When it comes to meetings, an important part of a company’s internal strategic communications plan, the question of productivity is often a huge issue. In a survey of senior executives by OfficeTeam, 28% of respondents said meetings are a waste of time, and 45% said they believed their employees could be more productive if meetings were banned at least one day a week.

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“In too many companies, meetings have become a way for leaders and their employees to simply go through the motions,” says Kimberly Douglas, author of The Firefly Effect: Build Teams That Capture Creativity and Catapult Results. “If a new initiative is being implemented or new product ideas are needed, the feeling from management is often, ‘Well, let’s have a meeting. At least it will seem like we are doing something.’ Unfortunately, not enough thought goes into how to conduct those meetings.”

Here are five common meeting pitfalls and how you can fix them:

1. Where’s the agenda? Remember the last time you actually received an agenda in advance of a meeting? Likely, you immediately had a higher perception of whether that meeting was going to be a waste of time or not. Once you know who will be attending the meeting, you need to finalize the agenda. A quality meeting agenda includes:

   – The date, time, and location

   – The meeting’s objectives

   – Three to six agenda items, accompanied by how long they’ll take to discuss and who the discussion leaders will be

   – A clear explanation of the prep work that should be completed before the meeting

2. The meeting seemingly goes on forever. When the eyes of attendees start wandering to watches, BlackBerries, and wall clocks in an attempt to see exactly how much time they have left before they can get back to their long to-do lists, you’re in trouble. Providing a meeting agenda will go a long way toward solving this problem. Also, create a reputation for yourself as being a meeting leader who starts and ends on time, every time. If you do need to extend a meeting’s length, ask the group’s permission before doing so. When you’re creating your meeting agendas, remember that the ideal maximum length is 60 minutes.

3. The meeting becomes a free-for-all. The best way to avoid losing control of the conversation and the meeting as a whole is to set some conversational ground rules right away. Make it clear to those in attendance that the ground rules will be enforced to ensure that everyone’s time is well spent. A few possibilities include: “Everyone participates,” “Speak in headlines” (to prevent attendees from rambling), and “Police yourself — Am I participating too much or not enough?”

4. Conflict kills productivity. Conflict can be a good thing, and it should be valued by those attending any given meeting. The key is not letting it get out of hand. When a conflict arises, defuse the disagreement with collaboration. Openly discuss solutions and compromises that everyone can get behind. And remember, conflict is a group issue; don’t single anyone out. Break everyone into smaller groups and give them a moment to think through the other positions. Ask them to write down at least two to three reasons why opposing ideas might be good, as far as they relate to achieving the ultimate goal. Then give each side a few minutes to state their points. Ask everyone to listen and consider a compromise.

5. No meeting evaluations are performed. At many organizations, a meeting is something that employees feel like they have to get through. They think that all they need to do is sit through the meeting, and then they can get back to the task at hand. A great way to ensure that this isn’t the mindset in your organization is to do proper meeting evaluations. Have everyone assess the four P’s:

   – Progress. Are we achieving our goals?

   – Pace. Are we moving too fast or too slowly?

   – Process. Are we using the right tools/methods?

   – Pulse. How is everyone feeling? Frustrated? Satisfied? Energized?

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