Recently many “what’s hot” lists are published in the media. What, then, are the trends when it comes to meetings? SCRUM meetings were, for instance, increasingly popular in 2015. And in 2016? I predict the following meeting trends:
A fresh breeze through the meeting room
During the recent financial crisis we paid less attention to meetings and invested less money in them. This wasn’t always advantageous when it came to inspiration. Although we have primarily held meetings “at home” the last years, the improving economy has led to an increase in external meeting location rentals. One meeting trend for 2016 then is to meet in an unusual location, such as a trendy renovated factory hall or church. After all, original and fresh ideas flow more easily in an innovative atmosphere, out of your comfort zone.
Sitting during a meeting is so 2015!
A report from the Dutch Heart Association was published in December last year noted that high blood pressure is one of our greatest health threats. A healthier lifestyle is essential to prevent high blood pressure, which means getting enough exercise. How logical is it then, to stand during meetings in 2016? Through doing so, you give your body the variation that it needs and you boost the pace of the meetings.
Grease-burger no more
We are increasingly more concerned about our diet. We read food labels more often before putting items into the grocery cart. Our corporate cafeterias are getting healthier. Fatty foods are replaced with healthy salads or soups. This trend will continue, also in meeting rooms.
Attention to the environment
Government leaders made new agreements in December 2015 to reverse global warming. More and more businesses take responsibility for their own contribution. And yes, there is also a way to do this through meetings. There are many methods to reduce your organization’s CO2 emissions. Meetings with paper agendas and minutes are dying out, making room for the trend of paperless meetings. That not only saves paper and the CO2 emissions produced by paper factories, but also reduces chemical waste.
Flexible meetings
This trend has already started and will continue in 2016. Not everyone needs to attend an entire meeting. After all, time is money. That is why managers increasingly offer their colleagues the possibility to limit their attendance to themes that are relevant to their work. That saves significant amounts of time that can be more efficiently devoted to other tasks
Holographic Telepresence
For the real trendsetters, there is a new method for meeting. With this your colleagues in other countries can attend the meeting almost live. Sci-fi? Nope! This can be done with Holographic Telepresence. With a screen that can not only display a 3D hologram, but also can make updates in semi-real time. So with this you can see your colleagues abroad, including their movements in 3D.
During the course of the year we will see whether this last trend will catch on. And if we catch wind of new trends during 2016, you can read about them here in our future blogs!
