Large meetings are commonplace in nearly any successful business. However, these large meetings can leave individuals feeling left out in an expanding company.
As a manager, you want attendees to feel valued and help them get the most out of their meetings. What better way than to host engaging breakout discussions in their own separate conferencing room?
Here are five reasons why breakout rooms are essential to boosting productivity at your organization.
- Breakout Rooms are Personal
- You can address topics that were missed
- You can host department-specific discussions
- Smaller meetings hold attendees more accountable
- You can host impromptu discussions
1. Breakout rooms are personal
When you get teams into smaller meetings, attendees are more comfortable with joining the conversation. Those that are normally shy in front of large groups feel secure with a smaller number of people.
Within a breakout meeting, attendees get a chance to speak with one another in a more natural-feeling environment. Attendees can voice their opinions without the fear of being drowned out by the crowd.
What’s more, smaller meetings give your ideas more weight—that means, as you discuss various topics, you can give each idea more attention and pick at any benefits or flaws that you may have overlooked.
2. You can address topics that were missed
When teams break out into smaller meetings, they open discussion on topics that may have been missed.
Often, larger meetings are much stricter about adhering to an agenda. Since larger meetings can include groups in multiple departments, small details can be glazed over when focusing on the bigger picture.
During a breakout meeting, attendees can stop and focus on topics that are of more interest to their group, where individuals can contribute their expertise on the subject. Smaller groups allow meetings to be flexible, as well as allow each attendee a chance to contribute to every topic in more depth.
3. Breakout rooms allow for department-specific discussions
After larger meetings conclude, team members within a department may want a brief summary of any changes that affect them. Using a breakout meeting immediately after a large meeting can serve as a recap point for teams; attendees can ask questions and investigate more details about information presented in a larger meeting.
How does a process change affect your department more than others? What initiatives does your department need to implement to contribute to your company’s overall goal? Questions like these can be addressed during the breakout meeting where you can get together with your team and determine how to move forward together.
4. Smaller meetings hold attendees more accountable
It can be easy for an individual to get lost in a crowd of over 50 attendees. Larger companies can easily have meetings in the triple digits, making it especially difficult for employees with less tenure to make an impact.
On the other hand, smaller meeting groups make each guest more accountable for contributing. Conferences with a smaller number of people give each person a chance to share their thoughts without fear of time constraints.
5. You can host impromptu discussions
Another valuable benefit of a breakout room is having the ability to hold a meeting at any given time during another meeting.
In many cases for growing companies, unforeseen variables can set plans off course. When something out of the ordinary comes up, you may want to break away from a larger meeting to discuss a specific topic in greater detail. At any moment during a conference, you can create a private breakout room with a select number of participants without disrupting the larger conference.
Breakout rooms can serve to boost productivity by giving members of your organization a voice and a comfortable platform to be heard. Use these five reasons to host a breakout room during your next conference.
