Introduction
I interviewed two middle-level managers of our company about the meetings they normally attend; mainly their opinions on whether what is to be discussed on the meeting is sent before the meeting, how organized are the meetings, whether these meetings go as far as accomplishing the intended goals, whether they receive information after the meetings, and finally what recommendation they would give for any future improvements. The findings revealed several aspects of changes needed to have what would be referred to as successful meetings.
Interview with Sales Manager
The first interviewee was our sales manager. In the meetings normally chaired by the sales director, she acknowledged that she gets information before the meetings as scheduled. As the sales manager, she is expected to give feedback on some field activities and give details on how she prepares sales staff to achieve sales goals. He says that although the goal of sales team meetings is to discuss how sales can be enhanced, the meetings often end up becoming boring lecture sessions with non of the regional sales managers willing to offer insights into what is required of them. “They would rather listen to endless lectures from me and that of the director than make any meaningful contribution”, he quipped. Apparently, it has come to her realization that these meetings are held with several agendas in place, with some repetitively discussed with no concrete agreement on the way forward. This trend of overloading the sales team with a lot of information does not help in developing new creative ideas to help boost goal orientation (Heathfield, 2010).
Recommendations
According to the sales manager’s recommendation, the sales team (regional sales managers included) is supposed to be given time within the meeting schedule to discuss their real-life experience in the fields. She says that information should be shared within the regional sales teams, which can help develop new insights and ideas. By doing this, the conveners of the meeting will be able to recognize sales teams’ efforts, thus boosting their morale (Heathfield, 2010).
Interview with Business Information Manager
The second interviewee was the business information manager. In his insight, he observed that many of the meetings are never carried out with a properly formulated agenda, hence the little interest developed by participants. He states that on many occasions, the IT director convenes meetings only when there is a crisis. According to him, most of these meetings come with a lot of tension and the “participants have little to offer than listen to sermons”. He says that these meetings have no agenda, as they are convened with little or no plan at all, so the waste of time in lectures and warnings to sales team. He also stated that the meetings in most cases go without any refreshments or any sort of food, with the directors and senior management engaging in endless consultations and discussions that they rarely share with other participants.
Recommendations
He recommends that the best way to have meetings is to arrange regular mini-meetings that may help highlight issues that emerge within short periods. According to him, the need to have meetings that would develop gradual ideas to prevent problems from occurring is the best way out. By doing this, a particular period will be spent in organizing a friendly physical environment that would not distract anybody’s attention (Heathfield, 2010). He also stated that either food or refreshments should accompany any meeting, and this can only happen if there is a proper plan for meetings.
Reference
Heathfield, S. (2010). How to spice up your company meeting: Tips for Planning and Success. New York. New York Times.