The average municipality will change drastically in the future due to aging, cultural diversity and regionalizing, among other modifications. That is the case with one of our clients, the municipality of Utrecht. In order to involve their citizens as much as possible in developments, Utrecht broadcasts all council meetings live via the internet. These live streams are coupled to the available documents, allowing viewers to directly see relevant records on the screen. The live stream is part of Utrecht’s transition to digital meetings. Leap to digital Utrecht Municipality has been holding digital meetings since 2013. They were initially established to...
Meeting trends: what’s hot in 2016?
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...
Lean meetings: how do you accomplish them?
The term “lean” is still hot in many companies. According to Wikipedia “lean” is a management philosophy that is focused upon realizing the maximum value for the client with minimum loss. Expenses are hereby reduced, improving the company results. Lean can also be applied in the area of meetings. And that can result in a major efficiency gain. Efficient meetings Everyone knows that meetings are more than just the discussions. Aside from the planning of a meeting there is also the organization, mailing and reading of documents. And naturally there are agreements and decisions made during the meeting. And don’t...
Facilitate paperless working! 5 helpful apps
You know them: those colleagues who always have everything under control. They have information at their fingertips on their cell phone or tablet with a single push of a button. They never need to look for the necessary records. A collection of Post-it notes on their desk? No way. Does it seem like heaven to you to be so organized? There are various apps that can help you to work smarter. Notebooks and memo pads are no longer necessary. You don’t have to waste time while looking for the correct memo. In no time, you too will have all of...
Meeting 3.0: 4 meeting trends
Two of my friends got new jobs this month, both of them for companies that work without a physical office. All of the colleagues work from home or at the client’s office. Every other week the colleagues meet on a Friday morning. They spend this time socializing and naturally discussing the progress of projects, and on other typical meeting tasks. Other companies have embraced teleworking where colleagues are not tied to an office or any specific place. They usually work from home and they thus see each other less at work. And this also often changes the way that they...
A paperless office: illusion or reality?
Does this happen to you? You can’t see something well on your computer screen and have the urge to use your fingers to zoom in on it, as you would with your I-Pad or smartphone? Or to “swipe” the screen? It doesn’t work because the device doesn’t have that technology, but that doesn’t occur to you… We take it for granted, the amazing technology that we all have at our fingertips, but who could have imagined 20 years ago that the world would be like this in 2016…? It is possible that you have also never heard of the World...
How ICT can make your enterprise more sustainable and green
Saving your company energy, time and money As a sustainability manager, you are aware that the energy consumption related to ICT is increasing substantially. And the outlook is that until 2030 the demand for ICT-capacity will escalate dramatically. So it is essential that sustainability managers familiarize themselves with ways to transform the ICT-process enterprises into ‘greener’ and/or more energy-efficient practices. Should sustainability not yet be recognised as a key issue within your company, it might help to focus on the financial benefits. That will probably help you to raise attention for greener practices. Naturally, every company wants to save money!...
iBabs is everybody’s best friend
We all want something different. It is corny but none the less true. It also applies to the way we conduct meetings. Just take a good look around during one of your meetings. Linda has her documents printed in front of her whereas her colleague John prefers a computer. Ask ten different people what they prefer and you will receive ten different answers. The question is; what makes an effective meeting? A system for everyone Everyone has their own working method. And yet it is important we all use the same system. To keep track, to organize the workflow, to...
