The transition to online meetings is a complex and responsible process. Meetings that were previously held in offices also had certain difficulties, and the online format has exposed all their shortcomings. However, this is no reason to abandon this format, as meetings are useful and are considered the most effective method of collaboration. However, they should be viewed as a specialised form of interaction for all employees, not as a panacea for all problems in the company. This overview addresses the questions: why is a virtual meeting agenda template considered a good idea and what exactly should be in this template?

How to Quickly Improve Meetings?

One of the ways to improve meetings today is the use of an agenda template for organising virtual meetings for all employees. This can also be considered good practice for meetings held in offline format or hybrid format. Every modern worker knows about the benefits of agendas but often refuses to apply them in practice.

Why Without an Agenda Online Meetings Lose Effectiveness

Many agree with the statement that agendas are quite useful, but not everyone follows them in practice. Among the main reasons for ignoring them are simple laziness, as well as the opinion that too much time has to be spent on agendas.

However, with the transition to digital workplaces, using agendas becomes an acute necessity. Let us consider 5 main reasons why agendas should be used at meetings, refusing improvisation:

1. One must respect other people’s time. A key feature of the modern digital environment is respect for time: how can one establish a working schedule if all time will be spent on meetings? Refusing to use an agenda when conducting online meetings is perceived as disrespect for other people’s time. Thanks to an agenda, one can focus attention on a specific topic, prepare for the meeting in advance, optimise time for future discussions, and document all decisions made and actions taken. All this excludes the probability of holding a repeat meeting.
2. Minimum shared context. An important advantage for all teams when working in one office is shared context: all employees are in one workspace, hear the same conversations, and see the same events. Therefore, it may seem that in this case a virtual agenda is not needed, as everyone already knows what is being discussed. As for the digital environment, in this case there is much more independent work, meaning conversations become isolated, and the only opportunity to share context is to organise a meeting of colleagues. With the help of an agenda, one can make sure that employees precisely know and understand what is happening even before the scheduled meeting begins.
3. Meetings are one of the most expensive forms of collaboration. Meetings are considered a good way of maintaining working relationships in the workforce, but they are considered expensive in terms of time, as they distract employees from performing work. Therefore, when using such an expensive tool, it is important to obtain maximum benefit, meaning: maximum time allocated for discussions and prompt interaction in real time. By using an agenda template, one will be able to move much faster to discussing important topics, maintaining high concentration of all participants’ attention.
4. Preparing an agenda is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of an upcoming meeting. When starting a virtual meeting using an agenda, one can think through the necessary context for all participants in advance, and also decide: what work must participants perform, what questions will need to be addressed. Just 15 minutes allocated to preparing an agenda can significantly increase effectiveness indicators. As a result, one will be able to consider interesting ideas and clarify necessary questions even before all meeting participants gather.
5. Poorly planned online meetings mean numerous problems. For example, during an overly long presentation, participants will sooner or later begin to be distracted: for instance, reading emails, going on social networks. Therefore, poorly organised virtual meetings lead to wasted time, spoil the mood of all employees, and so forth.

Based on all the above points, one can be assured that an agenda helps to distribute each employee’s time as rationally as possible, thereby obtaining maximum return.

What Does a Well-Thought-Out Agenda for Online Meetings Consist Of?

The template should contain the following necessary elements:

• a link to the list of rules for conducting online meetings, which each participant can familiarise themselves with;
• a list of arguments indicating why holding meetings is considered an ideal solution for maintaining joint effective work in the team;
• a list of materials that participants must familiarise themselves with in advance;
• questions to check the presence of specific specialists;
• a reminder about OKR (Objectives and Key Results);
• a list of questions that need to be answered within a certain amount of time;
• a protocol of decisions with which all participants must agree;
• a list of tasks/actions that must be completed by participants.

This small plan will help to properly organise and effectively conduct an online meeting that will bring maximum benefit not only to company management but also to all other employees.

What Mistakes Are Most Often Made When Organising Online Meetings

Sometimes even the presence of an agenda does not save virtual meetings from low effectiveness. Most often this is not related to the format of the organised meeting, but to errors in its organisation.

Among the most common mistakes, the following are highlighted:

• a large number of participants at the meeting;
• absence of a clear goal (for what purpose and why this meeting was organised);
• overly long presentations;
• discussion of topics that are in no way connected to the agenda;
• absence of recording of decisions made and responsible persons;
• conducting online meetings without preliminary preparation of all participants.

To exclude various problems, it is recommended to determine in advance the result that is important to obtain after the organised online meeting. Furthermore, one should not deviate from the established structure for discussing a specific topic.

How to Make Virtual Meetings Shorter and More Productive

Short and focused discussions have long become the main alternative to lengthy meetings.

Therefore, the following should be remembered:

• Meeting duration should vary within 30-45 minutes.
• It is important to appoint a meeting moderator.
• All necessary materials need to be sent to participants in advance so they have the opportunity to prepare.
• For consideration of each question, a certain amount of time needs to be allocated in advance and one should try to adhere to it.
• The online meeting needs to be concluded with a specific list of tasks and deadlines.

By using this approach, one will be able to reduce the burden on employees whilst maintaining participants’ concentration throughout the entire online meeting.

Where Is It Best to Create and Store Online Meeting Agendas

Many popular office calendars (for example, Google, Microsoft, and Apple) provide a special place for attaching files or adding notes.

Specialised services that were initially intended for improving agendas for the purpose of conducting virtual meetings can also be used.

As soon as the meeting ends, the agenda must be saved in a shared folder to have free and quick access to it.

Thanks to the application of appropriate agenda templates for online meetings, one can be confident that in future all meetings will begin for participants with information they have already been familiarised with.