As the new calendar year begins, countless firms are “meeting hungry” deciding new product projects to become a reality and go to market. If the company is sensible, the company will also be holding packaging meetings. If not, the company may be in for a surprise when ready to release the product.
It is suggested packaging project meetings occur and to have guidelines for progress. Below are a few unspoken rules that may or may not assist:
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Attendees are aligned with the project before the meeting.
In the initial phases of the project everyone must be a wanting or willing participant of the meeting. If participants lack involvement, do not comprehend the project, or attend solely for the free food; it may be best to eliminate them from future meetings in a courteous manner and bring them back as needed.
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Limit use of personal devices to allow full attention.
Cellphones going off in the middle of the meeting are a common blunder people make interrupting and distracting the meeting. If any kind of personal device is allowed, there is always an individual with their head buried in it. Eight out of ten times the individual is not conducting work that is pertinent to the meeting. This is counter productive to the team and is rude. If the matter is urgent, step out of the meeting briefly and conduct your business.
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Arrange an opportunity for attendees to speak their opinion ahead of decision making.
Allowing individuals to have an opportunity to speak with their perspective provides a voice and exhibits value. Participants may not have the opportunity to do this in other work situations because of daily tasks and regular job duties.
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Document decisions and provide to attendees.
Countless projects have meetings where decisions have been made. In future meetings, no one remembers the decision outcome due to lack of memory or documentation. It is always a good practice to have a note taker and/or meeting minutes to keep the project on track. Otherwise meetings can become a vortex of repetitiveness.
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If multiple attendees have various opinions and will not budge, move on to other topics and comeback to the point of contention at a latter time.
Everyone has been a part of meetings where two parties are in disagreement. At first it can be exciting to hear and reason with differing perspectives. After awhile it can become a deterrent to project progress At times it can turn into an internal comedic/dramatic episode. This is not good for the project or the team.
If no decision can be made during the meeting, seek out the two parties and have a separate meeting. Comprehend common ground to come to a decision. If a compromise cannot be achieved, the meeting manager needs to make a well informed decision on their own.
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Keep the meetings to a manageable time duration. Stay on time!
Conducting meetings that are time appropriate based on the items needed to be discussed is vital. It is not necessary to try to fulfill the entire time slot if there are no items to talk about. The worst is someone who “vampires” others time by discussing irrelevant items. All members need to be cognizant of others busy schedules.
Meeting attendees who arrive late to meetings should not bring up previously discussed items. It can change the entire flow of the meeting. The individual should reach out to the meeting organizer after the meeting or review the notes/minute minutes provided.
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Make sure the decision-makers or gate keepers are present in some capacity of the meeting.
Having packaging project meetings with decision-makers are key to being successful. If decision makers are not in attendance, the project might as well not begin due to the level of importance they have.
It is common knowledge these individuals may have busy schedules and cannot attend all meetings Department representatives may have to be substituted. The information gathered from the meetings need to be captured and communicated to the absentee parties efficiently and effectively.
If your company has project management challenges, contact Pack Protocols at [email protected] or 657-204-6093.