Too long, not well enough prepared or dynamic… Meetings are often decried by employees within companies. Yet they still appear essential to the functioning of an organisation, whether to make decisions, exchange ideas or track the progress of a project.

New ways of running work meetings exist to improve their effectiveness and stimulate collective intelligence. By changing the facilitation method, the venue, or even the participants’ posture, these new methods are revolutionising the way colleagues meet

Co-meetings, to stimulate creativity

The co-meeting, or collaborative meeting, relies on a workspace conducive to innovation and creativity. The aim is to make the meeting an experience in its own right. To do so, several facilitators come into play to support the co-meeting experience. Their role is to stimulate and encourage creativity and cooperation between participants.

First, disruptive tools need to be used, whether games (construction games, drawing, Post-it notes, playing cards…) or technologies (online mind maps, interactive forms, quizzes…): by gamifying the meeting, participants will be more invested and creative ideas will emerge more easily.

Moreover, by using participatory facilitation methods, each colleague creates value. These methods rely on collective intelligence, that is, the intelligence that emerges from a community thanks to the many interactions that take place within it.

Finally, a venue suited to a co-meeting is one that is laid out and equipped in a practical, comfortable way. The quality of a workspace has a positive impact on learning, creativity and exchange. The choice of venue should therefore not be left to chance, since the co-meeting environment acts as an incubator for creative ideas.

It is above all thanks to this choice that the co-meeting will become an experience in its own right for participants. The interactive board installed in the Purple Salon of the Cercle Kadrance is an example of a tool that proves beneficial for holding a work meeting in which participants can create freely and share together.  

The collaborative meeting is therefore a good way to motivate participants towards an effective creative approach!

The “Walk and Talk”, the work meeting that is good for your health

This method, also called “co-walking”, emerged in Silicon Valley to address the problems posed by sedentary work. The principle is simple: walk while talking. An ideal alternative to short meetings with small groups, the “Walk and Talk” avoids the pitfall of interminable meetings while keeping you active.

It is good for the human body to alternate phases of physical activity with phases of rest. Acting as an incentive to physical activity, Walk and Talk meetings therefore combat sedentary working.

Now used at Facebook, Apple and LinkedIn, walking work meetings have positive effects that are not limited to participants’ health. This practice also stimulates creativity: researchers at Stanford University have shown that creative ideas emerge more easily during and after exertion. Moreover, walking side by side helps to eclipse a certain hierarchy, and so makes exchange easier. The French-style garden of the Cercle LeBrun is an ideal place for an outdoor Walk and Talk meeting!

An alternative to Walk and Talk meetings is the stand-up meeting. By keeping participants constantly alert, standing multiplies effectiveness. In addition, this technique shortens meetings and therefore encourages people to get straight to the point.

Huddle rooms, the small group for efficiency

Many companies now use huddle rooms, small meeting rooms designed to encourage exchange, creativity and collaboration between participants.

These meeting rooms are inspired by the “two pizzas” rule of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who believes that a meeting cannot be effective if two pizzas would not be enough to feed all the participants. In other words, meetings held with a small group are better suited to decision-making.

Huddle rooms thus enable greater collaboration, for better effectiveness at work. With a capacity of 4 to 13 people, the Oh!31 apartment offers an ideal setting for effective small-group meetings.

With unusual, intimate meeting spaces, By Kadrance gives you the opportunity to hold collaborative meetings in exceptional settings. Contact our team if you would like more information.