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As widely known, communication is a vital facet of everyday human interaction, with various arenas providing critical avenues through which effective trade, commerce, and service-provision, as well as governance takes place. The same is true, especially in reference to efficient and effective organisational management. Of importance is the organisational facet of firm-meetings i.e. boardroom, executive, staff and company meetings, where fundamentals of the firm’s overall journey are laid out and expressed. Through shared ideals, perspectives, experience and knowledge, various entities are able to grow, with firm expansion and new business ventures being by-products of consensus building. Through planning and conduct of effective meetings, organisational communication managers are able to chart a way forward, availing all possible input, skill-sets and competencies that are inert within the organisation/firm entity itself.
Communications Management: Effective Meeting
Effective meeting management is a required competency, where debate and consensus building is not only encouraged, but also nurtured, towards improving overall company/firm efficiency and effectiveness in undertaking of business activities and ventures. As such, a communication manager is an individual, who enacts various responsibilities towards managing an entity/firm’s communication department, by way of communicating the entity’s activities, developments, future goals/missions, as well as achievements to its consumer base, potential customers, its shareholding entities as well as the government/ political entity in existence.
As a communication manager of exclusive paper, I am in-charge of correspondence between my company and its various partners in the economic sector. As part of the job description, I hold various responsibilities that are fundamental towards the firm’s overall outward-projection/ image, which is critical in stabilising and further cultivating the requisite client-customer relationship. As such, my department is concerned primarily with the aspect of effective communication of company news to not only our existing customer-base, but also targeting potential market arenas. Adding on to that is the need for management of overall internal communication mechanisms, within the firm, which will aid in enhancing efficiency and result in the entity’s effective competitiveness.
The above being noted, pertinent roles/ responsibilities in such a department vary according to the kind of organisation it is in, primarily influenced by its business model. As an employee in a firm focused on service provision (service firm), I and fellow employees in the communication department have to focus on issues pertinent to the service industry. Consequently, I am responsible for the design of the firm’s overall communication structure/system, as well as defining broadly the objectives of our department. In addition, I am responsible for not only monitoring, but also managing all communication aspects pertaining to the firm, with further duties of arranging for/ organizing crisis communication/ meetings when/ if necessary.
Adding on to that is my role of organizing appropriate training of staff, towards effectively imputing their best skill-sets and competencies to the firm’s advantage. An appropriate application of the department’s role is the utility of the communications method – weekly reporting – which due to its involvement of all firm employees enables us to chart the best way forward as pertaining to company communication. Each employee is required to input information concerning their activities, as well as future plans, in addition to any other requisite data that is deemed vital towards the whole firm’s effectiveness. Management then receives these reports, where summaries are made, after debate and consensus, with an overall summary being produced.
The CEO and the firm’s Board of Directors consequently take up the mandate of charting the best way forward, with my department being crucial towards communicating effectively the (agreed upon) company’s goals and objectives. As such, effective meetings are both integral (as pertaining to the achievement of set company goals as well as successful task completion), in addition to being reflective of overall team functionality. Accordingly, even when conducted in a synchronized manner or in real-time or via remote conferencing, as well as in the form of in-person conferences, organisational/ team meetings are necessary for efficient and effective management of team/ firm tasks, as well as overall productivity.
It is through such effective meetings, that open conversations are cultivated, drawing upon each pertinent member’s skill-sets, knowledge and perspective, especially towards problem solving, as well as availing group-support that aims at enhancing overall output. Consequently, meetings are critical for greater task management as well as team/employees preparation for tasks ahead. An effective communication manager is able to follow given guidelines towards controlling the overall outcome of most meetings, with this necessitating three core phases in an effective meeting schedule. Hence, an effective meeting entails planning of the meeting, the actual conduct of the meeting, as well as the conclusion of the same.
Trainee managers are also liable to have this knowledge, which are fundamental in shaping up firm-entity output, as put in reference to meeting conclusions/ agreements. Consequently, there is a need to focus on meeting preparation, physical/ virtual facilitation, active participation, as well as eventual evaluation processes. Through conduct of the above, effects and influences are positive in their support of overall team productivity. From all the above-mentioned, an effective meeting is a requisite in all organisational structures, as a fundamental of improved output as well as enhanced consumer-firm/ organisation relationships.
The aforementioned three core steps can be further subdivided into meeting practices that are positively impactful on overall business conduct. First of all, there is a need for the organisation of meeting logistics, where the meeting’s location, space set-up, time and date, as well as support technology is verified. This would be followed by the distribution of an agenda before such a process. Time management is a vital competency as pertaining to efficiency and overall effectiveness, so the meeting should start and consequently end on time. Good management entails the registration of attendance, with this necessitating opening of the meeting with member check-ins. For civilized debate that is crucial towards effective results, there is also a need for establishing, as well as reviewing ground rules to be followed.
Following the above, there would be a need of effective administrative role assigning, which as such, enables the smooth flow of activities/ issues in the meeting. Afterwards, there would be a need of summarizing the decisions reached, in addition to assigning action items to various departments present. In the closing phases of the meeting, there would be a debriefing session, where all the meeting’s minutes are evaluated, in addition to planning for future improvements. Lastly, there would be the final requirement of distributing meeting minutes promptly, especially to the critical heads of departments, so that to effect smooth translation of ideals, perspectives or inputs into practical reality. While all the above may entail requisite fundamentals, especially in conducting effective meetings, the issuance of advance notices should never be ignored.
Therefore, one should check to see if adequate notice (time) has been provided to those attendees invited, with the meeting coordinates/ space being included in the general information. The meeting space itself should be well organised, with physical effects being conducive towards enhanced hearing, communications and effective vision. Seating arrangements, room temperature and refreshments are amongst critical aspects to be considered. Technical issues often tend to be a let-down, even in meetings that are adequately planned-for and effectively carried out. Hence, prior testing of equipment, in addition to resolving of any present issues is a requirement, with highly recommended best-practices being suggestive of the need for prior rehearsal, before the actual meeting procedure.
Technical issues as such, necessitate the presence of technically savvy individuals/ team members, who should be able to competently handle any occurring technology-based glitches. In cases of teleconferencing, it is fundamental to ensure that those being teleconferenced have a chance to provide their input, through provision of clear guidelines/directions. This provision of clear cues for their contribution, as their absence means less coordinated contribution on their part, especially without guidance. An agenda provides opportunities for enhanced participation, as confusion is prevented in such a meeting, especially as pertaining to those who are required to address various topics.
Additionally is the fact that it does provide reasons necessitating timely attendance of the same, especially by those members presenting something, or as a result of their interest in listed topics. This provides the meeting with an overall structure, which is crucial to efficient time management. Ground rules, which are respectful of participating members’ / employees’ time, should be set, with late-comers being briefed later on, without necessarily having to recap all that has been said. With respect to the finishing time of the meeting, the time set should be adhered to, without running past such set time durations. Through focus on the member’s check-in aspect of the effective meeting, a communication manager is able to draw up pertinent issues, debates and questions that may arise.
The above-mentioned is crucial due to the available statistics, which are indicative of this step being described as a relationship enhancer, amongst the firm’s employees, with huge potential in the form of large dividends on overall performance and efficiency. Adding on to that is the fact that it brings in busy individuals, into the meeting’s overall purpose, allowing them to share their inputs. It is often encouraged during this process, for employees to share their distractions, so that to consequently receive support. Check-in questions enable greater support of the team’s (employees&rsquo
development, which is crucial to their individual performance, as well as enhanced team performance/ output.With the above in place, it is worth noting that as Goethe famously put it that – knowing is not sufficient, so one must apply, and willingness on its part is not adequate, so is the need for one’s action. In a team, leadership is shared, and as my firm’s communication manager, I am familiar with the need for delegation of duties. As a measure, there is a need to rotate roles given, with all employees taking a responsibility towards the accomplishment of shared goals/ objectives. Through establishing and successfully ensuring each member’s commitment towards realizing the clearly articulated mutual goals, the communication of both feelings and ideals, in accurate and clear manner is crucial. Active participation, as well as overall acknowledgement of various input should be encouraged, with these aiding in the overall influence of all employees (the team) present.
Such influence is based on amongst others existent expertise, knowledge/ ability, as well as access to information, as opposed to authoritative power. Decision-making procedures should, as such, be matched with the existent situational needs, with the meeting attendees being encouraged to engage in controversy that is constructive in nature. Thus, by disagreeing, in addition to challenging existent ideals/ proposals, by way of discussion, this results in the greater promotion of problem solving as well as decision-making processes. Team spirit (togetherness/ unity) should be encouraged, rather than adopting a personalised approach. In the overall instance, it is pertinent for the communication manager to be aware of meeting’s overall goals, through the maintenance of high standards, and also recognizing existent achievements/ goal realisation.
In conclusion, I would strive also at maintaining harmonious interpersonal work relationships that are based on both the respect, and understanding of the differences amongst the work force. Due to the fact that effective team work management can be at times quite challenging, the aspects of leadership, time-management, patience, as well as good communication skills are requisite. Productive team work is availed through meetings that are well-facilitated and consequently promote creativity, open communication, as well as overall consensus-building amongst the participants.