How Collaborative Note-taking Tools Make Meetings More Valuable

It’s a common complaint among workers and business leaders: Meetings aren’t nearly as productive as they’re supposed to be. Research backs up this statement.

Studies indicate that the average manager spends 23 hours a week in meetings. Of those 23 hours, eight may be unproductive.

There are many reasons why meetings might not deliver the value they ought to. Often, the problem actually involves what happens after a meeting.

Staff who participate in a meeting may take notes on their own, but when the meeting ends, they might not collaborate with other participants in a worthwhile way.

That doesn’t have to be the case. With a collaborative note-taking tool, teams can leverage the full potential value of the meeting. The following points may help you understand better why you and your teams should start taking advantage of this tech solution.

What is a Collaborative Note-Taking Tool?

To begin appreciating the usefulness of a collaborative note-taking tool, you first need to understand what it is.

The features of a collaborative note-taking tool may vary depending on which specific tool you end up using. You need to evaluate your options carefully to find one that’s right for your needs.

In general, though, this type of product allows users to take notes or brainstorm on a single platform at the same time. For example, maybe you’re planning a meeting in which the goal is to discuss and brainstorm potential ideas for new products.

You could use a collaborative note-taking tool to set up one “master document” in advance. During the meeting, everyone may record their notes and ideas on that one document, which should promote greater collaboration.

Benefits of using this type of tool include the following:

Improving Ideas

When meeting participants record their ideas in the form of notes, it’s not uncommon for those ideas not to be fully formed yet. They may have the potential to deliver value for the firm eventually, but they have to be developed further before they can produce results.

Often, developing these ideas requires collaboration with others. Thus, when all the participants in a meeting are recording their notes on the same document via the same platform, they have more opportunities to help each other expand basic concepts into fleshed-out ideas.

Improving Remote Meetings

A collaborative note-taking tool can enhance the value of any meeting. However, it can be particularly useful when you’re conducting remote meetings over video chat.

When a meeting involves everyone gathered in the same room, you can at least put up a whiteboard to take down some notes from all the staff members who are present. This is less efficient and thorough than using a collaborative note-taking tool, but at least it’s an option

But it’s not typically an option for remote meetings. Fortunately, that’s not an issue when everyone takes notes on the same document accessible via an app.

Improving Culture

Research has also shown that unproductive meetings can take a toll on company culture and employee engagement. If you were to use a collaborative note-taking tool, however, engagement and culture could actually receive a boost from meetings.

A collaborative note-taking tool makes it easier (and more likely) for employees to approach a goal as a team in the course of a meeting. Use the tool consistently, and you’ll likely see your teams become more collaborative. This will of course benefit company culture.

Just remember, not all collaborative note-taking tools are equally worthwhile. Make sure you select one that has an intuitive interface, can be accessed via both desktop computers and mobile devices, and has a positive reputation among other customers.