The meeting market has always been one that is constantly evolving. Moreover, it is striking that new developments are often adopted very quickly. In particular, this only benefits efficiency during meetings. Because there is always a strong evolution in the meeting market, it is interesting to closely follow the latest trends and developments.

We were happy to find out the most current meeting trends for you and have collected them in this blog.

#1 The tablet as an indispensable meeting tool

About a third of all Dutch companies with at least 50 employees choose to make tablets available for business use. A tablet is a powerful device which in principle makes it possible to work mobile anywhere and at any time (as long as internet is available). However, did you also know that a tablet is increasingly indispensable for meetings these days?

By using a current meeting app you will have access to a digital meeting file that you can consult and adjust at any time. Using such an application also works very efficiently, especially because there are no longer separate notes on the many colorful and, above all, numerous post-its. Moreover, in this way there can no longer be a discussion about document versions.

#2 Using mobile or pop-up meeting locations

It happens more and more often that companies surprise with their meeting location. It would therefore not only be interesting in terms of inspiration, but also in terms of productivity to move to an unusual or familiar meeting location. In practice, this means that especially the mobile of pop-up meeting locations have gained considerable popularity. This is perhaps one of the most striking developments in the field of meeting trends in recent times.

One time, for example, you can choose a boat as a meeting location, while the other time you can prefer, for example, a pop-up restaurant. The fact that the environment in which meetings are held can be (particularly) inspiring in practice is proven by large companies such as Apple and Google. They are therefore known for their special, innovative and, moreover, inspiring work and meeting places.

#3 Flexible meetings

One of the most interesting trends when it comes to meetings from a financial point of view can be found in the fact that more and more people are choosing to organize meetings in a flexible way. Studies that have been carried out have shown that managers just average 40 percent spend their working time attending meetings. Top managers meet even more often, to average 75 percent of their full working hours. The time that meetings take up in this way costs in the Netherlands alone about 60 billion euros on an annual basis.

The above has everything to do with the fact that there are on average about 300 meeting hours per year. When you attend a meeting with several people, these are of course very expensive hours. For this reason, it is increasingly opted to have meetings attended by people who really relate to the subject being raised. For example, the entire board of a company is no longer invited to every meeting.

#4 Meet the 'meeting bike'

A significant number of hard-working people are doomed to sit in meetings for many hours at a time. The Arbo has already indicated that the office furniture should facilitate this long sitting. However, we all know that it is not healthy. For this reason, more and more companies are looking in the direction of a so-called 'meeting bike'. These special 'desk bikes' make it possible to pedal the pedals during a meeting. In this way, not only can productive meetings be held, it is also possible to work on the condition in the meantime!

#5 Inserting an online meeting

In a time when not only more and more people work from home, but also much more international work, for example, online meetings can no longer be ignored in the meeting market. This is one of the trends that already stood out last year, but is continuing steadily this year.

In the past, multinationals, for example, often opted to have their international partners fly over to meetings, but that was invariably accompanied by a hefty price tag. Nowadays, Skype and FaceTime in particular offer the possibility to attend a meeting virtually. Despite the fact that these options have been available on the market for some time, it must be said that this can again be called one of the most important meeting trends this year.

#6 Solution-oriented meetings

It is not only the framework for meetings that has been subject to all kinds of trends over the years. What about the actual content that is given to meetings? Take, for example, solution-oriented working. This is an increasingly popular method of dealing with issues during meetings. Characteristic of this way of working is that people no longer think in terms of problems, but in terms of solutions. Instead of continuously focusing on the problem at hand, we look at what the most optimal situation could be within the problem that arises. For example, where would you like to be as a company or as a person?

Based on the above, you can then brainstorm with the other attendees during the meeting about how you can gradually work towards the most ideal situation. In this way, a positive mindset will arise, resulting in a positive atmosphere. In practice, using such a solution-oriented method ensures that one can think ahead instead of dwelling on the problem in question for a long time. More and more companies consciously choose to handle issues in this way, which means that we can also call this one of the most current meeting trends of the moment.

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Can you use more tips for a productive meeting after reading this blog? Then read the blog with 5 tips for an effective meeting.