Tip #3 for less wasteful meetings: Building accountability

Build accountability for post-meeting follow-up

We’ve covered the importance of agendas and skilled facilitation during a meeting - what about after the meeting?

There is a temptation to breathe a sigh of relief as you leave a meeting, and to move right on to the next thing. But, one key cause of inefficient meetings is a lack of follow-up and accountability. 

If you’re trying to diagnose what feels bad about a recent meeting, here are a few signs that it’s a lack of follow up:

• The discussion in today’s meeting was identical to last week’s discussion. Everyone agrees that the decision made last week (or was it two weeks ago?) was correct and someone still needs to complete X action.

• When the facilitator reviews actions from the last meeting, they aren’t complete. It becomes clear that actions weren't assigned to anyone and/or had no deadlines.

• Attendees exhibit surprise when asked for an update on an assigned action.

Many factors contribute to a culture of low accountability and spotty follow-up. What you can control is how actions are documented, communicated, and tracked.

We recommend a few approaches to building accountability for post-meeting actions:

• During the meeting, assign someone to take notes. Send out notes and action items within 2 business days after the meeting.

• Record actions during the meeting in a separate actions table. When recording actions, describe the action, assign it, and agree on a deadline.

• If there is a follow-up meeting, gather the status of actions ahead of that meeting.

If you'd like our meeting agenda template (which includes an action log!) subscribe to our newsletter. If you’d like more support with building accountability in your team or organization, reach out to us!