Okay, so thank you all for your input! ?Based on what I heard you say and my own experience and research, here is a list of 'proactive' strategies we (or our clients) could consider for meetings where the pre-work is essential and must be done in order to effectively participate in the conversation:
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¡¤??????Into every job description identify and build a commitment to completing pre-work and arriving to meetings and conversations prepared to fully contribute. Describe what that looks like in action. Be as specific as possible about preparation time commitments to help members fully realize the extent of their responsibilities
¡¤??????In the meeting agenda, identify what prep is necessary and distribution dates for any pre-work to help ensure it can be completed. Indicate exactly how and why the prework ties to the work we'll be doing together, so they understand the importance, rather than seeing it optional
¡¤??????Have a meeting norm: 'We will all come prepared to the meeting'?and/or?'people will have to catch up on their own time if they haven't prepared for the conversation, and can then join once they've caught up'
¡¤??????Explain which parts of the prework are most important to focus on for this meeting (e.g., slides 1-3, chapter 8, the financial summaries, etc.)
¡¤??????Ensure prep work is succinct and user-friendly. Incorporate prep work references into the meeting agenda with links (if possible) to the related materials. This helps reinforce the connection between the meeting outcomes and topics and the preparation that supports them. Also include estimations about the time required to review the material
¡¤??????In the case of voluminous prep work, consider if some elements can be divided and assigned to subsets of participants who can then provide an executive summary to other group members.?
¡¤??????Give them a little "homework" attached to the pre-work (e.g. once you read X, come prepared to share?top 3 ideas....or share the #issue you relate to from the report, etc.)?
¡¤??????Let them know in the agenda that you'll be starting off with a discussion about their top 3 ideas related to the pre-work (so everyone's on notice that they'll be left out of the convo if they haven't done the prework)
¡¤??????Send pre-work at least?5 working days in advance, but not more than 10 days ahead of time
¡¤??????Insert a confirmation notification which asks members to confirm they have finished the pre-work. Do this 2 days before the meeting. If no confirmation, then follow-up with the respective members
¡¤??????Send reminders as needed (peer pressure works great here!)
Thanks again for your ideas!
