Meghan Day

Principal Solution Designer

How to run an effective operations meeting

There are usually two types of opinions when it comes to operations meetings: those who love them and those who definitely don’t. But, those who dislike operations meetings tend to be among those who haven’t been in one that was efficiently and effectively run. These meetings are actually incredibly valuable and can pinpoint areas for improvement so the business can overcome challenges, assess performance and assign responsibilities. This can all be done in streamlined ways and leave attendees feeling as though a lot was accomplished.

In this article, we’re going to cover:

• What an operations meeting is
• The different types of operations meetings
• The structure of an operations meeting
• Post-meeting actions
• Tips for running an effective meeting

Each of these should help you with your own business operations meetings so everyone is on the same page and sees the value to ensure they’re as effective as possible.

What is an operations meeting?

An operations meeting, also known as an ops meeting, is when employees from a team, department or organization discuss the day-to-day performance and functionality of specific operations. This could be the operations of a specific team or operations across the business.

Common participants in an operations meeting include:

• Operations managers
• Department heads
• Team leaders or supervisors
• Senior executives

The purpose of a meeting is to assess performance and identify issues, bottlenecks, frustrations, challenges, and inefficiencies. Solutions to these issues are also identified so operations can be as efficient and productive as possible to improve. When specific tasks are being discussed, it may be worth bringing additional attendees who are more hands-on with those tasks so they can advise on what is and isn’t working.

It’s all about being open and honest to ensure accountability and transparency. These meetings should be a key focus of your goal of continuous improvement. In the long run, they can prevent frustrations, improve morale, save the business money and increase revenue.

These meetings are great for making smaller, short-term changes to the business. However, any changes made to operations must align with the overall processes and goals of the business.

Different types of operation meetings

There are several different types of operation meetings, which all serve a slightly different function and can be used depending on the desired outcome:

• Regular stand-up meetings (huddles): These shorter meetings highlight immediate priorities and blockers and are typically held in the morning with all team members. The meetings are usually overseen by a team leader or manager. They’re usually less formal and ensure everyone is clear about their tasks and responsibilities.
• Weekly operation meetings: A once-weekly meeting that reviews operations to identify areas for improvement. They usually have a set structure and points to cover, so they’re more formal than huddles. They offer an opportunity for collaboration between team members, managers and department heads to address slightly broader issues.
• Monthly or quarterly reviews: These larger and often longer reviews will take place to ensure the organization remains aligned on long-term goals, KPIs and strategy. Attendees will usually include managers, department heads and senior leaders. They ensure the entire organization is working towards a common goal and identify how different departments and teams can support each other.
• One-off meetings: It may be important to hold meetings on an ad-hoc basis if issues are identified and pose a serious threat to efficiency and productivity, which may impact delivery or output.
• Review meetings: Meetings that take place after a project is complete to review its performance and identify areas for improvement for future projects. They’re a great way to prevent similar issues or challenges from reoccurring and make sure you do more of what works well.

How to conduct an operations meeting?

While different operations meetings have different objectives, they should all follow a similar structure so they’re streamlined and have the biggest impact possible:

1. Ensure a clear operations meeting agenda with defined goals and topics
2. Assign one attendee to record minutes throughout the meeting
3. Begin with key metrics, such as performance data or KPIs
4. Focus on the most important topics or issues and the impact they’re having on the organization
5. Encourage input from all attendees to offer insight and solutions
6. Ensure all attendees are aligned on the outcome and processes agreed
7. Assign responsibilities and deadlines
8. If necessary, schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss progress and the next steps

Post-meeting actions

While holding regular operations meetings is important, they mean nothing unless you follow through with everything agreed on. This is one of the reasons why many see these meetings as a waste of time. After each meeting, there should be clear and actionable steps so you follow through and make positive changes that benefit the organization.

Here are several post-meeting actions you should take after each meeting where possible:

• Share notes with all attendees so everyone knows the outcome of the meeting
• Assign responsibilities and deadlines to ensure accountability and positive change
• Track progress and ensure there’s accountability — everyone should be aware of the risks involved with not following through with all the relevant actions
• Address unresolved issues and flag emerging and evolving problems early
• Encourage constant communication and transparency and highlight the importance of proactivity

7 tips for operations meetings

Here are seven tips to help you hold productive and efficient operations meetings at your organization:

1. Establish clear objectives for what you want to achieve in the meeting
2. After creating an agenda, make sure you stick to it and avoid going off-topic
3. Keep the length of your meetings down to make them as efficient as possible
4. Encourage communication and participation from all attendees
5. Use data to drive decisions
6. Do what you can to ensure accountability
7. Review outcomes regularly and assess progress

Get the most out of your operations meetings

Get everyone involved and on board with operations meetings so your business can benefit from streamlined collaboration and problem-solving. Diligent’s board management solution simplifies processes so you can get the most out of your meetings, and our board agenda builder ensures effortless prep.

For more information, read our board management buyers guide and learn more about increasing your organization’s efficiency and productivity.