Running an effective huddle or meeting with your team will leave everyone energized and feeling that you've really accomplished something. So what makes a meeting effective?

According to experts, effective meetings boil down to three things:

1. They achieve the meeting's objective.
2. They take up a minimum amount of time.
3. They leave participants feeling that a sensible process has been followed.

If you structure your meeting planning, preparation, execution, and follow up around these three basic criteria, the result will be an effective meeting.

To ensure maximum satisfaction for everyone, there are seven more things you should keep in mind:

- Don’t allow a few voices to dominate. Make a point of asking others for their ideas.

- Once you’ve covered a topic, summarize what was said, and ask people to confirm they are in agreement. Then make notes regarding follow-up.

- Note items that require further discussion.

- Watch body language and make adjustments as necessary. Maybe you need a break, or you need to stop someone from speaking too much.

- Ensure the meeting stays on topic.

- List all tasks that are generated at the meeting. Make a note of who is assigned to do what, and by when.

- At the close of the meeting, quickly summarize next steps and inform everyone that you will be sending out a meeting summary.

A key part of running effective meetings is making sure that the change every one talked about making happens and is having the desired impact. To be effective you need to keep your finger on the pulse of every part of the employee experience.

Download our guide on when to use Pulse Surveys with the members of your team.