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You’ve secured your first office job – congratulations! While your co-workers won’t expect you to know everything about business life at first, it pays to be armed with as much knowledge as possible. Hosting a meeting is standard practice for many office job roles. So, whether it’s your first day in the office or taking on some new responsibilities, you’ll want to be clued up.
You may be hosting a professional meeting for training or perhaps organising a more informal catch-up with your new team. You can take some steps to ensure your first meeting (and many more!) run as smoothly as possible.
Whether your meeting is online or face-to-face, we’ve put together the ultimate meeting preparation checklist for beginners to give you the perfect head-start on planning. Read on to learn everything you need to plan your first successful business meeting.
How to plan your first business meeting
Planning takes away from the last-minute stress of preparing for a meeting and can help ease beginner’s nerves as you head into the boardroom for the first time. Here are just some things that can be considered in advance.
Decide on the purpose of your meeting
Try to be as specific with your agenda as possible, and stick to it throughout the meeting. It’s easy to fall off topic during a session, especially when many different voices are involved. Being sure of your meeting’s purpose can help keep things on the right track.
Prepare your presentation and notes at least a couple of days in advance so you have a chance to run through the structure. Since you’re new to the team, include a slide with a brief introduction of yourself so everyone can get to know you better.
You should also put together a business meeting outline. This can include the objectives of your meeting, topics you want to cover and what you want to achieve by the end. This can be sent out to the team a few days before so everyone knows what to expect beforehand.
Choose whether your meeting is in-person or online
In this post-pandemic world, almost every business is now equipped with the technology to hold successful meetings online. If your session is online, encourage your new colleagues to put on their cameras, so everybody is as present as possible.
Some people find in-person meetings are better for building more meaningful relationships and keeping colleagues focused and productive. As you’re new to the team, it’s better business meeting etiquette to hold your first meeting in person so people can get to know you properly.
Time, venue, travel and attendees
The time and venue of your meeting should be scheduled at least two days in advance to give people enough time to prepare. Here are some things to consider as you decide when and where your meeting will be held.
Scheduling
While finding a date and time that works for everyone can be challenging, schedule your meeting for a time that as many participants as possible can attend. Ensure any essential participants can make it before sending out the invite. You might also want to record your meeting so those who missed it can catch up afterwards.
Allotted time
Your planned agenda will give you a good idea of how long you can expect the meeting to run, so you can then let participants know how much time to set aside. If the meeting is set to run for a long time, ensure you include a refreshment and toilet break to keep participants focussed. Consider splitting the session into a two-day event if it’s more than three hours long.
Venue
If you’ve decided to hold a face-to-face meeting and don’t have an office, try to find a venue that’s convenient for everyone. When booking, consider your session running time, the number of people attending, and how big of a space you will need.
London’s co-working spaces are perfect for accommodating your meeting. City centre venues work best as there are generally better public transport links. Plus, they usually have a selection of amenities like cafés nearby. Since you’re new to the team, why not ask colleagues for their location recommendations?
Business travel
Your in-person meeting will likely be one of your first business trips. Public transport is a great way to get to your meeting venue, especially if the session is in the middle of a city. Train travel can be more relaxing, spacious and environmentally friendly than using a car. With a bathroom on board most trains and free Wi-Fi, you can easily catch up on work from the train.
If anyone travels with South Western Railway, make the most of our onboard facilities, like on-train Wi-Fi and in-station Wi-Fi and quiet zones for work. Take a look at our network map to plan your next journey with South Western Railway.
Invites
Send out your meeting invitation and agenda in an email, and encourage colleagues to rsvp so you have an idea of who will attend. Include details such as the proposed date, time and location of the meeting, and requirements for what people should bring. This may also be a good time to briefly introduce yourself to the team.
Decisions and deadlines
For the meeting to run as smoothly as possible, any key participants presenting should have a clear timeframe to stick to. This will ensure you have time to review documents and assess how long the meeting will go on, as well as give you the chance to add any relevant information that may have been missed.
What to do after your business meeting
Once the meeting has ended, send an overview to all who attended. Try to get this out directly after the meeting while it’s still fresh in your mind, and include a brief summary of some key takeaways. Encourage those who may have questions to get in touch, and don’t forget to thank everyone for attending!
If your first meeting is in-person, why not break the ice with a trip to a nearby restaurant or bar afterwards? Explore our best post-work activities near Waterloo for inspiration.
A good meeting strategy can help you make the right first impression. Following these tips, you’re well on your way to success. Before heading to your first meeting, explore our flexible range of ticket types to find the right one for your journey. Find cheap train tickets by going off-peak. Those with a Railcard can save even more!
Whether you’re heading to a corporate business meeting or your first day at work, look at our Business Direct service. Make the most of benefits like the best value corporate train tickets, no booking fees and options to analyse CO2 emissions.
