Every meeting should end with action items. Everyone needs to know who’s doing what and by when. Otherwise, meetings turn into discussions that don’t accomplish much. Having clear action items ensures all team members know what’s expected of them. They help keep teams organized, accountable and aligned with goals. But how do you go about crafting action items? You can start by following a simple process.
Writer Jory MacKay contributed a piece to the Planio blog that covers the 8 steps to planning, assigning and managing action items. We share his tips to crafting better action items in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
1. Know how much support your team needs. The more junior your team, the more detailed guidance you may need to provide. And if you’re working with an experienced team, providing short action items can save you time and create autonomy for your staff members.
2. Summarize what needs to be done. MacKay says the foundational part of any action item is clearly defining what must be done. This gets everyone aligned as to the outcome of the action, removing ambiguity and setting a target to work towards.
3. Provide context for the task. This ensures your team members know why they’re completing the action items. MacKay recommends linking your action items to project milestones or objectives. You could also outline the risks of not getting the action items done.
4. Set a priority level and due date. Everything must fall into place at the right time, MacKay says, and this includes your action items. Setting a due date is essential so that everyone knows when an action needs completing. If your action items are stacking up, make sure your team knows which ones are most important.
5. Assign the tasks. Every action item needs an owner. When possible, try to assign actions to individuals rather than groups. This ensures the highest level of accountability, MacKay says. Each time you assign someone an action item, it adds to their to-do list, so stay mindful of everyone’s workloads.
6. Document the actions in your project management system. Keep track of your action items using tools like Asana, Trello or other project management systems. MacKay says this helps keep everything in one place and makes actions easier to track moving forward.
7. Support the action owner. Once you assign an action to someone on your team, check in with them periodically and see if they have what they need to complete the task. MacKay says you might use one-on-one meetings or quick emails to check in without micromanaging.
Make sure your meetings aren’t just casual conversations but that participants know what steps to take next. Your whole team’s productivity can improve when everyone knows what they’re responsible for and when to deliver.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Jory MacKay is an award-winning writer and editor out of Montreal, Canada. He contributes to Inc., Fast Company, Quartz and more.
