The causes of an ineffective meeting can be multiple: poor preparation, repetition, lack of commitment from the participants, poorly defined objectives, sterile debates, endless discussions that do not lead to any decision making... so many disappointments that weaken the productivity of your work teams. 

But how can we overcome the scourge of unproductive meetings? The solution lies in the implementation of simple practices that are, to say the least, essential to the smooth running of a working session. 

## 1\. Invite participants to prepare in advance by collaborating around the agenda

To begin with, all agendas for your meetings should be set and circulated in advance. A meeting is only effective if all participants are willing to contribute to the discussion. As a team leader, invite participants to prepare their contributions in advance to ensure the quality of future discussions. The best way to achieve this goal is to start by creating a common agenda that is accessible and modifiable by all team members. This will reinforce the engagement of the participants during the meeting since they will have contributed to its elaboration beforehand. Empower your teams by giving them a voice!

In addition to making your meetings more productive, working together to prepare for your meetings will be a first step towards a more inclusive internal culture. As a team leader, be sure to value everyone's ideas and contributions. Meetings are the ideal place to shape, grow and communicate your corporate culture.

With WEDO, create your agenda and invite your colleagues to contribute to the different items with the appropriate content (files, paragraphs, private notes...). This way you can collaborate on the preparation of your next team meeting.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2020_03_1_meeting_agenda_wedo_1024x575_ae325113b3.png)

 Would you like to create collaborative agendas for your meetings? 

::button-primary[Schedule a live demo]{link="/demo"}
::button-primary[Try WEDO for free]{link="/signup"}

## 2\. Ensure that everyone takes part in the discussions and respect everyone's speaking time.

On the day of the meeting, the initiator of the meeting must assume the role of "facilitator" by encouraging free exchange among participants. Be attentive to interactions by keeping a critical and constructive eye. It is also a matter of controlling the dynamics of the meeting while keeping the initial objectives in mind to ensure that they are achieved. Sometimes, one speaker can take precedence over more introverted others. To facilitate exchanges, make sure that everyone is able to give his or her opinion. Create a pleasant atmosphere for constructive and caring discussions among your team members.

What to do concretely when one or two people dominate the conversations?

* Go around the table to ask the opinions of the more discreet participants.
* Be aware of interruptions: if someone is interrupted, make sure they can finish what they are saying.
* Promote a caring environment by reminding that everyone's contribution is essential and that there are no "stupid" ideas or questions.

This environment will be conducive to generating ideas, making decisions and building stronger relationships to move forward together towards common goals.

Ineffective meetings are often characterized by their lengthy duration. If you can't manage to limit the time each person can speak, you will lose valuable time. Keep in mind that bringing a group of employees together in the same room represents a significant cost to the company.

Creating an agenda is the first step towards respecting your employees' time. It will help you stay focused on the purpose of the meeting while avoiding unnecessary digressions.

The second step is to highlight the importance of punctuality. If a participant tends to be late for team meetings, give them your comments as an aside.

Finally, respecting everyone's time also means being able to recognize when a meeting must be cancelled or shortened. If most members are absent or agenda items have already been dealt with at another time, don't monopolize your team's precious time and let them focus on their priorities and possible upcoming deadlines.

## 3\. Take a moment to review the work that has been done and ask questions about constraints and concerns.

As a leader, take the time to recognize the work done by your team during your meetings. Plenary encouragement will enhance the value of the whole group by providing a positive and constructive dynamic. In addition, this practice will have the advantage of subtly showing the way to those who have not worked according to your expectations. Public praise will encourage them to follow the example of what has earned your recognition.

However, make sure that you adapt to everyone's personality. While most people like to be publicly praised, some people may not like public recognition.

Alternatively, invite the rest of the group to give their opinion. You may wish to include a section dedicated to participant feedback in your agenda item list. This is a great way to encourage employees to recognize the work of their colleagues. Acknowledging the work done by your team will lead to a productive dynamic while creating strong group cohesion.

Due to poor communication, the front-line problems of an organization may not be known to management. To avoid this, hold bilateral meetings as well as team meetings to ask colleagues about blockers that could prevent them from doing their jobs.

As a team leader, valuing transparent communication will create an environment that is conducive to problem solving. If your employees are confident, they will dare to talk openly about the obstacles they encounter in their daily work. Together, you will be able to solve them in order to reach the objectives set. So invite your colleagues to talk about their concerns: at your team meetings, go around the table regularly so that everyone can express themselves freely and honestly.

## 4\. Establish efficient monitoring of activities

Follow-up actions are probably the most important part of your team meetings as they will help you achieve your goals. At the end of the meeting, your team members need to be clear about what is expected of them. It is a matter of answering the famous question of "who does what and for when". You don't organize meetings just to discuss various subjects: the main goal is to give substance to concrete actions. The follow-up to the meeting must therefore be treated with as much attention as its preparation. At the end of the meeting, already think about the next one in order to ensure an effective follow-up.

What is the best way to ensure effective monitoring of operations?

One of the most effective methods is to make a clear note after each topic discussed in the meeting of the tasks arising from it. Also think about directly assigning your tasks in order to get your team up and running as quickly as possible.

3 tips for writing clear and punchy tasks:

* Begin with an infinitive verb to suggest action
* Be as precise as possible! Think that the task must be understood by a third person.
* Assign a person responsible for each task and specify its deadline.

WEDO combines dynamic reporting with collaborative task management. Enter your tasks directly in meetings, delegate them to your colleagues and specifying their deadlines. Your team will be able to ensure the follow-up of operations at the end of the meeting.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2020_03_2_assign_tasks_during_meeting_wedo_1024x575_6b9401c77f.png)

Would you like to create tasks directly during your meetings?

::button-primary[Schedule a live demo]{link="/demo"}
::button-primary[Try WEDO for free]{link="/signup"}

## 5\. Share the report with all participants.

To ensure the success of the follow-up process, make sure to distribute the minutes of the meeting discussions. Your team members should have quick access to support that they can rely on to complete their tasks. A team meeting will fail if participants are not clear about what they need to do after the meeting. To facilitate communication, it is essential to make sure that the minutes of your discussion are well presented: highlight the collective decisions and the tasks to be carried out. Make sure that important information stands out clearly so that it is retained by your colleagues. The record of your discussions will ultimately validate the relevance of your meeting in the eyes of the participants.

With WEDO, distribute reports to participants in just a few clicks directly from the platform.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2020_03_3_send_meeting_minute_to_assignees_wedo_1024x575_72b855da94.png)

## 6\. Seek input from team members about meeting organization

The opinion of your colleagues counts and will allow you to optimize the conduct of your meetings. If your team is convinced of the relevance of your meetings, it will be better able to deliver quality work. Nobody likes wasting time! Moreover, giving employees the opportunity to express their opinions will also help you develop an inclusive culture and ensure that all your meetings will be useful in the future. Ask your team members concretely what they think would make your meetings more effective.

Alternatively, at the end of the meeting, ask your collaborators to give your meeting a score of 1 to 3 :

* 3: this meeting is well organized and allows me to achieve my objectives.
* 2: the meeting is useful but its organization needs improvement.
* 1: I feel that I have wasted my time, this meeting was not useful to me.

Invite each participant to indicate how many points they tune with their raised fingers and quickly survey the room. Finally, ask the most sceptical participants to communicate the points of improvement they feel are necessary.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2020_03_end_of_meeting_aa13165fe0.gif)

Do you want to improve the conduct of your team meetings using a technological and easy-to-use tool? WEDO is the solution to make your meetings useful and efficient!

::button-primary[Schedule a live demo]{link="/demo"}
::button-primary[Try WEDO for free]{link="/signup"}

As a team leader, you are regularly called upon to organise meetings but are not convinced of their effectiveness? Rethink the organisation of your work sessions by observing a few key principles. Here are some tips that will improve the conduct of your meetings and the commitment of your teams. 

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6 tips for conducting an effective team meeting

## Terminology changes

Our terminology has been adapted. **Paragraphs** allow you to add a text box visible to all the attendees of a meeting. **Notes** are private and only visible to the user who adds them. An easy way to distinguish them is by their yellow background.

## Private notes

From now on, it is possible to add private notes to the items of your meeting agenda. This allows you to prepare your interventions for the upcoming meeting or to add private notes during the meeting. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_1_notes_privees_1024x575_a6cdb0cb62.png)

## Converting elements

If you wish to share your private note with the other attendees, you can simply convert it into a paragraph. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_2_convertir_note_en_paragraphe_1024x575_a92c2a02b7.png)

To save valuable time, you can also convert most of the other elements: 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_3_conversion_d_elements_1_1024x329_220931708f.png)

Please note that it is not possible to convert a task into another element! 

## Ordering items

It is possible to order all the items of the meeting. Simply drag and drop an item to reorder it. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_4_ordre_de_elements_1024x575_124c4c92c0.png)

## Option « Table of attendees »

If you wish to have a detailed contact list of the meeting attendees, there is an option accessible through the settings of a meeting. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_5_parametres_dune_reunion_1024x575_6ea65fc9df.png)

By selecting « extended table view » in the settings of the meeting, the table will appear in steps 2, 4 and 5\. The coordinates of the attendees are listed according to the information of each user’s profile. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_6_tableau_des_participants_1024x575_ac91837cea.png)

During the editing steps, the meeting agenda in preparation and the drafting of the meeting minutes, you can manually edit an attendee’s contact information. It is also possible to change an attendee’s function for a specific meeting. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_7_editer_un_participant_1024x575_ce2682d04e.png)

## Link between a task and a meeting 

Tasks created in a meeting have a link in their details pane that allows you to easily access an item of the meeting agenda. This will allow you to view the task in its context of creation. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_8_lien_tache_reunion_1024x575_19c86d6606.png)

## General ergonomics

### Use the new + button to easily create content. 

You can create your **Workspaces**, **Checklist templates**, **Teams** and **Users** from the + button which is found in the heading at the top of the page.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_9_bouton_plus_1024x575_be06c4f954.png)

### Take advantage of the shortcuts in the main menu

Three buttons have been added to the menu for an easy access to the **Workspaces** and **Checklist templates** to which you have access, as well as to the **Users** page.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_09_10_raccourcis_menu_principal_1024x575_983d87326b.png)

The main menu has been redesigned for simplicity and efficiency; and presents a new palette of colors. 

Private notes allow you to prepare your interventions confidentially during meetings. This latest update includes a new platform design and new functionalities described in the following article. 

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Add private notes to your meetings

May 23, 2019: The daily newspaper from Geneva (AGEFI) and leading economic and financial media in French-speaking Switzerland, published an article about WEDO. The writer, Sophie Marenne, describes the characteristics of our collaborative tool and highlights one of its main goals: create a direct link between meetings and the tasks that result from them. She also writes about the implementation of the solution in many companies of all sizes and attached to different sectors of activity in French-speaking Switzerland. 

If you wish to learn more about our solution and discover the testimonies of the two co-founders of WEDO in their interview, read the newspaper article! 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_06_image_article_agefi_2_c3c0192222.png)

[Read article](https://bit.ly/2K0vdls)

The daily newspaper from Geneva (AGEFI), the leading economic and financial media in French-speaking Switzerland, published an article about WEDO. 

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WEDO boosts the efficiency of meetings

## Send the meeting agenda and minutes of your meeting by email. 

Send the meeting agenda and meeting minutes by email to invite the attendees to read and view them at the right moment. To facilitate the sending, message templates are available at each step. You can, of course, modify the subject and body of the message if necessary. Recipients will receive an email inviting them to directly access the meeting in WEDO. Here is an overview of the messages that the recipients will receive according to the step of the meeting. 

To send the meeting agenda or meeting minutes by email, click on the **button with the envelope**(1) – it is accessible at each step in the top right of the screen.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide1_2_81b9c299d3.png)

A window will pop-up: the default recipients are the selected attendees of the meeting. However, you can delete (2) or add (3) other recipients. Once the subject and message have been completed, click **Send by email**(4).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide2_bebfc8763e.png)

### Step 1 – Meeting agenda in preparation

The attendees are invited to add their notes to the items in the meeting agenda. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide3_2_6369d11577.png)

### Step 2 – Meeting agenda validated

The attendees are invited to read the meeting agenda to prepare for the meeting. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide4_2_7cc229dc9a.png)

### Step 3 – Meeting minutes currently written 

The meeting begins: the attendees are invited to read and follow the meeting minutes in real time. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide5_2_11e9eb917d.png)

### Step 4 – Meeting minutes in review 

The attendees are invited to review the meeting minutes and to send their comments. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide6_2_93272c7927.png)

### Step 5 – Meeting minutes locked

The attendees are invited to read the meeting minutes to follow-up from one meeting to another. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide7_2_402fb5d148.png)

## Other new features in this version

### Copy an item from the meeting agenda to another meeting 

It is now possible to copy an item or a sub-item from the meeting agenda to another meeting. This will allow you to make connections between your meetings by easily sharing information. Please note that the entire content of the item is copied, i.e. the notes, decisions, tasks and attached files. 

You can copy an item from the meeting agenda from the table of contents – or from the item in question. Click on the button with the **three vertical dots**(1) and select **Copy to…**(2).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide8_92aa996031.png)

A window will pop-up asking you to define to which meeting the item should be copied: first choose the workspace, then the meeting, and finally, the exact location of the copy in the meeting agenda (3). 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide9_945d57297a.png)

Then click **Copy**(2).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide10_9110ca02d1.png)

You now have the possibility to send your meeting agenda and meeting minutes by email so that the attendees can view them. Check out this new feature through this article. 

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Send the meeting agenda and minutes of your meeting by email

## Manage corporate meetings using digital solutions 

On March 27th, the _HR Today_ newspaper, the Swiss media of reference in the field of human resources management, devoted an article to the very topical theme of the meeting madness. The "illness" of meeting, ironically characterized by this neologism, is an ailment from which many companies suffer. Nowadays, there are fortunately technological remedies to solve this real scourge which can cost a lot of time, energy and money.

Presenting WEDO as the Swiss software designed to facilitate the preparation, conduct and follow-up of corporate meetings, the editor gives a detailed portrait of our tool and highlights the solutions proposed to optimize the management of meetings. In this article, discover the testimonials of Antoine Sudan and David Dutch, co-founders of WEDO.

[![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_05_slide1_1_dd7cccfcba.png)](http://hrtoday.ch/fr/article/la-technologie-est-en-train-de-guerir-la-reunionnite-aigue-des-rh)

[Read the article](http://hrtoday.ch/fr/article/la-technologie-est-en-train-de-guerir-la-reunionnite-aigue-des-rh)

The press organ HR Today proposes to take an interest in digital tools that are committed to alleviating the problem of interminable and unproductive meetings. 

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Technology is curing HR meeting madness

## Move a meeting to another workspace

You now have the possibility to move a meeting to another workspace. To do so, first go to the workspace in question (1) and then click the **Meetings** tab (2). Click the button with the **three vertical points** (3) on the meeting you would like to move and then select **Move to…** (4).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive1_29a147a849.png)

A window will open with a list of all the available workspaces. Select the workspace to which you would like to move the meeting (5).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive2_ac0d239829.png)

To finalize, click **Move meeting** (6).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive3_00a6b63d7d.png)

## Create a meeting outside a workspace

Meetings can be created from your personal space. This functionality allows you to organize a bilateral meeting without having to create a single use workspace. You also have the possibility to prepare a meeting agenda in your personal space, and make it accessible at the right moment by moving the meeting to a workspace. 

To add a meeting from your **Personal space** (1), select the **Meetings** tab (2) and click **Add meeting** (3).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive4_7797334901.png)

## Import tasks from all workspaces 

Tasks that are linked to other workspaces can be imported to the items of the meeting agenda of a specific meeting. This option will be useful if you wish to organize a global meeting in which several tasks from different workspaces will be treated. From the pending tasks box or from the **\+ button** (1), you will be able to access all tasks from the workspaces you are a member of.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive5_ed1cc1aed7.png)

A **drop-down list** (2) which allows you to browse from a workspace to another has been added. To access the pending tasks from another workspace, select the drop-down list and the workspace which contains the tasks you want to import (3), and click on the **tasks to import** (4).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive6_b44549c3ce.png)

To finalize the importation, click **Import** (5).

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive7_5ef0ecb87f.png)

## Reorder notes and decisions of an item 

It is now possible to change the order of the notes and decisions within an item or a sub-item. When you are browsing through your agenda items, a **drag-and-drop button** will appear in the left margin and your mouse pointer will become a hand. Click on that button and drag and drop the notes and decisions to the desired place.

Information: it is still impossible to change the order between notes, decisions and tasks. They can only be reordered within their categories.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive8_05dac3f982.png)

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_03_diapositive9_457ddc8cf0.png)

**Further questions concerning meetings ? Have a look at the articles in our Help Center !**

[Access to the Help Center](https://help.wedo.swiss/en/collections/3202989-meetings)

The latest WEDO update offers more flexibility in organizing meetings! Discover the new available functionalities throughout this article.

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More flexibility to manage meetings

Although meetings are integral to a company, there are many executives and employees who complain about their length being sometimes excessive. In January, a study conducted by Doodle[^1]  revealed that Swiss employees spent an average of 5 hours per week in meetings. So how can you improve the efficiency of meetings? 

An endless meeting is often the result of poor preparation. To save time during a meeting, there are a few steps that should not be neglected. The moderator, as well as the attendees, must contribute to the elaboration of the meeting in order to plan its frame and progress. The meeting agenda, which represents the discussion thread, needs to be established according to the goals of the meeting in order to stay focused. This will help employees progress efficiently without wasting time. 

## Before the meeting – a collective preparation 

### Ask yourself the right questions and set clear goals

> _According to the survey on meetings presented by Doodle, 72% of the interviewed employees think that a good meeting goes through clearly set goals!_

Before scheduling a meeting, key questions need to be addressed: 

**What is the purpose of the meeting?** The outcome of the meeting will serve as a guideline. This preliminary question will allow you to highlight the interest of the meeting for the attendees. 

**What are the main topics to address?** The following step is to define the topics to be addressed during the meeting to achieve the desired goal. These topics will be the items of the meeting agenda.

**Who are the people involved?** A meeting with a large number of presenters is likely to drag on. It is therefore important to gather only those who are directly involved in the topics, decisions and tasks to be performed. 

**What is the estimated time for the meeting?**  According to the number of topics to be addressed, try to estimate and set the duration of the meeting and stick to it on the day of the meeting.

### Establish an organized and clear meeting agenda

> _According to the survey on meetings presented by Doodle, 67% of the interviewed employees think that a good meeting goes through a clearly established meeting agenda._

**List the different items in the meeting agenda >**  A meeting agenda consists of a list of items that resume the topics to be covered during the meeting. The establishment of a precise meeting agenda will ensure efficiency and rapidity during the meeting and will thus avoid unnecessary digressions and off-topic debates. Depending on the topics to be addressed, you can build the frame of the meeting by choosing, for example, a list of points hierarchized in different levels (ex: 1., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,). If this organization does not seem relevant to you, you can try to group the items to address according to criteria that makes sense regarding the type of meeting: _departments or services concerned, addressed topics, topics ordered according to the interventions of different presenters, steps of the project to realize,_ etc.

**Define the role of the presenters >**  Depending on the established items, define who will speak during the meeting. In order to avoid taking attendees by surprise, schedule each person’s interventions ahead of time according to the meeting agenda. This will encourage them to prepare the meeting and will improve the efficiency and length of the discussions.

**Make the meeting agenda accessible to allow attendees to consult it >** Once the meeting agenda has been established, make sure to share it with all the attendees a few days before the meeting. A good preparation of the different interventions will contribute positively to the smooth running of the meeting. Furthermore, a previously established meeting agenda is likely to ensure a well-organized and productive meeting. The attendees will feel concerned and will not have the impression that the upcoming meeting will be wasting their valuable time.

## During the meeting – the roles of the meeting moderator and the drafter

### Progress according to the set order 

On the day of the meeting, keep the goal of the meeting in mind. The moderator of the meeting is responsible for its smooth running and must avoid any misplacements by following rigorously the pre-established meeting agenda. This will avoid the attendees to feel lost and they will be able to follow the discussions by referring to the common frame previously diffused. 

### Address the covered topics in a systematic way

The moderator of the meeting must try to facilitate the task of the meeting minutes drafter by being clear and rigorous in the way he conducts the meeting. By discussing each item of the meeting agenda in a systematic way, you will ensure a productive meeting and meeting minutes drafting while avoiding wasting time. But how can you discuss the various items of the meeting agenda in a systematic way? 

Here is a solution that considers the discussion of each item of the meeting agenda following three steps that will come out as three separate blocks of information in the meeting minutes: 

**Step 1 – the minutes of the discussions:** Every topic covered in a meeting generally leads to a discussion that will need to be transcribed in the meeting minutes > _this constitutes the first block of information of the discussed item._

**Step 2 – the result of the discussions:** The decisions and high points of the preliminary discussions should be highlighted > _this constitutes the second block of information of the discussed item._ Many employees often complain about leaving a meeting without really knowing which major decisions were made. Highlighting them will avoid that kind of uncomfortable feeling.

**Step 3 – tasks arising from the decisions:** The attendees will have to perform various tasks to reach the set goals > _this constitutes the last block of information of the discussed item._ Thanks to a clear division of tasks to perform, the attendees will be operational as soon as the meeting ends. This will avoid people forgetting what they are supposed to do from a meeting to the next. 

This method will encourage you to proceed in an efficient manner and will facilitate the drafting of the meeting minutes. Furthermore, when the attendees will have to review the meeting minutes, they will easily obtain the necessary information. Needless to say, certain items will not require such a structure and can therefore be covered far more quickly – for example by using only one of the three proposed blocks of information. 

In summary, the success of a company meeting is largely dependent on its preparation. By focusing on clearly set goals and on a clear meeting agenda, you will necessarily limit the length of your meetings and thus keep the attendees active and concerned. Establishing a meeting agenda can sometimes seem tedious. The trick is to create a meeting agenda template according to the different meetings that you conduct. This way, from one meeting to the next, you will only have to make a few changes to the template of the previous meeting agenda for the upcoming meeting, without having to create a new one each time. 

Do you want to facilitate the preparation and conduct of your meetings?

::button-primary[Schedule a live demo]{link="/demo"}

[^1]: To carry out the study in question, more than 6’500 professionals from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and the United States were interviewed. Doodle also looked at the analysis of 19 million meetings to write this report: [Read the Doodle report](https://fr.blog.doodle.com/le-point-sur-les-reunions-en-2019/)

Do your company meetings tend to drag on? In this article you will find a few tips to limit their duration! 

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How to limit the duration of a meeting?

## Table of contents

The table of contents facilitates the browsing through the meeting minutes. Furthermore, a single click will bring you to the item to be treated. From the table of contents, you can also:

* Decrease the indentation of an item
* Increase the indentation of an item
* Delete an item
* Drag and drop the items and/or sub-items to organize them

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_01_diapositive1_c190e8d7b5.png)

## Item by item

For this new version, the drafting has been redesigned: from now on, only the item to be treated will appear on the screen. Once you are done with an item, you just need to click the button with the title of the next item to be treated to progress in the drafting. 

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## Redesigned Toolbar 

Each item and sub-item has its own Toolbar. From the **\+ button** you can:

* Attach a file
* Add a note
* Add a decision
* Create a task
* Add a sub-item to the meeting agenda
* Import tasks from the workspace

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## The “move” button 

It is now possible to move a note, a decision, a task or a file to another item in the meeting agenda. Click the button with the **three vertical points** (1) and **Move the note** (2). A window will open with all the possible destinations. Click the item to which you wish to move your note (3). The same procedure applies to move a decision, a task or a file.

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## The pending tasks box 

Pending tasks from the workspace are now available in a box that you can access with a button. 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_01_diapositive6_8c12348415.png)

From the pending tasks box, it is possible to import tasks into a specific item: click the tasks to import (1) and, with the drop-down list, select the item in which you want to import the tasks (2). Then, click **Import** (3).

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_Info : if you would like your pending tasks to figure as an item in your meeting agenda, like in the previous version, you can simply create an item entitled “Pending tasks” and import all the pending tasks from the workspace._ 

## The 5 steps of the meeting

At all times, you can see which step of the meeting you are in. The user with all access rights can click on each step to change the status of the meeting.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_01_diapositive8_3f51cf7d39.png)

_Info : other buttons at the bottom of the page also allow you to switch from step to step._ 

## Display of access rights of each attendee

You can now click on the attendees of a meeting to see the distribution of access rights. Click on the attendees (1), a window will open with a list of the meeting attendees and their access rights for the current meeting (2). 

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2019_01_diapositive14_c86280b5bd.png)

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This can be useful if you need to modify meeting minutes but you do not have the appropriate access rights. You can then spot the attendees who have full access rights on that meeting, who will be able to change your access rights. Attendees with full access rights are represented by a logo with a crown on a blue background. 

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A collection of articles explains all the ins and outs of the new Meetings module.

::button-primary[Access the Help Center]{link="https://help.wedo.swiss/en/collections/3202989-meetings"}

The new version of WEDO revises the meeting module to simplify the drafting of the meeting minutes. With this article, discover the improvements this update offers!

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Meeting module : improvements that will facilitate the drafting of your meeting minutes

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> _Sick of long, unproductive meetings? Two Fribourgeois propose a digital solution, WEDO, to make them efficient. Explanations._

Between three and six weeks a year: that's the time we spend on average in work meetings, according to a survey published in 2017 by the Opinionway Institute for the business consultancy firm Empreinte Humaine. According to this survey of a thousand employees in companies of various sizes and in a variety of economic sectors, nearly one out of every two sessions is considered unproductive. More than 25% of the respondents do not see the need to participate. As a result, 44% of them discreetly use their smartphone to do something else during this time (typically reading and sending emails).

This scourge has a name: Meeting madness. Antoine Sudan and David Dutch suffered from it for several years after graduating from engineering school. "Meetings are not useless in themselves," they say at the outset. "The problem is that they are poorly prepared, the agenda is not respected and you come out of them far too often without being sure of what has been decided. Amazed at the time they spent on this commendable but frustrating exercise, Antoine Sudan and David Dutch developed the WEDO web application. That was in 2014\. Today, four years and thirty updates later, this web application is used by more than a hundred organisations, municipalities and companies in French-speaking Switzerland, including Groupe Mutuel, Groupe E Connect, HES-SO Fribourg and Banque Cantonale de Fribourg.

Neither blockchain, Dropbox, nor intranet, WEDO is a collaborative platform whose layout automatically adapts to the size of the screen you use (iPhone, PC...). It is in fact an interface with a common and participative space. Very didactic, it has been designed to be within everyone's reach. Regardless of its functionalities and technical qualities, the WEDO application is based on in-depth reflection and careful analysis of the factors that make working meetings so often disappointing and time-consuming. In other words, this organizational solution has been developed to respond directly and pragmatically to certain recurring problems. One example: the agenda often remains a little vague until everyone is gathered around the table. To avoid this, WEDO offers a feature that allows you to record and schedule the items to be discussed. Once this is done, simply open the application and follow the thread of questions. No more digressing, in short.

## EASY TO KNOW WHO'S DOING WHAT

The minutes are a chore? Thanks to WEDO, it is possible to write it live. "This is one of the interesting features of our meeting management module. You have an agenda, with a series of items to be discussed, and you can add under each item blocks of information, whether they are notes, decisions or tasks to be carried out," explains Antoine Sudan. Decisions made and tasks assigned during meetings can then be recorded by the minute writer at the time. Since this information is displayed in a specific place in the module and all participants have a personal access account, it is very easy to retrieve this information later. In short, at the end of the session, everyone knows where to find the answer to the famous "who does what" question.

In addition, it is possible to export an agenda or minutes by generating a PDF file so that it can be shared, printed and signed. You can also easily create extracts from minutes, or retrieve notes through the minutes using simple keywords. Gone are the days when you had to open multiple files to get your hands on information!

"The strength of WEDO is that it covers all phases of meeting management: before, with the preparation of the agenda, during, with the taking of important notes, and finally after, with the follow-up of tasks. Indeed, in addition to our module for meeting management, we have developed another one for task management and scheduling, and both interact with each other. Therefore, you have the means to ensure a continuous and dynamic follow-up of the work. This way, you can see at any time what has been done between sessions and what remains to be done. You no longer have to wait to obtain or pass on information, nor do you have to send several confirmation e-mails or call three times to find out how much a quote will cost," says David Dutch. In addition, each user can activate synchronisation with his electronic calendar (Outlook, Google Calendar...).

## MEETINGS SHORTENED BY ONE THIRD

It is also possible to create specific spaces for certain projects, departments or work teams, so that tasks can be distributed in one click. As soon as a job is indicated as completed, the participants concerned receive immediate and automatic feedback. "All of these processes greatly speed up the processing of decisions and shorten the duration of sessions by an average of one third," says Antoine Sudan.

Solving complicated problems with a simple software: that was the challenge of the creators of WEDO. The first person they told about it - a former professor - predicted that « it would never work ». Which makes them laugh a lot today. « Luckily, our engineering mentality soon got the better of us and we refused to let it get us down ». While many young entrepreneurs start by trying to raise funds, Antoine Sudan and David Dutch decide to develop their application while working and approach their first customers in parallel. They conduct more than 300 interviews for this purpose. Right from the start, they rely on user feedback to improve their product. The first version is officially released in May 2015\. A few prospects test it. « With each new release, we surveyed our customers to find out how we could improve WEDO. And we continue to solicit their opinions and feedback. For example, some of them recently commented that they would have liked to have been able to define specific access criteria, to avoid having participants pop up with irrelevant questions on the agenda. While a General Secretary should certainly be able to modify the agenda, this is not necessarily the case for any participant. So in the latest version of WEDO, we have introduced a new tool to set up access rights very finely ».

  
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## START WITH A FREE TRIAL

What about the price? According to a common practice in applications, it depends on the number of users. It varies between 15 and 25 francs per person per month. WEDO is available in packs of five, ten or fifteen users; above twenty, packs are sold in increments of ten additional units. The subscription covers all updates, data hosting and support, i.e. all services with the exception of change management during the first year to maximise the chances of success, which is also calculated on the basis of a flat rate depending on the size of the network. 

"But what we always offer in the first place is a free presentation of WEDO. That's why you'll find a big blue button on the homepage of our website [www.wedo.com](/) that you can click on to schedule a demonstration by booking a date at your convenience directly in our calendar," say Antoine Sudan and David Dutch, who claim that the data will only be hosted on servers located in Switzerland.

Source: original article [Le Matin Dimanche](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/article_wedo_matin_dimanche_316cb86cf5.pdf)

Sick of long, unproductive meetings? Two Fribourgeois propose a digital solution, WEDO, to make them efficient. Explanations.

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The cure for meeting madness is called WEDO

From new features to milestones, relive the year 2022 with us. ✨

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2022 | Our Year in Review

"With WEDO, all meetings are managed efficiently and easily by our bank and our Board of Directors." 🚀

Check out the testimonial of Antonella Andenmatten, team leader at Raiffeisen Bank Mischabel-Matterhorn, who tells us how they use WEDO.🎬

Thanks to the whole team at Erlebnisbank - Raiffeisen Mischabel-Matterhorn for the kind welcome and the time spent to make this video!

Don't forget to activate the subtitles to access the English version.

🎦: www.air-production.ch

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"With WEDO, all meetings are managed efficiently and easily by our bank and our Board of Directors."

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Check out the testimonial of Antonella Andenmatten, team leader at Raiffeisen Bank Mischabel-Matterhorn

## What are the organizational challenges in the education sector?

For educational organizations, communication and collaboration are central and essential issues. The management of these structures must be able to actively exchange with all departments to ensure the smooth running of their institution. Management's responsibility is also to foster optimal collaboration between administrative and pedagogical teams.

In terms of collaboration, here are some challenges in the education field:

 🗓️ Managing, monitoring and ensuring the efficiency of various meetings: board of directors, deans' meetings, pedagogical meetings, bilateral meetings, team meetings, etc.

✅ Complete and review tasks of the school management and professionals, as well as of the individual departments, competence centers and partner institutions

 📋 Manage recurring procedures

---

## What hinders organizations from working together efficiently?

Employees often have to reach their objectives with limited and inefficient resources. Email remains the most common used communication channel, and it is to be criticized that few truly collaborative tools are available in everyday education.  
Another finding is that meetings are often poorly prepared, often too frequent, and sometimes interminable… in short, unproductive. However, meetings are crucial for the exchange of information. In the sector, these meetings bring together multiple actors: members of the management, administrative staff, deans, professors or teachers, as well as external stakeholders. The challenge for the management is to efficiently manage these multiple meetings while involving each participant before, during and after the meetings.  
So how do you overcome these organizational and collaborative difficulties while encouraging the digitalization of processes?

## Our solutions to improve collaboration within schools and faculties

WEDO is a collaboration tool that is perfectly suited for the internal organization of schools and faculties. Our solution is already helping many institutions to overcome their organizational challenges and improve internal communication.

![](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/2022_08_wedo_education_1_7b7a9d1792.svg)

Find out how the **WEDO platform** supports schools and faculty in their daily collaboration.

### 1\. Create a collaborative structure tailored to the education sector

Each department or service of the institution can manage its various projects organized in "workspaces". These spaces allow the institution's employees to share meetings, tasks and files. TheWEDO solution brings together all these features on a single platform. 💡Note that collaboration with external specialists is also very simple and possible without additional costs.

### 2\. Manage all meetings in one tool

From workspaces, users can manage all their meetings with WEDO: from the Board of Directors to the Deans, including pedagogical meetings and bilateral discussions. With the "Meeting" module, agendas can be prepared together as a team, minutes can be taken in real time, and assigned tasks can be tracked from one meeting to the next.

### 3\. Prepare agendas collectively

Unproductive meetings are usually the result of poor preparation. The feature that changes the daily life of management and administration is, without a doubt, the collective preparation of meetings. With WEDO, each employee can complete the agenda to prepare their contributions in advance. It is also possible to share and add documents, for all the information that will be consulted in advance or presented during the meeting (PDF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).

### 4\. Highlight decisions made during meetings

Meetings are often closed without having documented clearly made decisions or knowing the pending issues and their deadlines. With WEDO, it is very easy to document the decisions and delegate the associated tasks in a reliable way. The meeting minutes are always clearly organized so that the relevant information can be found immediately.

### 5\. Delegate tasks in meetings

It is possible to create tasks and delegate them immediately during the meeting. Thus, the employees involved will be operational as soon as the meeting is over. From one meeting to the next, WEDO keeps track of the tasks completed so that you can always keep an eye on the deadlines set.

### 6\. Transparent and simple communication on running tasks

The task manager integrated into the WEDO platform simplifies collaboration and communication. It is possible to comment on a task, to share information and exchange with the people involved in its completion. A notification system allows you to stay informed in case of changes or important information.

### 7\. Find information quickly

With the powerful search function integrated in WEDO, you can access the required information with just a few clicks. The search runs across the platform using keywords. In this way, users can find meeting minutes, important decisions, tasks and files that contain the keyword they are looking for.

## WEDO is the ideal tool for Schools and Faculties

WEDO is a tool that brings teams together by providing multiple opportunities to communicate and collaborate efficiently. By integrating our solution in many schools and faculties, we understand the educational sector's organizational challenges. Enhance collaboration within your institution with our features:

🗓️ Agenda preparation, real-time minute taking and tracking of delegated meeting tasks.

✅ Collaborative management of tasks through workspaces. 

▶️ Automation of workflows to improve the quality of internal processes.

![WEDO-education-2_EN.png](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/WEDO_education_2_EN_d4dae7e484.png)

These customers have chosen WEDO to collaborate efficiently in their schools:

::button-secondary[Learn more about their testimonials]{link="/industries/schools-faculties"}

Holding and tracking meetings, coordinating between departments, exchanging information and managing administration are daily challenges for the education sector. Learn how WEDO helps schools and academic institutions improve collaboration by optimizing their meeting and task management.

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How does WEDO help schools and faculties improve their collaboration?

## Management of recurrent procedures: what are the challenges?

In administrative departments, process management is an integral part of daily activities. Procedures are often summarized as lists of tasks to be performed in a predefined order. While these steps are common and everyday for educational institutions, completing them can be difficult and may challenge the institution's quality assurance. Let's explore some common obstacles together:

* A large amount of information to process through different communication channels: internal documents and notes, emails, calls, letters, etc.
* Complex organization: many employees involved in the process.
* Transversal coordination (several departments and sites involved).
* Documents that are not up to date and follow-up files that are not very collaborative, even complex (spreadsheets, Excel sheets, Word documents).
* A lack of clarity in the tasks to be accomplished (no reference document or with incomplete explanations)
* A hybrid work mode: face-to-face and remote employees.
* A lack of global communication that can jeopardize the quality of execution.
* A staff leaving the company, which hinders the completion of a procedure in cases where the former employee had the necessary know-how and knowledge.

![WEDO-education-3.png](https://wedo-assets.sos-ch-gva-2.exo.io/WEDO_education_3_f57f4a4685.png)

Does this list remind you of situations you have experienced? Do you work in the education sector and think your procedures' conduct could be improved?

WEDO offers you the **Templates and Checklists** feature that allows you to increase the efficiency and collaboration of your departments. Find out how to automate your institution's routine procedures by quickly creating templates and generating predefined task lists.

## We help you manage your recurring procedures

### 1\. Model your recurring procedures

#### ✅ List and assign tasks

Ensure the quality and monitoring of your internal processes by creating templates for each procedure. This way, the employees get a clear and structured overview of the processes in place and the tasks for which they are responsible.

#### 📅 Plan the tasks

For each task, define deadlines relative to a reference date. When you launch a checklist based on the template, the deadlines will be automatically generated. You can then distinguish :

* Tasks to be done before the reference date
* Tasks to be done on the reference date
* Tasks to be done after the reference date

#### ↗️ Sharing information

The templates will also allow you to transmit knowledge to employees while maintaining consistency in executing procedures. Train new employees efficiently by giving them access to the checklist templates that concern them.

#### 📋Modify template tasks at any time

Does a procedure need to be reviewed? Authorized users have easy access to the model's tasks to revise it.

### 2\. Launch a checklist when the procedure is to be performed

Is your template ready? All you have to do is launch a checklist to start a procedure! Then, your colleagues instantly receive the tasks they are responsible for in their personal space.

### 3\. Collaborate and communicate easily

Communicate with your colleagues by commenting on the tasks from each current checklist. Your colleagues will be instantly notified and can exchange with you.

### 4\. Follow the progress of the procedures in progress

With this feature, your follow-up is assured, and you can :

* Analyze the progress of a specific checklist.
* Get a global view of the progress of all current checklists.
* Sort checklists according to their progress percentage or their reference date.

## Education sector: standardized procedures to ensure quality

Ensuring the quality of services to customers and partners is a significant challenge for training institutions. Many institutions obtain certifications and labels, such as the ISO standards (21001:2018) for education and training organizations. The administrative requirements to obtain these certifications are often tedious. WEDO will assist you throughout the implementation of these particular procedures. Once your institution is certified, the Templates and Checklists will ensure quality in executing your institution's internal processes.

## Some examples of procedures you could manage with WEDO in your institution

### **Management, Administration & Secretariat**

* Organization of the school start
* Material orders
* Preparation of the timetables
* Preparation of the curricula
* Annual budget
* Organization of graduation ceremonies
* Certifications & labels
* Administration of the alumni network

### **Human Resources Management**

* Entry of an employee
* Leave of an employee
* Recruitment process

### **Admissions Office**

* Student application
* Student matriculation
* Student visa

### **Pedagogical groups**

* Exam preparation
* Pedagogical days
* Organization of activities
* Organization of congresses

### **Academic events**

* Open house
* Alumni meetings
* Information events
* Special events

### **Marketing & Communication**

* Communication campaigns
* Marketing campaigns
* Translations

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Want to test our tool to manage recurring processes in your educational institution?

::button-primary[Try WEDO for free]{link="/signup"}

These customers have chosen WEDO to collaborate efficiently in their schools:

::button-secondary[Learn more about their testimonials]{link="/industries/schools-faculties"}

In administrative services, process management is an integral part of daily activities. Do you work in the education sector and think your procedures could be improved? WEDO offers the Templates and Checklists feature to help you track and collaborate on your processes. In this article, you will find out how to automate the recurring processes in your educational institution.

Meetings facilitation

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