A quick digital meeting via Skype is ideal. But meetings encompass much more than just communicating. It also involves preparing and handling tasks and decisions afterwards. And that’s exactly what services like Microsoft Teams and Skype don’t provide. Reason enough for QS solutions to create its own solution that fits the shop floor.
The Netherlands has a strong meeting culture. According to meeting expert Wilbert van Vree, the average Dutch employee spends about a quarter of their working time in meetings. When these meetings are also conducted inefficiently, it results in significant time waste. Although many organizations are adopting new ways of working, they often cling to outdated meeting practices.
Before exploring how digital tools can make meetings more efficient, let’s first examine the traditional meeting process:
There is also a distinction between formal and informal meetings. An informal meeting might involve setting a date but requires little preparation, and decisions are made more casually. In contrast, a formal meeting, such as a board or executive meeting, requires decisions to be documented clearly for future reference.
This process is familiar to every office worker. So, how can meetings be made more efficient?
Online communication makes meetings independent of location, saving significant travel time. The next step in digital meetings is to stop printing all documents. Every executive assistant knows the frustration: a last-minute document revision requires printing twenty new copies.
Taking notes can also be done digitally and shared, for example, using OneNote. However, even this can be improved, as OneNote is essentially a digital notebook where you still need to create structure and organization.
Meeting 365 is an Office 365 app that streamlines the entire meeting process. On the main screen, you immediately see upcoming and past meetings, neatly categorized and organized in meeting hubs. For instance, all management team meetings, board meetings, and project meetings are grouped together. You also have an overview of all open tasks from all meetings. You can even create a new meeting directly from the app.
Creating a new meeting follows the usual steps: you add a title, description, time, and location. You can make the meeting private or open, allowing non-invitees to read along. Then, you invite participants, set their attendance as required or optional, and request input. For each agenda item, you can add a description, attach files (by uploading them or linking to SharePoint), make notes, and assign tasks directly. With Office 365’s editing functions, participants can add digital comments and collaborate on a document, as explained in detail in this previous blog.
During the meeting, whether in person or remotely, everyone in Meeting 365 can take personal private notes, add comments to agenda items, and record tasks directly. After the meeting, you can create a meeting report with just one click, compiling all input neatly. All meeting data can be archived within Office 365.
Meeting 365 takes the actual meeting process as its starting point, going far beyond mere communication. By working digitally, everything is immediately documented in one central location, accessible to everyone. This makes meetings in Office 365 truly more efficient.
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