Senior managers spend up to 23 hours a week in meetings - keep their attention with these top 10 tips for an effective and strategic business review.
the average employee spends 6 hours every week in meetings, and senior managers attend nearly 23 hours. Yes, every week! There’s no sign of things letting up, so it's no surprise they have a reputation for being boring and unproductive. Read on for my top tips to whip your meetings into shape and have your clients clamouring for their business review.
What is a Business Review?
A business review is an evaluation of metrics and performance of a supplier program over the previous period. It should be linked to overall strategy and objectives and is the results of everyone's activities, interactions and contributions.
It ensures alignment and creates a shared perspective. By that, I mean clarity (what's done, what problems need to be solved and who's doing what) and trust (ideas, learning, commitment and accountability).
1. Get it in the diary. Now.
You need your reviews in the diary for the next 12 months. Why ?
Your clients' diary is likely to be empty so you'll generally get the date of your choice.
The more advance notice, the more chance you'll get an appointment. If it's January and you ask to meet in June, how can they refuse? If you're asking to meet next week, chances are they might not be able to squeeze you in.
The reviews will actually happen!
You can forecast how much preparation time you'll need and become a time management guru
Deliver business reviews promptly - within a month of the period end. Who wants to discuss performance for January to March in July? No-one.
Allow enough time. 90 minutes at most. No longer. It can be tough to hold people's attention at the best of times.
Make sure your client books a room, not just time in their calendar. I've delivered plenty of reviews in coffee shops and lobbies and it's not fun. Request the largest room available, so you're confident you have space for everyone if the number of participants expands.
Why not invite your client to visit your office? It's a great chance to host the review with a behind-the-scenes visit and meet the teams that support them day-to-day.
Get those reviews in the diary for the rest of the year and don't forget to book the meeting room.
2. Meet Before the Meeting
If nothing else, do this one thing. Schedule a 30-minute call in advance of the review to hold a pre-meeting briefing. Ask:
What are you interested in exploring during the review?
What are your pain points?
What are your goals? What targets do you have as an individual and as a business?
Has anything changed about your role? Do you have different priorities?
What are some of the big projects you are working on?
Who are your stakeholders?
You may already know some of this, but re-confirm. Things might be different since you last met.
Focus on measurable criteria that cover key elements such as cost, quality and compliance.
A business review is about strategy. The purpose is to propel the program forward in a meaningful way. It's not the time to be learning about unexpected trends for the first time. You don't want to be unprepared and your client doesn't want to be surprised, especially in front of the boss.
A pre-meeting is vital to get aligned and deliver a successful Business Review. It helps you gather information, identifies objections, builds support and refines your approach. By the time of the actual meeting, your review will be cohesive and respond to the needs of your client.
3. Invite the Right People
Don't do it alone. Don't have a cast of thousands either.
Invite stakeholders familiar with the program and who can make a valuable contribution. Gather decision makers and strategic influencers. You'll have a meaningful discussion on program outcomes and priorities. It's also efficient. You'll gain agreement on tactics and identify (and overcome) obstacles before ending the meeting.
Without the right people, you won't leave the meeting with anything other than homework. You want decisions! You want action!
Don't keep participants any longer than needed. If they're only required for 30 minutes, relieve them of any commitment to stay for the duration. You will get better attendance, more engagement and a great reputation as a meeting host.
Send reminders the day before, or the morning of. Let your stakeholders know how much you're looking forward to their participation and how important their feedback is to the development of the program (translation: make them feel guilty).
During the meeting be on the look out for quiet voices. Not everyone is quick with their opinion - so encourage them to share their feedback.
4. No Surprises
Simple rule: make sure everyone knows what the review is about, why they need to be there and what's required of them
"Business Review" is not an agenda.
If you've followed Tip #2 then you're already clear on what you want to discuss and why. Get these into an agenda, but be discerning: not every topic can make the short list. Focus on two or three primary drivers which are most impactful to your client - and which you have a chance of influencing. Keep a note of those other great ideas for next time.
Choose topics of interest to the wider team. Interdependent issues will drive engagement during the meeting. You don't want people tuning out and regretting accepting.
Circulate the agenda and the business review a few days in advance and encourage feedback so you can fine-tune it. Assign topics if needed and make it clear to everyone the preparation required. You'll know the when, where and how, but only your client is going to know the why. It could reveal vital information that will influence how you approach the program.
During the agenda do not introduce new topics spontaneously.
Tips for a perfect agenda:
List agenda topics as questions the team needs to answer
Note if the purpose of the discussion is to share information, seek input, or make a decision
Allocate specific time for each topic and stick to it
Give some context - why is this topic on the agenda? This is particularly effective if you have an issue not immediately apparent why it's for discussion.
Be clear on how participants should prepare
Identify who is the lead for each topic
Before closing each topic, recap on agreed action items, timelines and owners
Allow time to gather feedback from participants on their thoughts about the meeting (what went well, what could be improved).
A word of advice: get your clients' sign off on the agenda before circulating. Just in case.
