Most meetings turn into a waste of time without clear goals and an agenda. The speaker jumps from topic to topic, and attendees struggle to follow the conversation. The result is an unproductive meeting — employees leave without understanding their tasks, and the organizer fails to convey their ideas.
To ensure discussions are quick and effective, it's crucial to prepare in advance by creating a meeting agenda. In this article, we will explain how to do it correctly to get the most out of your meeting.
What is a Meeting Agenda, and Why is it Important?
A meeting agenda is a list of topics to be discussed during the meeting. It enables employees to prepare: drafting reports, preparing presentations, or formulating questions.
Without an agenda, a meeting becomes unproductive. The organizer doesn’t always have time to cover all topics or set goals for the team, leaving employees without a clear understanding of their tasks. With this approach to organizing meetings, your colleagues may be reluctant to participate in future ones.
A well-prepared agenda helps structure the meeting so that everyone has a chance to speak, share ideas, and ask questions. Let’s see how this works in practice: meetings with and without an agenda ⬇️
Meetings with an agenda help structure the discussion, save time and lead to concrete results. On the other hand, meetings without an agenda are disorganized and less productive. The choice is clear: successful meetings need an agenda.
How to Create an Agenda for an Effective Meeting
📍 Announce the Purpose, Time, and Location of the Meeting
In order for the team to have time to prepare for the meeting and plan their day, an agenda should be drawn up and distributed to participants in advance. You can do this by mail — preferably seven days before the event.
The main thing is to make sure that all colleagues see the message. Office employees can be additionally reminded of the message in person, while remote and hybrid employees can be reminded in team chat or department chat.
Announcing the topic, time, and location in advance is especially important if the company follows a hybrid work model. For example, if a new project with a client will be discussed, in-person attendance is often needed to clarify details and ask questions. Remote workers using a hybrid schedule can adjust their plans and come to the office on the designated day.
The organizer can also coordinate a hybrid team schedule to schedule a meeting on a day when all employees will be in the office. This approach takes into account employee preferences and chooses a day when all the right people will be in the office.
🎯 Set Goals and Expected Outcomes
To ensure a productive meeting, include its goals and desired outcomes in the agenda. This motivates employees by giving them a clear understanding of how they can contribute to the discussion.
Knowing the meeting's goals also allows attendees to prepare. For example, someone might create a presentation to better communicate insights to colleagues or prepare relevant questions for team discussion.
📋 List Agenda Items and Allocate Time
To ensure all topics are covered in detail, break down the agenda into specific items. Clearly outline tasks, goals, issues, and questions that need answers. Without this structure, employees may jump from one topic to another without fully resolving any.
Set a time limit for each agenda item to keep the meeting balanced. For example, if too much time is spent on presenting a report, there may be no time left for analysis.
By keeping the agenda structured and time-bound, you ensure a balanced discussion, allowing the team to understand their direction and identify ways to enhance their work.
📝 It’s important to keep 10-15 minutes of the total meeting time free. Some topics may take longer to discuss, or employees may have many questions. This time buffer will help ensure the meeting stays on schedule.
🧩 Write the Agenda Around Employee Concerns
Identify issues that are important to the team, put them on the agenda, and address them in the meeting. Make it clear in the agenda that everyone should prepare one or more options for solving the problem.
For example, if the meeting is to discuss the marketing department's strategy for the next quarter, suggest that everyone prepare a vision. This is actually important for employees: understanding that your opinion matters encourages initiative and creativity.
This way, people will immediately get involved in the work and won't be stressed by unexpected questions.
Tips for a Productive Agenda writing
Here are a few effective yet overlooked strategies for making meetings more productive:
🗣️ Assign Speakers in the Agenda
If someone is the main expert on a topic, allocate time for him/her to speak. Do not call him or her to speak without warning and preparation, as not everyone can gather their thoughts at such a time.
Specify in the agenda who will speak at the next meeting and on which topics. Indicate what they should prepare — a report, presentation, summary, or product demo — and how much time they have, along with questions they should address.
⚠️ Prioritize Urgent Issues
It’s best to address urgent issues first, allowing ample time for discussion. Early in the meeting, attendees are more focused and can quickly find solutions, making the session more productive.
Conversely, if important topics are left until the end, employees may become disengaged, check out mentally, or even leave the meeting. Prioritizing urgent matters is especially helpful when agendas are a new tool for meeting efficiency.
🔍 Specify the Meeting Format
Different goals require different meeting formats. If the agenda includes discussing a new project with a client, the entire team may need to attend. Specifying the format in the agenda allows everyone to plan their day and ensure they’re present.
Also, depending on the format of the meeting, you may need additional equipment in the meeting room: screen, interactive whiteboard, projector and flipchart. For example, if there is a meeting to summarize the results of the quarter, you will need an interactive whiteboard to demonstrate the most important things. And for a one-on-one meeting, you can choose an ordinary meeting room with a table and chairs. This way, the space is used more efficiently and intelligently, taking into account the current needs of employees.
Meeting room booking systems allow you to use filters through which you can find a free meeting room with the right equipment.
What an Ideal Agenda Should Look Like
A well-structured agenda is essential for an effective meeting. Here are the elements it should include:
🏷️ Title: A brief description of the meeting topic.
📅 Date: Specify the date so employees can plan accordingly.
⏰ Time: Estimate the duration of the meeting.
💪 Goals: Outline the discussion points, how long each will take, and what you hope to accomplish.
🏆 Expected Outcomes: Clarify what the team should aim to achieve by the end, whether it’s a product plan, action items, or resolutions.
🧑🤝🧑 Participants and Their Roles: List attendees and assign tasks based on meeting objectives.
📋 Agenda Items: List tasks, issues, and questions to prepare employees and set expectations.
✨ An important part of the meeting is summarizing the results. This is a separate item on the agenda that needs to be allocated time. If you do not record the results of the meeting, employees may forget about their goals and objectives.
Templates and Agenda Examples
Agendas will vary based on the meeting format and its objectives. For example, a sales team may focus on different topics than an executive meeting, which might address company growth and strategy. Building familiarity with various meeting formats will improve agenda creation skills.
1️⃣ Executive Meeting Agenda
| Title: Discuss Company Growth Strategy Time and Place: Main office, 4:00-6:00 pm Meeting Goals: Determine product priorities and strategies for navigating a crisis Expected Outcomes: Collective decision on product development, initial crisis exit plan Participants and Their Responsibilities: Full board attendance, each member should bring a report on their department and a presentation for discussion Agenda Items: — Financial Analysis: Revenue-driving products (20 minutes) — HR and Management Report: Employee satisfaction and productivity (20 minutes) — Financial Analysis: Impact of the crisis on products and its budgetary implications (20 minutes) — Discussion of new issues, action plans, and task delegation (20 minutes) — Record Meeting Outcomes: Decisions made, tasks assigned, and targets for the next meeting (10 minutes) — Additional Questions (10 minutes) |
2️⃣ An agenda for discussing a new team project
| Title: getting to know the client, his product and project requirements Time and place: Meeting room No. 5, with an interactive whiteboard and a large table. At 10:00 - 12:20 Meeting Goals: find out exactly what the client wants to see in his project, what goals he wants to achieve with his product, make an approximate plan for working on the project and coordinate with the client at the same meeting Expected Outcomes: complete information about the product, about the client's preferences, an approximate plan of work on the project Participants and Their Responsibilities: 12 participants, one responsible from each department of the company. It is necessary to study the preliminary information about the client, make up questions about the product, prepare product development options Agenda Items: — The meeting organizer brings the team and the client up to date (5 minutes) — The team and the client get acquainted (5 minutes) — The client talks about himself, his product, his goals and what results he wants to see (20 minutes) — The team asks the client leading questions to get more information (20 minutes) — The team presents ready-made product development options (40 minutes) — The team and the client agree on the options they like (20 minutes) — We summarize the meeting: we draw up an approximate product development plan based on the client's preferences. If the development options and an approximate plan do not fit, we plan another meeting and prepare a new plan taking into account edits from the client (20 minutes) — Additional questions (10 minutes) |
3️⃣ The agenda for a one-on-one meeting
| Title: let's discuss your prospects and problems in the company Time and place: 17:00−18:00. Single meeting room No. 1. Meeting Goals: discuss the problems that prevent you from working in the company Expected Outcomes: to stay in the company or to quit. If you stay, there is a plan to solve the problems. Participants and Their Responsibilities: two participants: the head of the department and a subordinate. A subordinate needs to make a list of problems that he has: conflicts with colleagues, being late for work, reasons for an unfulfilled plan. Agenda Items: — Introduction: what will the meeting be about (5 minutes) — The boss talks about his position: how he sees the situation, why he wants to help and how he can do it (10 minutes) — The subordinate talks about his problems: what life difficulties he faces, what problems he sees in the company (10 minutes) — Discussion of problems and how they can be solved (10 minutes) — The final decision is dismissal or correction of the situation (5 minutes) — Plan how to solve the subordinate's problems: what the boss can do and what the subordinate himself should do (15 minutes) — Additional questions (5 minutes) |
What's at the end
- A clear agenda prevents chaos — meetings are more productive when participants have a well-defined plan with topics, tasks, and timeframes for each point.
- An agenda motivates team members — knowing the meeting’s goals and format lets everyone prepare relevant materials, questions, and ideas, allowing them to contribute more meaningfully.
- A structured discussion plan is key — a list of topics with time allocations prevents meetings from running over, ensures everything is covered in order, and helps everyone leave with a sense of direction.
- Prioritizing urgent issues first — tackling the most important items upfront, when people are most engaged, helps get faster decisions and improves the meeting’s effectiveness.
- Assigning speakers and sticking to formats — specifying roles and objectives (e.g., presenting, project review) ensures each participant is well-prepared, whether it’s a group session or a one-on-one.
- Summarizing and documenting outcomes — wrapping up with clear decisions, assigned tasks, and action plans helps team members know exactly what’s expected, avoiding any miscommunication.
