Juggling back-to-back meetings is an integral skill to stay productive in today’s work environment. Switching context between meetings, adhering to the action items, and sticking to your to-do list can be challenging.
Inadequate post-meeting communication affects the workflow and relationships among the team members. A follow-up email can save your team from losing track of what’s important. It’s also an effective way to appreciate their time and efforts. This small gesture could foster a positive work environment and keep the members focused. A meeting follow-up serves as the brief to the key points discussed during the meeting.
Sending a follow-up email is also a meeting etiquette that shows your professionalism and commitment to work. This guide is designed to help you master the art of writing a follow-up email to make the most of a work meeting.
What To Include in a Meeting Follow-up Email?
Let’s begin by understanding the content that goes into a meeting follow-up email:
Start with grateful appreciation
Whether you’ve had a meeting with your boss, teammates, or a potential client, appreciate their efforts to show up.
Personalize the follow-up email to make it as human as possible.
- Address the recipient by their name
- Mention specific points from their contribution that caught your attention during the meeting
- Thank them for their assistance or support.
Summarize the key decisions in the meeting follow-up email
It’s impossible to memorize every discussed point after the meeting. This leads to the attendees not being accountable for the action items and losing the meeting momentum. This is where sending a meeting summary becomes crucial.
Create a recap of the recent discussion for your team to get things done as per plan. It also serves as async communication for those members who couldn’t make it to the meeting. Use Loopin to:
- Make meeting notes straight on your calendar
- Assign action items post-meeting and share them with all attendees via email or Slack
- Save time fetching the previous meeting notes while drafting the follow-up mail.
Here are some pointers to make the follow-up email actionable and easy to follow:
- Highlight the critical decisions and action items
- Specify the assigned tasks and roles
- Mention the further steps
- Include a reminder for the next meeting.
Attach the referred resources (if any) to the email
If you’ve used any reference during the meeting, don’t forget to attach it to the mail. It could be a presentation, requested learning material, access to a file, etc., by the team members.
Leave scope for discussion
Let the attendees know you’re open to discussing any queries or follow-up doubts. It fosters a collaborative environment for everyone. This small gesture can instill a sense of motivation, accountability, and enthusiasm among team members to give their best performance.
Tips To Write An Effective Post-Meeting Follow-up Email
Besides the content of the mail, the formatting matters too. Keep the following tips in mind while drafting your next meeting follow-up email to get the best results:
Draft the follow-up email promptly
Sending a meeting follow-up by email takes a few minutes. Make sure your team members have all the resources they need to take further steps. Ensure to send it within 24 hours of the meeting and keep everyone within the team updated.
A few meetings could be exceptions, like a job interview or feedback from an existing client. In such cases, sending a follow-up email after a few days will do.
Start with a catchy and clear subject line
Don’t ignore the importance of curating the subject line in the follow-up email. Checking the cluttered inbox during work hours prompts the recipient to filter the emails as per their urgency. No one has the time to go through every message or update they receive.
Your work isn’t over by simply adding the meeting details in the mail. You’ve to make efforts to curate a crisp subject line that speaks for the immediate attention of your teammates.
Keeping it concise is the key to curating meeting follow-ups by email
Keep the meeting follow-up email short and to the point. Use pointers, simple language, and the right formatting to make it skimmable. This will ensure that your mail has a good response rate.
Proofread the mail before sending
This step will save you and your team confusion and mismanagement. Take a few minutes to revisit the content before you hit the send button. Even if you’re using a template to create the meeting follow-up email, don’t forget to proofread once you’re done editing.
Post Meeting Follow-up Email Template
The content of the follow-up email changes with the meeting context and the recipient. Here are a few templates designed for you based on the meeting types. All you need to do is update the relevant information, and you’re good to go.
Follow-up e-mail for teammates appreciating their efforts
Subject: Kudos to our incredible team spirit
Dear [Team],
Thanks for showing up and contributing today. Your ideas and insights made the meeting productive and meaningful. Let’s keep the momentum going with the key initiatives discussed during the meeting.
[Add the key points]
Here’s everything you’d need for the action items.
[Specify roles + action items + deadlines]
You can find the presentation slides in the attachments below.
Looking forward to having another enthusiastic meet-up on [date of next meeting].
Best,
[Your Name]
For a potential client to resolve their pain points through your product/service
Subject: We’ll be happy to get {item} done for you
Dear [Client Name],
I hope this email finds you well. After our recent conversation, I wanted to follow up and share that our team has extensive experience resolving similar challenges in [industry/field]. Our [product/solution] has successfully improved [specific pain point].
I’m confident we have the solution to help your business. I’d be happy to share more details and see if it aligns with your needs.
Please let me know if you’re available for a call next week to discuss this further.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
For a potential employee after the interview
Subject: Loved your energy during the interview.
Dear [Aspirant’s Name],
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences during our interview. I was impressed by your qualifications and enthusiasm for the [Job Title] role.
We’re still in the process of evaluating all of our candidates, but I wanted to reach out to let you know we appreciate your interest in joining our team.
I’ll keep you posted on the status of your application. Meanwhile, please feel free to reach out if you’ve any questions for me.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
Conclusion
Taking a meeting follow-up by email can be a tedious and tricky job. If you want your team to be collaborative, avoiding this step isn’t an option at all.
Use our email templates and tips for curating effective post-meeting follow-ups in no time.
- Draft the follow-up email promptly
- Start with a catchy and clear subject line
- Keeping it concise is the key to meeting follow-ups by email
- Proofread the mail before sending it.
Close your meeting follow-up emails on an encouraging note to avoid overwhelming your teammates but keep them motivated to get things done.
