The 15 different types of meeting

There are countless meetings in a company every day, many of which are informal, of course. Only at Microsoft with their Teams tool, in April 2020, they had a record number of meetings: 2.7 billion! That’s a lot of online meetings.

But beyond the number of meetings, each one has a specific name. They have a different purpose, the participants don’t have the same roles, the length is variable, the decisions will be affected by the initial objective and of course, the actions to be taken will be different from one type of meeting to another and the results will not be the same.

Here we give you a summary bellow of the 15 different types of meeting so that you can quickly find your way around.

• Collaborative Team Meetings
• Informative Meetings
• Problem Solving Meetings
• Decision-making Meetings
• Project Meetings
• Recurring Meetings
• Remote Meetings or Online Meetings
• Stand-up Meetings or Scrum
• Walking Meetings
• Board of Directors
• Executive Committee
• One-on-one Meetings
• Brainstorming Meetings
• Training Meetings
• Conferences

Collaborative Team Meetings

It is no longer just one person who writes all the documents, it is the responsibility of the people involved to contribute. Each team member participates in the discussion and the team takes collaborative notes in a meeting management solution. The ultimate goal is to work together, to be active throughout the meeting process.

How to write an effective meeting agenda + Bonus: Agenda template

Informative Meetings

Information sharing is the main purpose of this type of meeting to announce company news or a new product. It is preferred to a written communication because it allows for quick answers to questions and validation of the understanding of the message.

Problem Solving Meetings

Getting together allows us as a group to find a solution, to see different viewpoints and angles that we wouldn’t have found alone. It is also the best way to resolve disagreements between the people involved.

Decision-making Meetings

This is the time to have a discussion on a specific topic that each participant knows the essentials to make an informed decision. The consensus is essential for the decision to be effective, and for the resulting actions to be carried out.

Project Meetings

Meetings that are mostly scheduled by the project manager, which takes place frequently to update the team members on the project and to ensure that the project is progressing properly. This is an opportunity to discuss what didn’t work and what solutions have been found. Of course, successes are recorded in the minutes of meeting.

Recurring Meetings

Whether weekly, monthly or quarterly, the recurring meeting allows us to take an overview of current projects, to consult the team on problems encountered and to align together on the next steps and actions to be taken to continue on the right path.

Remote Meetings or Online Meetings

Meeting held remotely or online via a video conferencing tool, by some or all team members. Ideal for multi-site teams, employees who work from home or any reason that requires an online meeting outside the office.

Stand-up Meetings or Scrum

A meeting that comes from agile practices, the stand-up meeting or scrum allows you to gain speed by standing up in a circle, usually between 5 and 15 minutes. Each participant reports what has been done, what will be done today, and if they have a problem that is blocking the progress of the work and if the team can help solve it.

Walking Meetings

It’s a beautiful day outside and you need to clear your mind, but a meeting is taking place in 5 minutes? It’s time to have a walking meeting with your 3-4 coworkers. It will only benefit your body and mind.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is a group of people who represent the financial interests of the shareholders. At Board meetings, they define policies and guide the executive team on the strategies to be implemented and, in so doing, ensure that they are carried out.

How to plan a paperless board meeting

Executive Committee

These meetings allow key executives to conduct the various activities of the company, exchange on high-level strategies that affect the interests of the organization and follow up on the decisions of the Board.

​One-on-one Meetings

Managers hold these meetings with their employees once a year, or even more in some organizations, to take a look at the negative and positive aspects of the latter’s work.

Brainstorming Meetings

This is not the time to self-censor, because the idea generation meeting allows you to get out your creativity for new projects and even find solutions to issues.

Training Meetings

Whether it is to hire an employee or to improve the knowledge of employees, individual or group training is a type of meeting that is regularly held in a company.

Conferences

An animator, or, of course, a speaker, gives a performance on a specific topic to an audience.

In conclusion

Beenote is the ideal tool for holding all of these meetings to provide structure and essential support for meeting leaders.

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