Pedoman Kepersonaliaan untuk NGO


Seringkali orang masih salah persepsi membedakan Peraturan Organisasi, Peraturan Kerja dan Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Peraturan Organisasi adalah peraturan yang dibuat secara tertulis oleh organisasi yang memuat syarat-syarat kerja dan tata tertib organisasi. Untuk lingkup perusahaan biasanya berupa Peraturan Perusahaan (jika tidak memiliki Serikat Pekerja/Buruh) atau Perjanjian Kerja Bersama (PKB) jika memiliki Serikat Pekerja/Buruh. Kepmen No.48/Men/IV/ 2004 mensyaratkan tidak boleh ada 2 peraturan (PP dan PKB) dalam satu organisasi/perusahaan. Acuan untuk pembuatan peraturan ini biasanya adalah Undang-undang Nomor 13 Tahun 2003. PP atau PKB ini biasanya berbentuk buku yang dibagikan kepada seluruh staf pada tahap awal diterima atau jika ada revisi terhadap isi materi peraturan organisasi yang telah disepakati.

Adapun Peraturan Kerja merupakan peraturan pelaksanaan dari Peraturan Organisasi. Peraturan kerja ditetapkan oleh pimpinan organisasi untuk mewujudkan terselenggaranya program secara etis, efektif, efisien, dan selaras dengan visi, misi serta pernyataan nilai Organisasi. Peraturan kerja dapat berupa Prosedur, Kebijakan,
Pedoman, atau Tata Tertib Kerja. Pelaksanaan Peraturan Organisasi atau bentuk dari prosedur dan kebijakan adalah SOP (Standard Operation Procedure). Adapun peraturan organisasi dapat memuat :

Pengantar dapat berisi tentang
Maksud dan tujuan pembuatan dan penggunaan SOP
Acuan dalam pembuatan SOP (UU Naker dsb)
Jangka waktu pemberlakuan SOP
Jangka waktu peninjauan kembali
Sejarah berdirinya dan deskripsi singkat NGO
Visi-misi yang diemban
Landasan Kerja
Tujuan Organisasi
Lingkup Kegiatan
Struktur Organisasi( Badan Pengurus, Pembina, Pelaksana Harian dsb)
Penjelasan SOP dibuat untuk mengatur badan organisasi yang mana saja (biasanya mengatur Badan Pelaksana Harian saja)


Adapunisi materi Peraturan Organisasi adalah :i
Pengertian Umum, Status dan Klasifikasi Jabatan
Penerimaan dan Sistem Seleksi
Sistem Remunerasi
Waktu Kerja, Hari Libur dan Lembur
Tata Tertib Kerja
Sistem Penilaian Kinerja
Sistem Pelatihan dan Pengembangan Staf
Sistem Cuti dan Ijin Tidak Masuk Kerja
Kedisiplinan dan Sanksi
Pemutusan Hubungan Pekerjaan
Proteksi Organisasi terhadap Resiko Pekerjaan
Ketentuan Pelaksana (SOP)


Membuat peraturan bukanlah hal mudah, namun lebih sulit lagi adalah membuat kedisiplinan melakukan peraturan dan saksi yang menyertai. Seperti kata pepatah, peraturan tidak berguna, jika sanksi tidak diterapkan dalam pelanggaran !!!

Apa saja sih yang masuk bagian Kepersonaliaan sebuah NGO?

Penyusunan struktur Organisasi

Struktur biasanya dibuat setelah adanya perencanaan organisasi, dalam pengertian sudah ada visi-misi dan rencana kegiatan. Ada berbagai model dan jenis struktur yang biasa dipakai NGO seperti model Lini-Staf, Matriks, Departementasi, dan sebagainya. Ada beberapa jenis staf yang biasanya dikenal NGO seperti staf tetap, staf kontrak, volunteer, konsultan dan sebagainya.

Job requirement

Setelah selesai menyusun struktur, kemudian disusun posisi jabatan yang diperlukan. Biasanya sebelum memilih orang maka akan disusun kriteria dalam posisi jabatan yang diinginkan. Kriteria disini dapat berupa pendidikan formal atau tambahan, pengalaman di NGO maupun wawasan tentang issue yang diperjuangkan NGO tersebut.

Job description

Job description mutlak diperlukan sebuah organisasi supaya ada kejelasan tugas dan tanggungjawab tiap staf. Selain itu juga agar tidak terjadi tumpang tindih (overlap) dalam pekerjaan.

Perencanaan SDM

Perencanaan SDM yang dimaksud adalah supaya jumlah staf dan beban kerja organisasi seimbang. Jangan sampai merekrut orang yang hanya menjadi beban organisasi di belakang, baik dari segi jumlah maupun kualitas orang yang bersangkutan. Selain itu perencanaan SDM NGO biasanya juga menyangkut pengembangan staf, baik pengembangan ketrampilan, pengetahuan dan wawasan yang terkait dengan bidang pekerjaan dan NGO bersangkutan.

Standart Operating Procedure (SOP)

Ketika staf NGO masih relatif sedikit, biasanya aturan disepakati dalam rapat dan belum dibuat secara tertulis. Namun ketika staf bertambah banyak atau banyak orang yang kemudian bergabung maka diperlukan sebuah pedoman atau aturan tertulis. Ada beberapa bagian dalam SOP Kepersonaliaan yang biasanya disusun NGO. Pada bagian awal mencantumkan sedikit sejarah berdirinya NGO tersebut, visi-misi yang diemban dan secara umum mencakup hak dan kewajiban serta sanksi pelanggaran bagi staf. SOP ini perlu dibuat dan dibakukan sebagai sebuat konvensi tertulis yang disepakati seluruh staf dan disahkan oleh pimpinan NGO. SOP kepersonaliaan ini juga sangat penting bagi staf yang baru bergabung dengan NGO sehingga memahami budaya kerja dan aturan yang berlaku di NGO tersebut.


Rekrutmen/Seleksi

Biasanya dikenal dua jenis rekrutmen yaitu rekrutmen terbuka dan tertutup. Rekrutmen terbuka umumnya digunakan untuk merekrut staf yang tidak memerlukan kualifikasi khusus. Sedangkan rekrutmen tertutup biasanya dilakukan untuk posisi dengan kualifikasi khusus dan hanya orang-orang tertentu yang dapat mengisinya. Proses rekrutmen antara lain adalah informasi lowongan (milis, jaringan, media dsb), tes ketrampilan/keahlian sesuai posisi yang dibutuhkan, bahasa (daerah jika organisasi melakukan pendampingan di daerah yang rata-rata penduduknya tidak bisa berbahasa Indonesia atau tes bahasa Inggris), menulis proposal dan report, psikotes dan terakhir wawancara.

Orientasi/sosialisasi

Setelah proses rekrutmen biasanya dilakukan orientasi yang berisi tentang sejarah NGO bersangkutan, visi-misi dan pekerjaan yang akan ditangani. Orientasi biasanya juga diberikan bagi volunteer yang baru saja bergabung dengan NGO.

Pelatihan dan pengembangan

Perencanaan perlu dilakukan NGO, agar supaya program pelatihan dan pengembangan untuk staf benar-benar relevan dengan program kerja NGO dan staf yang bersangkutan. Selain itu dengan adanya perencanaan akan menghindari kecemburuan antar staf. Program pelatihan dan pengembangan dapat berupa inhouse training, mutasi/rolling pekerjaan, magang/internship, maupun mengirim staf untuk mengikuti kursus bahasa Inggris, komputer, kursus gender, kursus manajemen NGO, kursus HAM maupun kursus-kursus lain sesuai dengan bidang pekerjaan dan organisasi serta studi lanjut.

Penilaian kinerja

Penilaian kinerja sangat penting untuk mengukur dan mengevaluasi beban kerja serta prestasi staf NGO. Selain itu juga digunakan sebagai tolok ukur untuk program pelatihan dan pengembangan staf

Sistem remunerasi (balas jasa)

Sistem remunerasi NGO di Indonesia sangat beragam. Ada yang sudah mempunyai sistem penghitungan dan skala gaji yang rapi serta memberikan tunjangan kesehatan, keluarga dsb, namun banyak juga yang sistem penggajiannya berdasarkan kesepakatan. Hal ini sangat tergantung dari fase kehidupan NGO itu sendiri. Memang idealnya sebuah NGO mempunyai sistem remunerasi sehingga ada transparansi dalam organisasi.


Catatan: dirangkum dari berbagai sumber (YDI)

INOVASI TEKNOLOGI PERTANIAN PARTISIPATIF
Oleh :
Tendy Satrio (Masyarakat Mandiri)


Sistem pertanian berkelanjutan (sustainable agriculture system) melalui pendekatan yang partisipatif memiliki tujuan untuk meningkatkan kapasitas petani dalam mengambil keputusan dan merangsang tumbuhnya inovasi-inovasi lokal dengan melakukan ujicoba dan pembaruan teknologi.
Selama ini partisipasi petani dalam pengembangan teknologi diperlihatkan oleh mereka melalui berbagai ujicoba dan penggabungan pengetahuan baru dengan teknologi tradisional dalam kegiatan usaha tani. Mereka merasakan sistem pertanian yang sudah ada mengalami perubahan terus seiring dengan bertambahnya pengalaman, informasi baru, meningkatnya jumlah penduduk dan munculnya aspirasi baru serta sumber daya alam yang semakin terbatas.
Dalam pertanian, pengembangan teknologi merupakan suatu proses yang tidak akan pernah berakhir. Suatu sistem usaha tani yang produktif dan berkesinambungan memerlukan penggabungan antara teknik pertanian tradisional dan modern serta input (sarana produksi pertanian) yang berubah terus menerus. Kualitas benih menurun, serangga dan hama menyebar dan berkembang menjadi resisten, fluktuasi harga di pasar, munculnya input baru dan input yang lama menjadi mahal, perubahan hukum pertanian dan ekonomi dan keberhasilan teknologi secara temporer menjadi kurang menguntungkan karena penyebarannya menekan harga-harga di pasar (Bunch, 1985). Untuk itu penting membangun kemampuan yang teru menerus berinovasi daripada menghasilkan teknologi yang statis.
Dinamisme teknologi pada sistem pertanian sebagian besar dimulai dari proses pembaruan dan adaptasi, mereka mengembangkan menjadi bermacam-macam sistem pertanian yang disesuaikan dengan kondisi ekologis, ekonomis, politis dan sosiokultural. Munculnya petani-petani sebagai “inovator” dengan gagasan-gagasan teknologi inovatif yang telah dipraktekan secara integral mengarah kepada pemanfaataan sumber daya setempat/lokal untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup dalam menghadapi kebijakan pembangunan pertanian yang tidak memihak mereka.
Gagasan pengembangan teknologi tradisional yang inovatif, ramah lingkungan dan diaplikasikan secara partisipatif antara lain : pembuatan pestisida nabati, pembuatan pupuk organik, teknik bercocok tanam, teknik pembibitan, alat tanam, pengelolaan iklim mikro, pengelolaan air, pengendalian erosi dan sebagainya, yang diantaranya sebagai jawaban terhadap tantangan yang akan mereka hadapi pada perkembangan era pertanian ramah lingkungan (ecoagribusiness) masa mendatang.

Membangun rapat yg efektif

Dalam keseharian kita di organisasi, rapat seperti sebuah aktivitas rutin. Dalam satu bulan berjalan kita tidak pernah lepas dari aktivitas ini, baik dalam bentuk rapat staff, rapat program maupun lainnya baik yang dilakukan secara internal, maupun eksternal. Berikut ini saya postingkan bahan bacaan tentang bagaimana melaksanakan rapat yang efektif. Mohon maaf masih dalam bahasa aslinya (Inggris). Materi ini saya kutipkan dari situs effectivemeetings.com (http://www.effectivemeetings.com)

If you want to have more effective meetings, first you have to learn the basics. Here are some simple, easy-to-follow and proven guidelines that should be followed each and every time your group meets.

Print this page. Hang it on your meeting room wall. Write the guidelines on a poster. Memorize them by heart. Do whatever it's going to take to improve your meetings!

Guidelines you and your group can follow before, during and after your meeting:

1.	Only hold a meeting if necessary.
2.	All meetings must have clear objectives.
3.	Invite a neutral facilitator to sensitive meetings.
4.	All meetings must have an agenda which includes:
						topics for discussion
						presenter or discussion leader for each topic
						time allotment for each topic
5.	Meeting information needs to be circulated to everyone prior to the meeting. Make sure to include:
						meeting objectives
						meeting agenda
						location/date/time
						background information
						assigned items for preparation
6.	Meetings must start precisely on time so as not to punish those who are punctual. This also sets the stage for how serious you are about making the meeting effective.
7.	Meeting participants must:
						arrive on time
						be well-prepared
						be concise and to the point
						participate in a constructive manner
8.	Meeting notes must be recorded and made part of the company's meeting information archives.
9.	The decisions made by the group must be documented.
10.	Assigned action items must be documented, and the host, or an appropriate participant, must be appointed to follow-up on the completion of all action items.
11.	Meeting effectiveness must be reviewed at the end of each meeting and suggested improvements applied to the next meeting.

Blogged with Flock

Membangun Rapat yg Efektif (2)

Berikut ini saya postingkan lagi materi bacaan tentang membangun rapat yang efektif, masih berbahasa inggris juga, kali ini saya ambilkan dari situs Meeting Wizard (http://www.meetingwizard.org) Selamat membaca, semoga bermanfaat. (AZ)

Effective Meetings - Tips

The following are some tips to help you make your next meeting successful, effective and maybe even fun.

Before The Meeting

1. Define the purpose of the meeting.

2. Develop an agenda in cooperation with key participants. See a sample agenda.

3. Distribute the agenda and circulate background material, lengthy documents or articles prior to the meeting so members will be prepared and feel involved and up-to-date.

4. Choose an appropriate meeting time. Set a time limit and stick to it, if possible. Remember, members have other commitments. They will be more likely to attend meetings if you make them productive, predictable and as short as possible.

5. If possible, arrange the room so that members face each other, i.e., a circle or semi-circle. For large groups, try U-shaped rows.

6. Choose a location suitable to your group's size. Small rooms with too many people get stuffy and create tension. A larger room is more comfortable and encourages individual expression.

7. Use visual aids for interest (e.g., posters, diagrams, etc.). Post a large agenda up front to which members can refer.

8. Vary meeting places if possible to accommodate different members. Be sure everyone knows where and when the next meeting will be held.

During The Meeting

1. Greet members and make them feel welcome, even late members when appropriate.

2. If possible, serve light refreshments; they are good icebreakers and make your members feel special and comfortable.

3. Start on time. End on time.

4. Review the agenda and set priorities for the meeting.

5. Stick to the agenda.

6. Encourage group discussion to get all points of view and ideas. You will have better quality decisions as well as highly motivated members; they will feel that attending meetings is worth their while.

7. Encourage feedback. Ideas, activities and commitment to the organization improve when members see their impact on the decision making process.

8. Keep conversation focused on the topic. Feel free to ask for only constructive and non- repetitive comments. Tactfully end discussions when they are getting nowhere or becoming destructive or unproductive.

9. Keep minutes of the meeting for future reference in case a question or problem arises.

10. As a leader, be a role model by listening, showing interest, appreciation and confidence in members. Admit mistakes.

11. Summarize agreements reached and end the meeting on a unifying or positive note. For example, have members volunteer thoughts of things they feel have been good or successful or reiterate the organization's mission.

12. Set a date, time and place for the next meeting.

After The Meeting

1. Write up and distribute minutes within 3 or 4 days. Quick action reinforces importance of meeting and reduces errors of memory.

2. Discuss any problems during the meeting with other officers; come up with ways improvements can be made.

3. Follow-up on delegation decisions. See that all members understand and carry-out their responsibilities.

4. Give recognition and appreciation to excellent and timely progress.

5. Put unfinished business on the agenda for the next meeting.

6. Conduct a periodic evaluation of the meetings. Note any areas that can be analyzed and improved for more productive meetings. See a sample meeting evaluation.

And remember, effective meetings will keep them coming back!

Memimpin Rapat, Sulitkah? Dipercaya untuk memimpin sebuah rapat, namun masih ragu tentang apa yang mesti dilakukan untuk memulainya? Coba ikuti panduan berikut ini dan yakinlah bahwa memimpin jalannya rapat itu lebih mudah dari yang dibayangkan. Seperti materi lainnya, mohon maaf masih dalam bahasa aslinya (Inggris). Materi ini saya ambilkan dari situs effectivemeetings.com dengan judul asli "Leading a Meeting." (http://www.effectivemeetings.com). Selamat membaca, semoga bermanfaat. (AZ) Want to lead your next group meeting, but aren't sure what to do first? Follow these guidelines and it'll be easier than you think! 1. Schedule the Meeting When scheduling your meeting, consider the information that must be covered, then allocate an appropriate amount of time. Don't try to cram too many agenda topics into a 30-minute meeting. You'll end up going overtime and attendees will become frustrated. On the other hand, don't schedule too much time or the meeting may become slow-moving and get off-topic. Our advice? Being realistic is the best way to allocate an appropriate amount of time for a meeting. Don't get caught up on halves and wholes. Many people will automatically allocate either 30 minutes or a full hour when scheduling a meeting simply because these quantities of time are common and expected. Schedule a 40-minute meeting if that's the amount of time it takes to cover the subject. Don't feel pressured to fill an hour if you don't have an hour of issues to cover. Carefully consider who should be attending the meeting. Only invite those whose attendance is absolutely necessary. If there's someone who should know what happened in the meeting, but whose attendance isn't absolutely necessary, send them a quick e-mail outlining the outcomes of the meeting. All of us already attend too many meetings. These individuals will be thankful for that one extra meeting they DIDN'T have to attend that week. 2. Create the Meeting Information When sending invitations to a meeting, ask attendees if they have any agenda item requests. Once the agenda items have been requested, the agenda must be created at least one day before the meeting is scheduled. This way, you can distribute the agenda to all of the attendees before the meeting begins. 3. Distribute the Meeting Information When participants have the agenda and access to background information before the meeting, it gives them sufficient time to prepare for any discussions or decisions that will occur during the meeting. This also saves time during the meeting. If attendees come to the meeting prepared, less time will be spent answering background information questions and more time for discussing the important issues. When distributing the agenda, remind participants that it's their responsibility to come prepared to the meeting! 4. Lead the Meeting Start your meeting on time! Even if all the attendees haven't arrived, begin when you said you would. Adhering to the schedule sends out a message that you're serious about the meeting and expect attendees to arrive on time. As the meeting begins, provide an overview of agenda items and introduce the overall objective of the meeting. This provides direction for the meeting and reinforces what needs to be accomplished during this time. Introduce each agenda item by mentioning who will speak next and what will be discussed. As the meeting leader, you're responsible for recording the meeting notes, whether it's on an interactive whiteboard, flipchart or in a notebook. This will free participants from the burden of note-taking and encourage richer, more in-depth discussions. It's also your responsibility to keep the meeting on track. This means steering the meeting discussion in a way that fulfills the meeting objectives. If you have difficult personalities in the room or opposing views, this can be challenging! Try using sentences such as, "That's a valid point, but doesn't directly apply to this discussion. Perhaps we should schedule a separate meeting to address it fully." Or, "It's obvious there are some opposing views surrounding this issue. Perhaps our time would be best spent working towards a compromise. Any suggestions?" If a meeting becomes particularly heated, it's best to address what's possible in the meeting but consider hiring a professional facilitator for the next meeting – a neutral leader who's trained to deal with high-pressure, high-conflict meetings. Items that surface and must be addressed should be assigned during the meeting discussion. Assign a particular individual or group to follow-up on each action item. A deadline and priority level should also be assigned for the action items. 5. Wrap-up the Meeting At the end of the meeting, the leader should review the action items, who's responsible and by when. This way, everyone has a clear picture of who's responsible for what when the meeting's over. Another item that should be addressed at the end of your meeting is the meeting process itself. Take a few moments at the end of the meeting to discuss what the group did well during the meeting and which areas need improving. Once the meeting objective has been accomplished, adjourn the meeting. Even if it's thirty minutes earlier than expected! Don't continue meeting simply because that's what the schedule dictates. 6. Provide the Meeting Information After the meeting is over, send the meeting information to all the participants. Because you were responsible for note-taking during the meeting, you may be the only one who has this information after the meeting ends. Whether you provide the notes by e-mail or photocopied hand-outs, sharing this meeting information is vital for proper follow-up. It's also a good idea to include a summary of all the action items assigned during the meeting. This acts as a reminder to all participants of who's responsible for what and by when. 1. From CyberMeetings by James L. Creighton and James W. R. Adams © 1998 by AMACOM, INC

Enam Tips membuat rapat menjadi lebih efektif

Sebagai lanjutan dari materi bahan bacaan bagaimana membangun sebuah rapat yang efektif. Berikut ini saya postingkan bahan bacaan tentang tip untuk membuat rapat menjadi lebih efektif. Mohon maaf masih dalam bahasa aslinya (Inggris). Materi ini saya kutipkan dari situs effectivemeetings.com (http://www.effectivemeetings.com). Selamat membaca, semoga bermanfaat. (AZ)

1. Don't Meet

Avoid a meeting if the same information could be covered in a memo, e-mail or brief report. One of the keys to having more effective meetings is differentiating between the need for one-way information dissemination and two-way information sharing. To disseminate information you can use a variety of other communication media, such as sending an e-mail or posting the information on your company's intranet. If you want to be certain you have delivered the right message, you can schedule a meeting to simply answer questions about the information you have sent. By remembering to ask yourself, "Is a meeting the best way to handle this?" you'll cut down on wasted meeting time and restore your group's belief that the meetings they attend are necessary.

2. Set Objectives for the Meeting
Set objectives before the meeting! Before planning the agenda for the meeting, write down a phrase or several phrases to complete the sentence: By the end of the meeting, I want the group to… Depending on the focus of your meeting, your ending to the sentence might include phrases such as: …be able to list the top three features of our newest product, …have generated three ideas for increasing our sales, …understand the way we do business with customers, …leave with an action plan, …decide on a new widget supplier, or …solve the design problem.

One benefit of setting objectives for the meeting is to help you plan the meeting. The more concrete your meeting objectives, the more focused your agenda will be. A second important benefit of having specific objectives for each meeting is that you have a concrete measure against which you can evaluate that meeting. Were you successful in meeting the objectives? Why or why not? Is another meeting required? Setting meeting objectives allows you to continuously improve your effective meeting process.

3. Provide an Agenda Beforehand
Provide all participants with an agenda before the meeting starts. Your agenda needs to include a brief description of the meeting objectives, a list of the topics to be covered and a list stating who will address each topic and for how long. When you send the agenda, you should include the time, date and location of the meeting and any background information participants will need to know to hold an informed discussion on the meeting topic. What's the most important thing you should do with your agenda? Follow it closely!

4. Assign Meeting Preparation
Give all participants something to prepare for the meeting, and that meeting will take on a new significance to each group member. For problem-solving meetings, have the group read the background information necessary to get down to business in the meeting. Ask each group member to think of one possible solution to the problem to get everyone thinking about the meeting topic. For example, to start a sales meeting on a positive note, have all participants recall their biggest success since the last meeting and ask one person to share his success with the group. For less formal meetings or brainstorming sessions, ask a trivia question related to the meeting topic and give the correct answer in the first few minutes of the meeting. These tips are sure-fire ways to warm up the group and direct participants' attention to the meeting objectives.

5. Assign Action Items
Don't finish any discussion in the meeting without deciding how to act on it. Listen for key comments that flag potential action items and don't let them pass by without addressing them during your meeting. Statements such as We should really…, that's a topic for a different meeting…, or I wonder if we could… are examples of comments that should trigger action items to get a task done, hold another meeting or further examine a particular idea. Assigning tasks and projects as they arise during the meeting means that your follow-through will be complete. Addressing off-topic statements during the meeting in this way also allows you to keep the meeting on track. By immediately addressing these statements with the suggestion of making an action item to examine the issue outside of the current meeting, you show meeting participants that you value their input as well as their time.

6. Examine Your Meeting Process
Assign the last few minutes of every meeting as time to review the following questions: What worked well in this meeting? What can we do to improve our next meeting? Every participant should briefly provide a point-form answer to these questions. Answers to the second question should be phrased in the form of a suggested action. For example, if a participant's answer is stated as Jim was too long-winded, ask the participant to re-phrase the comment as an action. The statement We should be more to-the-point when stating our opinions is a more constructive suggestion. Remember – don't leave the meeting without assessing what took place and making a plan to improve the next meeting!

Meeting Tips Summary
Don't Meet.
Avoid a meeting if the same information could be covered in a memo, e-mail or brief report.

Set Objectives for the Meeting.
Before planning the agenda, determine the objective of the meeting. The more concrete your objectives, the more focused your agenda will be.

Provide an Agenda Beforehand.
Your agenda needs to include a one-sentence description of the meeting objectives, a list of the topics to be covered and a list stating who will address each topic for how long. Follow the agenda closely during the meeting.

Assign Meeting Preparation.
Give all participants something to prepare for the meeting, and that meeting will take on a new significance to each group member.

Assign Action Items.
Don't finish any discussion in the meeting without deciding how to act on it.

Examine Your Meeting Process.
Don't leave the meeting without assessing what took place and making a plan to improve the next meeting.

1. Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel, teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity. A network MCI Conferencing White Paper, 1998.