refuse to hold planning meetings. It leads to a complete rejection of this tool, or it all comes down to a brief monologue of the leader without feedback from subordinates. Only informational and slightly disciplining functions are preserved.

This is actually a problem: managing "humanely" is easier than working with a group. Managing group dynamics is the art of being a good leader. His goal is to briefly and clearly hold a planning meeting, and at the same time get feedback from employees, which will help, if necessary, correct the movement. The optimal duration is up to 20-45 minutes. It is this time from childhood that is laid in us as a period of concentration.

The strength of a leader is that he sets the rules. To prevent the planning meeting from stretching out, it is necessary to conclude a “contract for the planning meeting” with the employees. For example:

• We discuss only general issues, we take out specific ones for an individual decision.
• We are short and to the point.
• We are not distracted by work issues, we put the phones into vibration mode.
• By stating a problem, we offer a solution.
• We discuss non-working issues in non-working work time.

The set of rules may vary depending on the situation. The main thing is that the leader manages the regulations and does not delve into the problems himself. The purpose of the planning meeting is to identify, and the decision can be made later, carefully weighing and studying all the details while the department is working. The main thing is to show employees that the stated problems are being solved. Sometimes there are situations in which the planning meeting goes beyond the allotted time, the intensity in the team is clearly visible. Then you need to arrange an additional meeting, often after hours. This is the skill of a manager - to prevent the situation from heating up, to identify markers that show negative aspects in the team.

Of course, it will take time to implement the planning tool in the department. Sometimes you have to carry out more than one event before the tool becomes truly effective. When a manager becomes open to feedback, he will be surprised to hear a lot of unsaid things that employees have long wanted to say, but never had a chance. And then he asked! You have to think over the roles of your subordinates and their use in group dynamics, work with objections, argue on highest level. Many leaders do not go exactly this way - becoming, and go into individual management, which is much more labor-intensive and less effective, when there are only two steps to success.

Managers who have a fine command of this tool use it in their departments with great success, because they were able to evaluate its effectiveness. The planning meeting is not a relic of the past and not a formality, but one of the most modern and effective tools that helps in solving the most difficult task to manage - the achievement of the goals of the unit. And it is precisely from these goals that the success of the entire company is formed.

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How to effectively convey information to the team?

Some people view the planning meeting as a short-term meeting to prioritize work and current tasks, while others see it as a waste of time. Does it make sense to hold such meetings, or is only the opinion of the leader sufficient? Let's try to figure it out together.

TOP 5 most necessary articles for a merchant:

Why do leaders planner

Planerka (from the English word plan) is a meeting that is insignificant in time, but significant for the success of the chosen strategy, dedicated to the consideration of current working issues.

Why do you need a planner:

• Holding such mini-meetings helps to evaluate the results of the work done step by step and serves as a guarantee of the timely resolution of all current problems. They are not used for the global search for solutions. Separate meetings, not limited in time, are devoted to this. The main task of the planning meeting is to promptly discuss the current situation, monitor current issues and their solutions.
• Daily participation in the discussion of the company's strategy and the expression of opinions on its improvement form the staff's devotion to the company, stimulating the loyalty and efficiency of employees no worse than material benefits. Properly built communication is the basis for successful employee motivation for mutually beneficial cooperation based on loyalty and respect.
• An active discussion in the morning at a planning meeting of current issues erases the boundaries of the company's departments, makes the team more united. Each employee feels like a significant part in the implementation of plans, solving tasks or problematic issues. The interest of the staff stimulates its participation in the successful activities of the company. The lack of understanding of clearly defined goals and objectives of paramount importance, the lack of transparency of long-term plans and short-term prospects demotivate employees, reduce manageability and performance indicators.
• It is extremely important that the manager who conducts the planning meeting has the ability to correctly convey to employees information about the current activities and difficulties of each department and the company as a whole. It unites, makes joint both success and problems. It is the sense of importance of each employee in achieving a common goal, emphasized at the meeting, that forms and maintains loyalty and team spirit in the team.
• A professional approach to holding a planning meeting ensures its success, which is an excellent incentive for employees to solve everyday problems, motivates them to achieve results. Considering that such discussions provide an opportunity to receive all the necessary information from the staff in a timely manner, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of such mini-meetings during the period of innovation in the company. Quick response and elimination of errors allows the management to avoid risky situations and guarantees the success of the chosen strategy.

Signs of the effectiveness of the planning meeting are its positive results. Resolving issues, short-term planning, receiving or disseminating new information, responding to feedback - everything that constructively affects the workflow. If holding a planning meeting is perceived as a waste of time and nothing giving chatter, then this is a direct mistake of the management, who cannot clearly organize either the meeting or the work as a whole. This article will teach you how to conduct productive meetings with employees. Having understood the basic rules of the planning meeting, you will be able to accept and analyze operational information during a short meeting, draw timely conclusions and set your staff up for collective success.

What are the functions of a morning meeting?

1. Information.

To assess the real state of affairs in the company, its competitiveness and success, employees can use several sources of information:

• MEDIA. Various publications about the company, quite irregular and often out of date. general information and no specifics.
• Backroom conversations. Most often gossip that does not give any reliable information.
• Regular planning meetings, at which the manager not only expresses his opinion and describes the situation firsthand, focusing on particularly significant points, but also gives employees the opportunity to bring up topical issues, constructive proposals for discussion and jointly analyze the stability of the situation in the company and in each of its department.

2. Control.

In addition to monitoring digital indicators of work success, planning meetings help management see the real picture of relationships in the team, assess the impact of the microclimate on the growth or fall of indices. Thanks to these meetings, you can manage all parts of the workflow, find weaknesses and eliminate shortcomings in a timely manner.

3. Motivational.

The management of the company does not always have the opportunity to pay attention to each employee and the work performed by him. One of the positive aspects of holding planning meetings is the universal recognition of the achievements of a distinguished person and his encouragement, which develops a competitive spirit in the team. Otherwise, when negative changes are noted, a timely individual conversation will be relevant, aimed at clarifying the employee's problems, their causes and providing the necessary assistance. It is important for any person to realize that his work is worthy of appreciation, that he is interesting as a professional, and involving him in discussing the affairs of the company will only improve his skills.

4. Educational.

The meeting also acts as a learning element of control. Demonstration of a successful case to the entire team at once, a general discussion of the details relieves the manager of the need to prepare each employee separately, saves his time and sharpens the working tool of the staff.

5. Organizational.

The minutes of the planning meeting allow for an invitation to discuss colleagues from related departments. This has the greatest reason in the case of innovations. Timely adjustment of interaction, exchange of experience and detailed discussion remove conflicts, building mutually beneficial relationships in the team.

6. Disciplining.

Without the proper participation of management, discipline and order in the company are unlikely to be optimal. Systematic reporting on completed tasks in qualitative and quantitative terms, identifying problems in the workflow, writing relevant questions, searching for answers - everything that is regularly prepared for the planning meeting - disciplines people, organizes them and stimulates them to cooperate with each other. There are other levers of control, but material motivation is short-term, and not everyone is capable of self-motivation. It is important for the team to get together, discuss the upcoming work plans, understand their tasks and choose the right strategy.

In what form can a daily planning meeting be held?

No. 1. Summing up, information meeting.

A planning meeting held in order to obtain up-to-date information on the progress of the work process in the context of divisions and departments, on current and planned activities, emerging issues and problems, is the so-called information planning meeting. Such meetings do not require daily holding. It is enough once at the beginning of the week for half an hour to gather the heads of all departments of the company in order to outline a work plan for the next five working days. Information meetings are especially significant for the heads of fairly large companies that have at least four departments under their control.

No. 2. Planning meeting - distribution of current tasks.

Meetings of this format are held daily in the morning. The goal is for employees to receive tasks for the day. The leader should not spend a lot of time - give out instructions to everyone, formulate the final goal, give short instructions.

No. 3. Planner to discuss the issue.

In the work of the company, there are situations, tasks and problems that take a lot of time to discuss. In this case, the question is prepared and voiced to colleagues in advance, time is given to prepare the necessary information. At the same time, you determine the time limit for speaking, and a secretary is appointed. These meetings usually last up to two hours. It should also be foreseen that the discussion may drag on and breaks will be announced for 10-15 minutes, which means that tea and sweets may be needed. The results of such a planning meeting are usually sent to all its participants through the company's document management system.

No. 4. Creative planner.

Creative planning meetings are held with an insufficient number or complete absence of their own ideas. Such meetings are staged according to the principle of brainstorming, when all participants express thoughts that come into their heads on a topic, even the most ridiculous ones, and the most interesting and relevant ones are chosen from them. For such a meeting, any other creative method of searching for ideas will do.

No. 5. Planning meeting as a way to resolve conflict situations in the team.

In any team, the presence of explicit and hidden conflicts is inevitable. Often the only way out of a critical situation is to have a direct discussion between employees. Free and open discussion of the problem reduces its significance, the opportunity to express one's position without unnecessary accusations and insults transforms the energy of destructive conflict into positive energy of creation. Deeply rooted misunderstandings between colleagues can be competently resolved by contacting HR specialists, an organization psychologist, or even senior management. For the discussion, a neutral topic for the opponents of the planning meeting is chosen. There is no need to warn participants that the meeting is about conflict resolution. People should feel familiar, freely express their point of view and not understand that their conversation is carefully monitored and directed in a constructive direction by the leader. The results of the analysis of the observation, its results and conclusions must be conveyed to each participant in the conflict.

Sample meeting plan

Let's assume that the information planning meeting, lasting about half an hour, is held once a week, on Mondays. So, the rules of the meeting:

1. Information introduction of the head of the company. Answers to clarifying questions from employees.

2. Discussion of planned indicators, the level of their achievement at this stage. Questions from the manager to colleagues, in some cases - the appointment of individual meetings.

3. Demonstration of a demonstration case as an example of work or presentation to the meeting of an invited employee.

4. Identification of particularly urgent problems that require immediate solutions and discussion at the planning meeting. Analysis of questions and search for answers.

5. Informing the participants of the meeting about the planned events for the next five working days, short review upcoming events, meetings, achievements and possible difficulties. After that, the leader ends the planning meeting.

Why do you need planning regulations

For a meeting to be successful, it must be regulated. A clear ordering of the sequence and time of speeches and discussions optimizes the work of the audience, concretizes it and makes it more productive. Questions at the planning meeting can be varied, therefore, in order not to delay the process, it is common practice to send material to the participants of the morning meeting in advance. The employee is given time to think about the topic, prepare information, a response or a meaningful proposal, as well as to study the rules of the future planning meeting. Perhaps he will have questions for other participants. It is necessary to appoint a person who, during the planning meeting, monitors compliance with the time limit allotted for each item of the mini-meeting plan. Dragging out a speech or discussion, repeating the same thing, a long argument on one issue brings negativity, reduces attention to at least important topics which spoils the whole working mood of the team.

When compiling the regulations for the future planning meeting, the leader should rely on the following points:

1. There must be a specific goal of the planning meeting, a known composition of the participants.

2. The agenda should include information about the topic of the meeting, its tasks, issues proposed for consideration.

3. Mandatory presence of the leader, secretary, keeping the protocol, and participants responsible for preparing answers to the questions of the planning meeting.

4. Participants of the meeting must be informed in advance of the date, time, venue and agenda of the planning meeting.

5. The secretary keeps the minutes of the meeting, where he enters the instructions issued and the decisions taken.

6. The protocol is agreed upon, approved by the head and sent to all participants of the meeting and task performers.

7. Control over the execution of instructions is carried out responsible person. Compliance with deadlines and quality of performance are clearly monitored.

8. The minutes of the planning meeting are kept for analysis and use in finding solutions to such issues.

How to organize a meeting

• The first thing that the organizer of the planning meeting needs to pay attention to is a clear statement of the question and definition of the purpose of the meeting. The manager needs to think in advance what information will be needed to solve the work problem, who can provide it, what will be a positive result of the meeting, which specialists to familiarize with the issues raised in advance. Proper organization of the planning meeting will increase its effectiveness, discard unnecessary conversations, focusing the attention of the invitees on a specific topic.
• The second is the composition of the participants. The manager, knowing what kind of information he is interested in, must determine which specialists, managers or employees own it and can give answers to the questions posed.
• The third is the clarification of the venue. To get serious results, it is necessary that outsiders do not interfere with the discussion. The meeting room should be separate, impassable and large enough to accommodate all participants.
• Fourth, determine the start time of the meeting. The best option would be to choose a fixed day and time for planning meetings. However, if necessary, such meetings can be held at any time convenient for all its participants, especially the most important ones. Time is negotiated in advance, several hours or even days in advance.
• Fifth - drawing up regulations. The planning meeting should both begin and end at a predetermined time. Information must be presented as clearly and understandably as possible. It is for this that the order of questions and the time of the report of each of the participants are regulated. For example, the performance is given no more than 7 minutes.
• Sixth - pay attention to all the necessary details. Pens, paper, water, projector, screen, laptop, printer, etc. Everything should be prepared in advance and not take time at the planning meeting. It is better to check the technique further.
• The seventh is the appointment of a planning meeting secretary to fix the process, the results of the discussion and the preparation of the planning meeting order.

What questions to discuss at the planning meeting

The main task of holding planning meetings is to draw up mini-strategies and plans for each working day. The second task is the assessment of the previous day, reports, analysis of identified problems and assistance in their solution. You can make a table where employees will enter the received instructions, goals and a mark on their implementation. It is better to open access to all employees of the department and its head.

For example, conditionally tasks and goals can be subdivided:

1. for clients on a specific day;
2. on payments for a specific day;
3. on accounts receivable and the work done on it.

The third task is typical for thematic planning meetings. Here it is important to devote the maximum time of the meeting to a given topic or discussion of a pre-announced issue.

How to conduct planning meetings creatively, eradicating boredom

1. Nothing has such a beneficial effect on the working mood as a change of scenery. To make the planning meeting creative, it is better to choose an unexpected place for it. It can be a street, a cafe or just cozy space within walking distance of the office.
2. The time of the event should also be unusual. Half an hour before a break or end of work, during a lunch break or in the middle of a working day.
3. A creative approach can be expressed in the selection of unusual material or the issuance of it not to each participant, but only to some.
4. Switching off phones during the planning meeting is a prerequisite for focusing on solving the task. You can put them together, emphasizing the cohesion of the team.
5. The organization of the planning meeting will also become creative not in the meeting room, but in the conference call mode or via Skype.

The choice of the method of conducting should be dictated by the objectives of the meeting. It is not worth solving global issues at planning meetings prepared in the form of a game. It's more like a farce and a waste of time. Discussion of organizational issues, competitive amateur performances, corporate events, incentives, etc. - these are suitable topics for creative planning meetings that reveal the potential of employees.

Like any other meeting, the creative mini-meeting ends with the head's words of gratitude for participation, summing up. He can make notes about the conclusions, further goals and what was found at the planning meeting. effective solution working problem.

Expert opinion

Visualization on the board - an effective means of conveying information

Alexander Vinogradov,

founder and CEO of startup Revenga, Moscow

I have no doubt that displaying sentences on the board is very fruitful. Participants in the discussion are much more active in expressing their opinion, offering various options. In my previous office, there were about eight such boards. We hung them in every department and in common room for meetings. There were cases when a specially painted wall replaced the board, allowing you to write with an ordinary marker and erase it with a sponge. However, the paint was not of very high quality, it quickly fell into disrepair, and we returned to the regular format negotiating board.

Discussing any issues with a marker or chalk and a blackboard is very effective. Everyone sees your point of view, understands it, agrees, and if not, then write your own. As a result, joint efforts easily solve any problem.

The board is convenient not only for planning meetings, you can place important notes, reminders on it, any scheme looks clearer, you can write down step by step and immediately discuss the process, come up with a new product. Recording thoughts removes their blinders, allows you not to miss a single detail, especially if the process lasts more than one day. By my example, I would like to convince my colleagues and newcomers that it is not necessary to consider the presence of a board as a coercion to publicly express one's thoughts. The board is an indispensable attribute of successful work. You are used to using e-mail, Skype, and here - realizing the convenience and benefits of discussing on the board, be sure to place it in your office.

Many years of practice have confirmed my opinion that all disputes, erroneous decisions and problems are always the result of unwillingness or inability to listen to the opinions of others. In such cases, I learned to give a marker in my hands and ask me to write or draw what they are trying to convey to me. I draw or write from above, as I see it. By comparing the pictures, we see the problem more clearly, and understanding the problem is half the solution.

A new look at holding a planning meeting: meetings “on their feet” and at the signal of Elvis Presley

Most people at the word "meeting" imagine an uncomfortable room, relaxed listening to long, drawn-out reports, fruitless and not always clear discussion of some issues. Such an environment does not allow the staff to concentrate, realistically assess the situation and express a useful opinion, and the leader is forced to constantly attract the attention of the audience and remind the theme of the planning meeting.

Distinctive feature a successful leader is the ability to organize and conduct the most effective meetings of employees. The regulations prepared by him clearly define the topic of the meeting, do not give the opportunity to get away from it or move on to another one. Specific issues require specific solutions.

To come to a constructive proposal, it is not necessary to sit in chairs. Active time makes more and more popular planning meetings - "toptushki", most often held in high-tech companies, where innovative approaches to the solution of any issues are quickly picked up. Such meetings "on their feet" allow top managers to avoid protracted negotiations with a large audience, which may not even be included in the process under consideration, but expressing empty opinions.

For example, the management of Atomic Object, a software development company, starts every morning with a stand-up meeting. Mandatory attendance, keeping discussions of non-working moments to a minimum, clear questions and the same answers make these meetings as productive as possible. It has been practically proven that the duration of such meetings “on their feet” is no more than seven minutes, the staff receives the task and immediately goes to carry it out. Such a format does not allow you to relax, on the contrary, it mobilizes and sets you in a working mood.

The Wall Street Journal claims that such quick meetings were common during the First World War, when delay in making a decision was like death. Business later adopted this practice for the rapid exchange or clarification of information and the setting of short-term goals.

Science also became interested in innovation. Research by Alain Bludorn, an American scientist, representative of the University of Missouri, conducted in 1998, showed that standing meetings take a third less time, and the results are no worse than meetings held in the hall in the usual format.

In 2011, VersionOne conducted a survey of over 6,000 employees at various technology companies. 78% of them confirmed the presence of daily short meetings.

The innovative planning meeting, held while standing, is not the only trick used by Western entrepreneurs to optimize work with the staff.

One of the well-known tricks of Facebook's Mark Tonkelowitz is to organize short meetings 15 minutes before the break. He argues that this approach greatly motivates employees to speak briefly and to the point.

Holding quick meetings eliminates the delay of employees. Delayed workers should not be allowed to the ongoing discussion, as they might not hear all the information, and, delving into it, will only slow down the process.

Adobe Systems employee Jan Witucki equated the time lost due to late participants in daily meetings to the time spent developing a new software product, and introduced a penalty of $ 1 for each delay.

Another innovative nuance is the Turnstone division of furniture company Steelcase, which uses the music of Elvis Presley, in particular, his “A Little Less Conversation” (“Less chatter”), as a signal for staff meetings.

In the activities of any company, there are situations when there is no time either for serious meetings, or for "toppers", as they call planning meetings held standing up. In such cases, experienced managers recommend using mobile technologies and holding meetings on the job. Of course, virtual communication and resolving issues through corporate mail or chat will not replace live contact, but sometimes this is the best way out. While stand-up planning meetings are superior in importance not only to traditional meetings, but also meetings with the use of advanced technologies.

Effective planning rules

Rule number 1. Availability of preliminary discussions. First, the problem is considered in small groups, a consolidated solution is developed, and it is submitted for general discussion. A preliminary analysis can be carried out e-mail. Having received a letter from the manager with instructions and the necessary material, the employee studies the issue, prepares an answer and sends his options for solving the problem to the authorities.

Rule number 2. Set the exact start time of the meeting. Based on experience, successful leaders have noticed that if you call a meeting at 13-00, then it will start at least at 13-10. But if you designate a start at 12-13, then the staff takes it literally.

Rule number 3. Preparing a written agenda. Even the shortest meeting should be orderly. A written agenda for the planning meeting should be prepared and sent to the invitees in advance so as not to turn a serious discussion into unnecessary disputes.

Rule number 4. Participant interest. You cannot delegate control of the meeting to any speakers. Careful organization, a variety of tempo, format and styles of presentations will make the discussion as effective as possible. With the participation of two opponents in the meeting, who have ceased to pay attention to the others in the dispute, it is possible to change the image of the meeting and organize, for example, a meeting of two opponents.

Rule number 5. Brevity and capacity of speeches. Leadership speeches should be short and full of information. You should voice the problem, express your point of view and stop. Under no circumstances should you interrupt the speaker. Even if his opinion is completely at odds with yours, let him finish his speech, and only after that defend his position. This is not just an element of politeness, it is an emphasis on the priority of one's views.

Rule number 6. Each presentation has a short summary. The writing on the board of the topic of the meeting and brief postulates of each report will be visible to all participants. This will help you not to deviate from the topic and discuss only pressing issues.

Rule number 7. Each participant has his own place. To avoid conflict, people who have opposing views on the issues under discussion should not sit opposite each other. It is better to unobtrusively plant them side by side, without focusing on this.

Rule number 8. Formation of an action plan. It is important to show the staff that the opinions expressed during the planning meeting are important for the entire team. Based on a joint decisions taken a clear action plan is formed, which everyone is obliged to adhere to, including the leaders of the company.

Rule number 9. Restriction on leader involvement. The leader does not have to be a participant in all meetings, only those where his presence is really necessary. At the same time, he must know exactly why he is going to the event, what he must convey to the staff and what information to receive. Only the people involved in resolving the issue are invited to the planning meetings, since a large number of participants greatly complicates the discussion process.

What can be done to improve the effectiveness of planning meetings

Planning meeting time is dedicated only to the most important. Information relating to the main work of specialists with clients can come without personal interaction.

In addition to general planning meetings, it is necessary to hold meetings of the administration, meetings of the head of the company without the participation of employees, only by the management team.

The work of the team must be measured by pre-conceived clear indicators. This is the number of meetings, calls, invoices, or sales made that a specialist must complete in a certain time. You also need to know how exactly it will be evaluated. For example, if the call is successful, it entails arranging a meeting, identifying needs, updating data, etc.

In order to control the effectiveness of the transaction, tools are being introduced to track its progress. The main points in working with the client are fixed - from the first call to the receipt of funds to the current account. Clear parameters for the transition between the stages of the transaction are determined. You should also pay attention to progress in customer relations.

The key to increasing profitability is to control the dynamics of changes in the client base. A quantitative analysis of newly arrived consumers, lost and returned customers will help to take timely measures and prevent risky situations.

Expert opinion

Do employees come to planning meetings as something routine? There is a solution!

Valery Metelitsa,

CEO of Lindner, Moscow

In our company, Monday morning begins with an hour and a half meeting. We listen to experts' reports on the work done during the week, I set tasks and plans for the current week, and jointly discuss the progress of projects. Over time, the activity of staff at planning meetings has decreased. People began to perceive such meetings as something unimportant, they are sleepy, there is no emotional return, they may even be late. And I came up with an idea, the purpose of which is to diversify a routine event, to introduce an element of novelty into it.

To do this, I prepare in advance short but very exciting speeches on a variety of topics: a positive attitude in psychology, unusual stories from the lives of prominent people, self-realization and self-improvement, unrealistic scientific achievements etc. I take some stories from books, facts from the Internet, something from periodicals. I speak, I read, I quote. Sometimes I use a flipchart - I post information, then I comment. The most important thing is that the information is of interest to everyone without exception.

My blog on the infonsuccess.ru resource about success also helps me. There I test themes, analyzing the reviews of friends, subscribers, business partners. Stories help me to positively influence subordinates, examples of success always inspire and awaken the desire for self-improvement.

To be honest, initially the staff took everything very wary. The looks and whispers betrayed everything. But now the “morning readings” have captivated almost everyone. Uninvited experts can also come to the beginning of the planning meeting. For example, at the first part of the planning meeting dedicated to reading, I always see the secretary and the chief accountant. Bottom line: morning planning meetings have become very popular and interesting for employees. Lateness has stopped, people are active, interested in the next topic in advance and waiting for something positive. The productivity of meetings has also increased. The dry format of meetings was diluted with an element of drive and positive. The readings have given rise to discussions, colleagues are more open in their conversations with me and with each other. Many offer their examples and topics. I suggested to the head of sales to prepare information about fitness for the brain.

Business plan for a beauty salon for an employment center

Most sales managers are excellent at communicating and selling, but unfortunately, stability, following a work plan, analyzing and reviewing efforts made are not their strengths. If a manager has a lot of orders this month, he inevitably relaxes: he starts making fewer cold calls, stops working with “asleep” clients.

At planning meetings, the head of the sales department can note the emerging decline in the work of the manager and bring to the attention of the employee that his shirking from work has been noticed and put under control. Of course, managers will strongly oppose participation in the planning meeting, referring to the fact that they have absolutely no time, and right now a deal is on fire. You need to understand that it is the leader who, through planning meetings, implements the function of administrative management and organizes the work of the team without downturns and emergency work.

How to organize and conduct a planning meeting in the most effective way?

Time

Planners should be held in the morning. If the working day begins with a planning meeting, managers will no longer be late for work, in addition, the planning meeting will give charge for work during the day.

Reporting

Managers must bring their reports for the previous day to the planning meeting: a log of calls and meetings and a sales report. The first document shows how the manager used working time, the second - what results he achieved. Often, even at the stage of preparation for the planning meeting, it becomes obvious to the manager that he expended efforts in the wrong direction, and the effectiveness of his work could be higher. Another document that the manager prepares for the planning meeting is a list of planned calls and meetings. It is important! Firstly, the finished list indicates that the manager can start work immediately after the planning meeting is over, and secondly, the manager can adjust this list and set priorities.

Regulations

On the one hand, the planning meeting should not turn into a meeting for many hours, on the other hand, a formal meeting for five minutes will also not bring results. At proper organization You can easily do it in half an hour. At the beginning of the planning meeting, the manager checks the reports of employees, and in case of non-fulfillment of the plan (by calls, meetings or sales), he finds out the reason: error, negligence or objective circumstances. The work of each employee is given an objective assessment. This can be a simple verbal remark or praise, the main thing is that sales managers feel constant control from the head - in this case, they begin to work much better.

The head of the department is a very busy person. Indicators, regulations, solving complex problems, organizing everyone and everything to move towards the goal - everything is on his shoulders. The more correctly the set of management tools is selected, the more effective the leader. Is it worth spending time on such a tool as a planning meeting in a linear division?

Even in companies where planning meetings are mandatory and regulated, managers often approach them formally - shoot back for show and work on. Planning meetings are considered a waste of time, which theorists came up with. Their motto is "Practitioners need to work, not consult." At the same time, in companies where the planning meeting is optional and is a personal initiative, there are managers who, without additional reminders, gather employees at a certain time and talk to them.

Why are these "strange" leaders so "inefficiently" wasting their precious time, if no one obliges them to do so? I had to delve deep into this issue lately. The crisis has required top managers to dive deeper into the business. The rules of the game in the market have changed, and in order for the company not only to stay afloat, but also to use the crisis to strengthen its position in the market, it is necessary to become closer to customers - both external and internal.

In order to quickly respond to changes and increase the level of control over the situation, I, among other things, began to regularly join planning meetings in departments and compared different styles of conducting them. The figures were revealing: it turned out that of the 12 single-profile departments in which both sales and contract enforcement are carried out, the highest and most stable indicators are where planning meetings are held weekly. And this is no coincidence.

Purpose of the meeting

If the manager answers the question about the purpose of the planning meeting: “Because it’s supposed to,” it’s better not to hold it at all. Any formal events "for show" only work in the negative, they teach you to work not for the result, but for "the appearance of movement towards the goal." The name "plannerka" suggests that its purpose is to update the movement according to the planned plan towards the goals set.

If we consider this event from the point of view of the Deming cycle (Plan - Do - Check - Akt), then the planning meeting is a regular control (Check) of activities in order to draw conclusions and, if necessary, correct the movement (Akt). But there are statistics for this! Is it worth it to gather more people? It is certainly worth it, and the main functions of the planning meeting help us to make sure of this.

The main functions of the planner

1) Information. Employees have few ways to get information about the situation in the company and the market:

• official published information, which is sometimes overlooked or not fully understood;
• gossip, often very far from the truth, but discussed with great pleasure in canteens and smoking rooms;
• first-hand information, with explanations and emphasis on important points, which the leader gives at the planning meeting, paying due attention to working out objections and reducing the effectiveness of word of mouth.

And obligatory informing employees about the movement of the department along the intended path.

2) Control. In addition to dry and categorical figures, the ability to control the atmosphere in the team, clarify the reasons for success or decline in performance. Based on the results of the planning meeting, failures in the chain of interaction within the unit and in the company are often found out, and the manager immediately takes action to eliminate them.

3) Motivational. Employees need attention. Recall the famous Hawthorne effect in management - labor productivity increases from the fact that attention is paid to the activities of employees. A planning meeting is one of the best ways to regularly remind employees that they are important and their work is given enough attention.

One of the employees in the department had a breakthrough, a take-off - a good reason to recognize achievements and, if necessary, support the competitive spirit in the department. And yet, in addition to numbers, you need to see the eyes of your employees. Managers need to listen carefully to their employees. The behavior of the employee has changed, the fuse has disappeared - a reason for the manager to include an individual conversation in the weekly plan.

4) Educational. In this function, the planning meeting is an indispensable tool for simplifying the manager's difficult managerial work. During the week, a work case, indicative for everyone, took place - the head writes it down and makes it public at the planning meeting. Thus, the annoying need to repeat the same thing to different people many times has remained in the past, and we regularly and consciously “sharpen” our working tool.

5) Organizational. It is a good practice to invite representatives of related departments to meetings, especially at moments of innovation. The opportunity to establish or adjust interaction, remove conflicts, exchange experiences.

6) Disciplining. At motivation, as a management tool, there is one very significant drawback: its action is short-lived. Few people are capable of self-motivation, and it is people with this ability who most often become leaders.

Discipline, regular rituals and rules, which include the planning meeting, are designed to help motivate employees. Planerka is an event. Employees are getting used to the fact that they will need not only reporting in numbers, but also a willingness to justify their indicators. Questions are prepared for the planning meeting, employees collect and transfer cases to the head, which should be shown to the entire department in their opinion. Like a family dinner on Fridays, the planning meeting becomes a habitual disciplinary action according to the rules, when everyone must postpone their business, be sure to be present at the workplace, turn to face each other, finally. This is especially important.

How often to hold meetings

I believe that the daily team briefings are only suitable for newcomers who need a mentoring style of management and support every step of the way. For an established team, planning meetings should be weekly. The main thing is that they are carried out on the same day, at the same time, and approximately coincide in duration and order of actions, which will allow maintaining the disciplining function.

An example of a possible planning scenario:

• The head makes an informational message, following the results, employees can ask clarifying questions.
• The manager announces planned indicators and asks employees questions about them. Arranges individual appointments as needed.
• The leader talks about a case study of the week or introduces an invited employee.
• The manager clarifies whether there are urgent work issues that are important for the entire department and require discussion at the planning meeting. Evaluates issues, decides what to discuss immediately, what will require a delayed decision.
• The leader talks about plans for the current week - significant events, meetings and completes the planning meeting.

Time costs

For a long time, we spend time - this is the main reason why leaders refuse to hold planning meetings. It leads to a complete rejection of this tool, or it all comes down to a brief monologue of the leader without feedback from subordinates. Only informational and slightly disciplining functions are preserved.

This is actually a problem: managing "humanely" is easier than working with a group. Managing group dynamics is the art of being a good leader. His goal is to briefly and clearly hold a planning meeting, and at the same time get feedback from employees, which will help, if necessary, correct the movement. The optimal duration is up to 20-45 minutes. It is this time from childhood that is laid in us as a period of concentration.

The strength of a leader is that he sets the rules. To prevent the planning meeting from stretching out, it is necessary to conclude a “contract for the planning meeting” with the employees. For example:

• We discuss only general issues, we take out specific ones for an individual decision.
• We are short and to the point.
• We are not distracted by work issues, we put the phones into vibration mode.
• By stating a problem, we offer a solution.
• Non-working issues are discussed during non-working hours.

The set of rules may vary depending on the situation. The main thing is that the leader manages the regulations and does not delve into the problems himself. The purpose of the planning meeting is to identify, and the decision can be made later, carefully weighing and studying all the details while the department is working. The main thing is to show employees that the stated problems are being solved. Sometimes there are situations in which the planning meeting goes beyond the allotted time, the intensity in the team is clearly visible. Then you need to arrange an additional meeting, often after hours. This is the skill of a manager - to prevent the situation from heating up, to identify markers that show negative aspects in the team.

Of course, it will take time to implement the planning tool in the department. Sometimes you have to carry out more than one event before the tool becomes truly effective. When a manager becomes open to feedback, he will be surprised to hear a lot of unsaid things that employees have long wanted to say, but never had a chance. And then he asked! You have to think over the roles of your subordinates and their use in group dynamics, work with objections, and argue at the highest level. Many leaders do not go exactly this way - becoming, and go into individual management, which is much more labor-intensive and less effective, when there are only two steps to success.

Managers who have a fine command of this tool use it in their departments with great success, because they were able to evaluate its effectiveness. The planning meeting is not a relic of the past and not a formality, but one of the most modern and effective tools that helps in solving the most difficult task to manage - the achievement of the goals of the unit. And it is precisely from these goals that the success of the entire company is formed.

Organize and conduct planning meetings as efficiently as possible.

Find a solution to the problem stated for discussion or set the direction for the development of the situation in a constructive direction.

It is interesting to hold a planning meeting so that the participants have no time to yawn and they do not have the feeling of wasted time.

Action plan

1. Get acquainted with the proposed method of organizing a planning meeting.

2. Prepare yourself, prepare the necessary materials and invite participants.

3. Hold a planning meeting.

4. Summarize the results of the planning meeting and familiarize all participants with them.

How to organize a meeting

First What is required for the planning meeting is the question or topic of the meeting. What work problem do you want to solve? What positive effect for the work of the organization will be the result of the planning meeting. Familiarize the meeting participants with this issue in advance. Thus, you will save time during the planning meeting, and the participants in the discussion may come already having interesting ideas on your question.

Second- These are the people who will participate in the planning meeting. What kind of specialists and managers of what level, or what kind of line employees do you need to find the answer to the question.

Third- location of the meeting. It is important that it be a separate room or even a special meeting room. Where there is enough space for everyone, outsiders (staff not participating in the planning meeting) will not be able to disturb you and the phones will not ring.

Fourth- the timing of the meeting. It is desirable that it be convenient for all participants or permanent. For example, daily planning meetings are held every day at 8:30 sharp. In any case, when choosing the time of the planning meeting, you will have to focus on the most important participants. And appoint it in advance, for several hours, or rather, days.

Fifth- Rules for holding a planning meeting. It is important not only to start the planning meeting on time, but also to finish it on time. Determine in advance the order in which the questions will be discussed and the time allotted to each participant. Limit it, this will make the reports concise and as informative as possible. For example, one performance is no more than 10 minutes.

sixth- improvised materials. The minimum required is pens for all participants and paper. Take care of this yourself, in advance, so that you do not have to waste discussion time looking for what and on what to write. You may also need: flip chart, projector, screen, laptop, printer. All equipment must be prepared and tested in advance.

seventh– the host of the planning meeting or the secretary, who will record the process and the results of the discussion of your issue.

Planning formats

1. Summing up, information meeting.

Such planning meetings can be held weekly at the beginning of the week for leaders of all departments in your organization.

What are these planners for?

2. Planning meeting - distribution of current tasks.

Usually held at the beginning of each working day. The format is obvious - the manager gives subordinates tasks for the day. The time of the event should also not be stretched - everyone received the task and went to complete it.

3. Planning meeting to discuss the issue raised.

You formulate your question in advance, which was formulated for you life itself and the current situation in your market. You voice the purpose of the planning meeting, send this information to the participants. Ask them to prepare (if necessary) on the subject. Determine in advance the rules and the secretary of the planning meeting. Send the results of the planning meeting to all participants. The time for such a planning meeting is no more than two hours. But there are times when more time is needed. In this case, he will plan organized breaks of 15-20 minutes for tea and just rest. (Prepare tea and sweets in advance too!)

4. Creative planning meeting.

Requests for work in coaching
1) Development of a resource of creativity for growth (self-development, professional growth, business development)
2) Solution internal conflicts, overcoming crises with the help of a resource of creativity

The meeting, says Sergey Logachev, is not just a tool for setting managerial tasks and receiving feedback from employees. A lot depends on how planning meetings and operational meetings are held in the company: both the efficiency of each individual employee and the efficiency of the company as a whole. In the meantime, Mr. Logachev notes, this is a real chaos in Russian organizations.

Formatting meetings makes the team hierarchy more transparent

The main symptom of ineffective meetings is the loss of time, visible to the naked eye, Sergei Logachev states. At the same time, both parties remain dissatisfied - both the manager, who expects an increase in efficiency and productivity of labor, and his subordinates, who are interested in agreeing on everything on terms that are most beneficial to them.

The second manifestation of inefficiency that I often notice is that employees begin to mimic, that is, to pretend that they need and are interested in all these meetings, knowing full well that the minutes and hours spent in the meeting room are the time when you can not work, and then blame the leadership itself for this, they say, it too often distracts people from their main work. But worst of all, ineffective meetings can be grounds for dismissal. See for yourself: employees, at the initiative of the manager, are forced to discuss unstructured information, waste time on chatter, and when the director suddenly demands the implementation of plans, shifting responsibility from one head to another begins. The subordinates draw a simple conclusion for themselves: we have bad management, it's time to leave here. And the team begins to film, and not alone, but in whole divisions. These are already quite specific human losses that an improperly organized meeting can lead to

What are the main mistakes that top managers make during meetings.

The main mistake is when the leader himself does not know what he wants. Therefore, the meeting algorithm often turns into a hackneyed scheme for “selling” a solution, when the manager comes and says: “I want this!” Employees begin to report to him about the reasons and problems due to which the goal cannot be achieved. The head rests, but after some time, “convinced” by his subordinates, he lowers the bar. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and disperses, each with his own interest: the leader “forced” his subordinates, the subordinates “persuaded” the director. With this approach, the game "I don't understand you" becomes part of the corporate culture. And this is just one example of working "with rot".

What is the right way to set goals for meetings?

The leader should know better than his subordinates what he wants to achieve and in what time frame. He is a strategist and is good at representing entry and exit points. The process itself is better known by its subordinates. The task of the manager is to set a real bar for employees, to correctly assess the potential of the company. If there are excuses, deal with them wisely. The simplest thing is to set tasks in a SMART format, which allows employees to achieve the same starting understanding of the task, practically prohibits shifting responsibility in the course of its implementation, “inventing” new performance criteria or shifting deadlines. That is, the SMART format provides for the elimination of "childhood diseases" of management when setting tasks.

It is at the operating room or meeting that the manager must specifically provoke the resistance of employees in order to cope with it here and thereby prevent its occurrence in the future. A typical miscalculation in this case is excessive rigidity (interruptions, criticisms, often rudeness as a response to inadequate actions of subordinates) or connivance (talking with subordinates, “persuasion”, disputes). If we do not find a way to test the loyalty of employees at this stage in our presence, then the resistance to completing tasks will increase as we work with them: there will be current work situations, time and resource overheads, friction within the team about motivation and distribution of responsibilities. To prevent this from happening, some need to delegate something, the second need to be motivated, and the third should be assigned strict control from other subordinates. That is, it is necessary to minimize problems at the stage of setting goals.

The second mistake follows from the first: directors often follow the team and, instead of pushing their own decision, get involved in discussions about what should be done, how to do it, and whether it should be done at all. Many discussions are deliberately bred by subordinates in order to "eat" more working time, and if the manager allows this, this indicates his inability to manage the unit.

But isn't discussion a way to get feedback from subordinates?

To avoid confusion, let's define the concepts. There are meeting formats, the purpose of which is to manage the unit: planning meetings, operational meetings, meetings. They have a goal and an algorithm for achieving the goal. These are concrete tools, like a wrench. They are taught in training. And there are meeting formats, the purpose of which is a collective discussion: brainstorming, discussion, exchange of views. These formats do not have technologies, but a strategy - a common sequence of actions: initial information, goal, collective discussion, summary. Discussion in the process of managing a team is an indicator that the leader has not thought through the task. At "management" planning meetings or meetings, clarifications are acceptable, not discussions.

The common problem of Russian companies in holding meetings is that there is no understanding of this division, this structure. And structure is culture. There are standards everywhere - in sales, in negotiations, in the preparation and execution of documentation, but for some reason there are very often no standards in holding planning meetings, operational meetings and meetings. This "unculturedness" is manifested even in the conceptual apparatus. We call all collective events meetings. And the meeting is actually just one of the possible formats. There is also a glider and an operative.

And what is the difference?

Everything is very simple. A planning meeting is a reminder of what the unit needs to accomplish. Operativka - a meeting to resolve a problem situation. A meeting is held to determine new tasks that need to be solved. This leads to different requirements for the activity of participants. A planning meeting is just a test of mutual understanding, creativity is inappropriate here. The meeting, on the contrary, needs high activity of the participants, and the leader acts more like a moderator.

What will happen if we invite active and creative people to the planning meeting? Or will we invite people who are not capable of making decisions to the meeting? The first will be bored, the second will sit out. And all this is inefficiently spent working time.

Wait, but if we are talking about the fact that the discussions at the meeting are unacceptable, then what kind of creativity and gushing of ideas can there be?

A meeting can be held only if the team has already developed a common culture of rational use of human potential and time at simpler management events - a planning meeting and an operational meeting. Then it is possible to achieve an optimal balance between the structuredness of the algorithm for setting tasks and the personal initiative of the meeting participants.

Ideally, it is necessary to invite to the planning meeting, operational and meeting different employees. Selection should be carried out not only by official status, but also by activity and business qualities. Most often, this is done as follows: first, a planning meeting is held, all the parties involved in the process under discussion gather for it. If a problem arises, then some people are released, only those who are able to actively participate in resolving the situation remain. If suddenly there is a need to discuss new directions, then a very narrow circle of employees remains and a meeting is held. Although it doesn't happen that often. The main activity of the company is still planning meetings and operational meetings, and meetings are inherently closer to strategic planning sessions.

The time frame for each format, I suppose, is also different?

Usually, the planning meeting lasts 5-10 minutes, the RAM - up to an hour, the meeting - up to 1.5 hours. It is permissible to carry out all activities one after another. The best time for planning meetings and operative meetings - morning. Meetings are best broken into two parts. In the evening - a planometric part, where the main tasks are announced, and a full-fledged meeting is scheduled for the next morning, so that each participant has time to think. Very good practice, but rarely anyone does it.

What gives the company the use of formats?

As soon as it has settled in people's heads how a planning meeting differs from a meeting, and a meeting from a meeting, they are already able to adequately calculate their strength and, thus, most effectively participate in a collective event.

But the most important thing is that such a structure (planning - operational - meeting) allows you to divide subordinates into groups. She honestly informs people: so far you are only worthy of a planning meeting, you are able to participate in the operational, and you have already grown up to meetings. This allows employees to position each other in the team, because when they work in the same department, there is often no understanding that this specialist is better and this one is worse. And as soon as we determined the circle of participants in planning meetings, operational meetings and meetings, we cut their priorities: which of them to study, and which to teach. As a result, the company hierarchy becomes more transparent.

The second plus from such cutting is that the participants of operational meetings and meetings can already be delegated some of the powers, which means saving a lot of time. But since delegation involves solving the whole complex difficult questions associated with additional motivation and transfer of responsibility, it is much easier for managers to hold meetings the old fashioned way than to structure something there.

Any operative and planning meeting is always a translation of the management style that the director professes. According to the estimates given by Sergey Logachev, about 70% of Russian leaders adhere to authoritarianism in relations with their subordinates, which is quite understandable. The conflict management style, when the director is the tsar, and everyone else is a mob, is becoming obsolete, although he still has his adherents, and the democratic style introduced by Western management, Mr. Logachev believes, turns out to be ineffective in the domestic business environment: “People do not responsibility for their work, because they do not hold on to it. Personnel shortage will grow, and this irresponsibility will be produced further.” Therefore, the authoritarian style turns out to be the most appropriate for modern business conditions, and it is this style that is most often broadcast during meetings.

Does the most common mean the most optimal?

I wouldn't say so. Of course, when there is a tough competition, time becomes a decisive factor. And if a company does not start today in one or another segment of the market, tomorrow it may not exist at all. Authoritarian style saves time. But it also shortens the life of the company. How? Authoritarian organizations have more turnover. People change more often, and with them traditions and experience are lost, and in the end the company turns gray, which means it loses. More correct option- flexible management style, when the wishes and capabilities of each employee are taken into account on the basis of a system of rules. Synonyms for the word "flexible" in this context are "constructive", "responsible". A flexible leader means an educated person who applies the acquired knowledge and skills in practice.

A manifestation of the authoritarian style is often the failure to comply with the elementary rules for holding a meeting. For example, leaders do not announce the agenda or announce it, but only if you ask yourself, and theses are formulated in a very in general terms and non-specifically.

This is understandable, because any manager also considers the meeting as a way of self-affirmation in the team. But it is also a matter of culture. Any agenda must contain three mandatory element. First, the topic of the meeting. The second is the time, and it is necessary to indicate the time not only of the beginning, but also of the end of the event, so that employees can plan their day. If there is no end time, this inevitably means that business processes will be delayed. Why? As Gleb Arkhangelsky rightly says, if a person has the opportunity not to do something, then he will do it last. So because of the meeting, the boundaries of which are indefinite, the whole working day can go down the drain. The third item, which must be on the agenda, is the very format so that employees can calculate their strength. If a person knows the topic, time and format of the deliberative event, his efficiency rises.

And if the leader says: “I am the director and therefore I myself will determine the rules of each of our meetings.” How to be subordinate?

You can take the initiative and offer to hold one of the "science" meetings. At one time I was impressed by such an example. Once I was asked to set up a consultative process in a company where planning meetings and operative meetings took too much time. They showed a video recording of the meeting: the director, in the presence of 16 tops, solved half the problem for half an hour. I just couldn't watch anymore. I explained to the participants what formats are, what elements they consist of, gave examples and necessary demonstrations, and then each of them formulated a task for himself to solve one or another of his problems. 16 people - 16 tasks. The tasks partly overlapped with the tasks of other departments, so they determined the circle of participants, who would solve these tasks, and the format that they would implement. In addition, the guys had a sense of humor, so they appointed the chief accountant, who had almost zero communication skills, to be the leader of the meeting. And in 15 minutes they solved four problems. Calculate the efficiency! And it's just in technology, in format!

There is such a law of Hendrickson: when a problem requires many meetings, they become more important than the problem itself.

I haven't seen organizations that have too many meetings. And there is only one reason for this: as soon as meetings begin to take up 30-40% of the working time, they become "obscene" in nature. Simply put, people get tired of them, and therefore they begin to be late, miss, sabotage, criticize, and eventually meetings naturally become less. That is, as soon as the number of meetings reaches a critical threshold, people themselves understand: stop, we are doing something wrong. This is a self-regulating process, and no one, even the most demanding boss, is able to reverse it.

Rules for an effective meeting:

• Learn to set tasks for subordinates in the SMART format;
• Conduct a clear selection of meeting participants;
• Minimum discussion. Clarifications are acceptable, not discussions;
• Provoke the resistance of the team at the stage of setting tasks so that there is no sabotage in the process of their implementation;
• Allocate responsibility so that it can be controlled;
• Reward the distinguished and punish the guilty in front of everyone. No decisions behind employees' backs! This is your company, which begins with your information space.

Elena Zholobova