How many times have you yawned through a meeting while you merely listened to reports, without a need for comment or discussion? Or you arrived on time and waited as other nurses trickled in until the meeting ended? Or you had to guess at the meeting’s purpose or outcome? To organize and run meetings effectively, use the Six-Step System.

Step #1: Stop Unnecessary Meetings

Eliminate unwarranted meetings, including standing meetings used solely to distribute or gather information. Hold meetings only when they’re needed to facilitate face-to-face teamwork to solve problems — defining the problem, brainstorming potential alternatives, and deciding on the best solution that requires joint action.

The customary meeting wastes far too much time reporting information or gathering information that won’t be used at the meeting. To distribute important information--new policies, new procedures, reports, or announcements of new personnel, for example, consider using e-mails, memos, newsletters, or Intranet sites. Most people can read faster than those reporting at meetings can talk. To gather information that won’t be used during the meeting, develop standardized forms that can be submitted on paper or electronically.

Instead of standing meetings with the same people sitting around the table regardless of whether they contribute to solving problems, organize meetings around specific issues that need solutions. Only invite people with insights into the issue or contributions to the solution. Stop meeting when the problem is solved.

Step #2: Set an Agenda in Advance

Before each meeting, contact, either personally or electronically, everyone who will attend the meeting to solicit agenda items. Determine from the person raising an issue what outcome the meeting can achieve, then word the agenda appropriately. Instead of requiring a meeting, the person may identify information that he or she needs personally, which could be provided one-on-one, or information that many people need, but could be better disseminated through a memo, an e-mail, a newsletter, or posted on an intranet site.

If you decide that an issue requires the kind of joint action only possible during a meeting, write the agenda item very specifically. For example, the following agenda item: “Medication Errors,” is far too vague to allow people attending the meeting to prepare for discussion. Instead, consider an agenda item that is much more specific, such as: “Brainstorm ways to reward staff nurses who report medication errors that are intercepted before reaching patients.”

Well-written agenda items usually start with a verb spelling out the needed action that participants can expect during the meeting. Also, include the approximate amount of time you expect to devote to each agenda item. It helps you plan the meeting, and it helps others prepare for the meeting and stay on track during it.

Before the meeting, send everyone the agenda, as well as supporting information they will need to review prior to the meeting. If there is a substantial amount of supporting information, send it early enough to allow them sufficient time to read and think about the material. Never use precious meeting time reading a long document or summarizing for the benefit of people who failed to prepare by reading in advance.

At the beginning of the meeting, review the agenda and the times allotted for each item, then quickly add last-minute items. If new items will make the meeting run overtime, negotiate with everyone present to shorten the time allotted to other agenda items, or to table items until future meetings. Order the items so you complete priority items first.

Step #3: Start on Time

Begin on time, and stop rewarding tardiness by delaying the meeting’s start. Avoid the temptation to repeatedly summarize the same ground you already covered at the beginning of the meeting every time another participant finally arrives. But don’t reprimand latecomers during the meeting — it’s demeaning. Instead, talk in private with participants with patterns of tardiness. Is the meeting at the wrong time? Do they have competing demands for their time that must be addressed? Do they really need to attend the meeting?

Encourage participants to attend by making the business of the meeting compelling. People will arrive on time and well prepared when they have a stake in the meeting. Increase commitments by forming a partnership with each person who attends the meeting. Work with them to set the agenda, discuss important issues, and determine outcomes decisions.

Ending a meeting on time is almost as important as starting on time. It gives the message that you value the participants’ time and respect their contribution.

Step #4: Stick to the Agenda

A good agenda makes the meeting facilitator’s job easier, but meeting chairs still need to provide leadership. Ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate and enforce professional conduct. Everyone has the right to speak without being interrupted or belittled. Don’t tolerate participants who hold side conversations or work on other business during the meeting. If possible, unplug pagers and cell phones.

Occasionally reflect back to the meeting participants what they have said or where they stand in the process of presenting information, defining problems, establishing outcomes, elaborating possible solutions, and deciding on a course of action. To encourage a variety of opinions during the meeting, remain nonjudgemental, especially as participants spin out possible solutions to a problem. Even seemingly silly comments may trigger a though that leads to a worthwhile outcome. However, don’t allow outdated or erroneous information to stand as facts. Make sure the meeting operates on current and factual information.

Solicit the views of people who have remained silent, especially if you know that they have a point of view that will make a valuable contribution. Ensure that all sides of an issue are presented. If an issue remains undiscussed, say something like, ”We haven’t discussed…”

Step #5: Summarize an Action Plan for Each Agenda Item

As the meeting facilitator, summarize the progress made on one agenda item before proceeding to the next item. Did the meeting meet the needs of the person who put the item on the agenda? If not, then ask a series of questions: Are the right people at the meeting? If not, then ensure that they are invited to attend the next meeting. Was enough information presented? If not, then assign someone to gather the information by a specific deadline. Is the problem solvable at this time? If not, then decide what to do — table the matter, define the issue in another fashion, or gather additional resources to apply to the problem.

This kind of summary brings closure and a sense of accomplishment, which increases participant satisfaction and encourages people to attend future meeting. It also forms the backbone of the meeting’s minutes.

Step #6: Send the Minutes

Before the meeting, designate someone as the recorder to write the minutes. The assigned person needs to take notes during the meeting and record specifics assignments and decisions made during the meeting. These details could be forgotten if the recorder waits too long to write the minutes. Before the participants leave, the recorder should ask questions to clarify any ambiguous issues.

Don’t try to detail the course of the discussion or record derogatory comments. Instead, concentrate on the outcomes and assignments. Consider using a standardized format for minutes that make them faster and easier to read. The person writing the minutes merely fills in the blanks.

By following these steps, you are sure to conduct an effective, time-appropriate meeting resulting in decisions and outcomes.

Jeffrey Zurlinden, RN, MS, ACRN, is a frequent contributor to Nursing Spectrum.