Guide to End-of-the-Year Meetings
There’s no better way to wrap up a successful year in the business world than with a comprehensive end-of-year meeting. The last few weeks of the year are often busy as calendars are filled with appointments, budgets are finalized, tax documents are gathered, and vendor contracts are reevaluated. A year-end meeting encourages the entire team to cross off important last-minute tasks on their checklists and prepare for a new year with a clean slate.
Planning a year-end review requires some preparation. Learn more about end-of-year meetings, why you should plan a meeting at the end of the year, and how to run a successful end-of-year staff meeting.
What Is an End-of-Year Meeting?
The end of the year offers the perfect opportunity to bring the whole team together for an annual review.
Whether you run a small business with just a couple of employees or the largest company in the city, a year-end meeting allows you and each team member to celebrate your hard work, review progress over the past year, and set goals for the coming year.
End-of-year team meetings are generally scheduled towards the end of Q4 and before staff members go on vacation for the holiday season. This event may take the form of a virtual end-of-year meeting or an in-person meeting.
Why Have an End-of-Year Meeting?
While many businesses schedule meetings throughout the year, an end-of-year meeting is different. This annual meeting is a chance to reflect upon the last year and review the ups and downs the business has encountered. It also gives both team leaders and team members a voice to share new ideas, share career aspirations, and show their appreciation to one another.
An end-of-year meeting is a perfect time to iterate on the various achievements of team members and how these achievements have helped the business reach organizational goals. A year review meeting is a fun way to end on a high note and get your team excited about the upcoming year.
How to Run a Successful Year-End Meeting
While many business leaders understand the importance of holding an in-person or virtual meetings at year’s end, many have trouble executing this type of event.
There are many critical aspects to consider when planning an end-of-year review meeting, such as who the participants will be, what activities will occur, and what topics will be discussed. Ideally, you want to tie the meeting together with company values, such as trust, teamwork, collaboration, work-life balance, and excellence.
Use the following tips to run a successful year-end meeting:
1. Invite Leaders to Run Different Sections
In many companies, business leaders do not get enough opportunities to speak with their entire team at once. During end of year meetings, invite leaders from each department to share their expertise, collaborate with their team members, and show their appreciation for a job well done.
Inviting team leaders to run different sections is an excellent way to help unify teams. If leaders from different departments are attending the meeting, consider starting the event with an icebreaker or team building exercise to help everyone become more acquainted. This increase in communication can lead to improvements in the new year.
2. Recap the Wins
It’s normal for employees to lose their motivation towards the end of the year. One way to encourage your team to continue doing their absolute best is by recapping the year’s wins. Throughout the year, each team member has worked hard to reach important goals or objectives. At the end-of-year meeting, take the time to review these achievements and indicate who helped make the wins possible.
It’s a good idea to look at the company’s outputs and metrics when determining where there have been victories. However, you’ll also want to approach these wins on a more personal level and consider which individuals stepped up, brought new ideas to the table, and helped the company grow.
3. Praise Your People
Every member of a team deserves some praise for being present and contributing to the company’s growth. While leaders often forget to praise their people, it is best practice to commend employees for their hard work and show them that you appreciate them being part of the team.
Consider providing your team with an end-of-year reward, along with vocal praise. Rewards like a staff party, company swag, food deliveries, gift vouchers, or gift baskets are a great way to show your team that you value them and recognize their dedication to the company.
4. Company Growth
One of the biggest goals of any company is to grow from one year to the next. Discussing the many ways in which a company has grown is a great way to make everyone feel proud of their hard work and show them how much they and the company have grown in just one year.
This is also the ideal time to discuss any new projects, processes, or other organizational change the company has had in the past year. This could be something as simple as a new social media page or as big as a major product launch. When team members are reminded of the growth they helped achieve, they will be more inclined to bring that same effort and energy into the new year.
5. Highlights of the Year
Businesses often schedule meetings throughout the year to talk about complications that the company might be facing and to request assistance with problem solving. While these types of meetings can be useful for helping the business overcome problems, it can also be discouraging for employees to hear about the issues being faced.
At an end-of-the-year meeting, take the time to review the highlights of the year rather than the lowlights. Come up with a few of the company’s biggest accomplishments over the last year, as well as some small personal wins that employees have encountered.
6. Review Next Year’s Goals
Going over achievements and other highlights of the year is just one component of a good end-of-year meeting. You should also take the time to review next year’s goals and objectives. Consider asking attendees to arrive prepared with a few organizational goals to share with the rest of the team.
Employees want to know their opinions matter and that they are an important part of the team. Getting ideas from other team members helps leaders gain valuable insights and better understand their employees’ visions. Establishing goals for the next year also helps motivate and get everyone excited about achieving a new set of goals.
7. Future Plans
Today’s businesses are always on the lookout for the next big thing. This means that by the end of the year, your company should have plans in place for the future. This might mean the start of a new project, renovations within the business, the creation of a new product line, or any other major plans that will help the company grow.
An end-of-year meeting is a great time to share or review these plans by getting the team excited about what’s to come in the new year. Building momentum early can help ensure that all team members are fully onboard when they return from their holiday break.
8. Close with the Why
The end of your meeting should close with a strong “why,” meaning why the company does what it does. This closing should reflect the company’s values and mission, as well as how everyone’s contributions have made it possible to maintain the company’s mission.
It is important to explain to your team why different goals are being prioritized so that they can better understand how their tasks, assignments, and responsibilities make an impact on the company’s progress toward their goals.
9. Get Feedback from Your Team
While the meeting may officially end when the attendees leave the room, you still have opportunities to learn from the experience. Consider sending a feedback survey or form to all meeting attendees to hear their thoughts about how the meeting went, which topics they liked or disliked, and suggestions on how to make next year’s end-of-year meeting even better.
Getting feedback from your team post-meeting shows your employees that you care about their ideas and opinions. This can help your team feel more appreciated, resulting in greater workplace satisfaction.
Ready to Run an End-of-the-Year Meeting?
Business leaders in the U.S. use a variety of techniques to help improve work performance. For example, a manager may send out a quarterly progress report or a year-end performance review. However, there is no replacement for an end-of-year meeting with your team.
If you’re planning an end-of-year meeting with your team, consider booking a meeting room at Roam. The meeting rooms at Roam provide businesses with a stress-free experience with assistance from a personal meeting coordinator who will help you execute your meeting agenda.
Meeting room rentals deliver an all-inclusive experience, from the on-site staff to the complimentary tech amenities. Schedule a tour or book your meeting room today.