Meeting Operating System

A Meeting Operating System is the system used by a company or organization to ensure meetings are effective and strategically aligned to the needs of the business. A meeting operating system establishes the performance criteria, operating models, and support all employees require to achieve effective business meetings.

An organization's meeting operating system can be evaluated using the Meeting Performance Maturity Model, which describes five levels of performance maturity.

Meeting Operating System Components

Performance Criteria

Performance criteria establish common expectations for all meetings within the business. Performance criteria may include:

• Behavioral norms
• Documentation requirements
• Roles and responsibilities
• When to meet and when to use alternate communication channels
• Rules or rituals specific to the organization’s culture

Operating Model

The meeting operating model describes the specific meeting processes used in the business. Details include:

• The different kinds of meetings held
• The process used for each one
• Who’s involved in each meeting
• How often and in which order meetings are held
• The circumstances calling for each kind of meeting.

Small organizations and those with an emerging business model use a simplified meeting operating model defining a single set of core meetings.

Established organizations develop independent meeting flow models for each business unit, a central meeting flow for ensuring strategic alignment across business units, and a library of ad-hoc meeting practices that employees can use as needed.

Support

A functional meeting operating system includes support in the form of:

• Training in the specific meeting processes and the skills required to meet the performance criteria
• Technology that supports meeting execution and system administration
• Appropriate meeting facilities, equipment, and supplies
• Performance monitoring to ensure the meeting operating system delivers the expected value
• System maintenance and continuous improvement to adapt the meeting operating system to the organization’s evolving needs