Weekly, Meeting, Conference, Daily, Session ... You're probably familiar with many terms for communicative exchanges in professional life. But even though they have different names, their goal is similar. They are intended to promote dialog within the team and bring everyone involved up to the same level - without wasting time.
A Jour Fixe meeting is a special form of such an exchange. It takes place at regular intervals and is compulsory for all project or team members. This opportunity to have everyone involved at the same place (or at least the same online video conference) must of course be used sensibly and effectively. Below, we will show you how you can make the most out of an Jour Fixe.
What is a Jour Fixe?
The term "Jour Fixe" describes a fixed, regularly recurring appointment for a meeting of several people. In a professional environment, it is mainly used in project management for a meeting in which all participants – including those who otherwise work remotely – come together and discuss the current project status.
A key characteristic of the Jour Fixe is that the regular meetings are planned well in advance. This ensures that everyone involved is present. Whether the Jour Fixe takes place monthly, weekly or even daily naturally depends on your project.
Contrary to first impressions, the term itself did not originate in France. Although the two words can be translated from French as "fixed day", its meaning as a regular meeting on a recurring date is unique to Germany.
In Germany, the term "Jour Fixe" has been used since the 18th century – but not in relation to the professional world as it is today. Back then, the term was used instead to describe a social event for the general public, such as a cultural event that takes place regularly and to which one is not specifically invited.
How does a Jour Fixe appointment work?
Ideally, a Jour Fixe has a predefined structure and a fixed moderation. This helps the participants to focus and the structured organization makes it easier to achieve results. It is also helpful to schedule a fixed amount of time. This keeps the spotlight on the key points and the team members can quickly get back to their individual tasks.
It is also important to keep a record of a Jour Fixe – as a verbatim, progress or results report, as required. It is a good idea to appoint a team member as a permanent minute taker. Concise records are a valuable resource. They can be used by you and your team members as an overview of the most important results and tasks even after the Jour Fixe meeting.
A typical procedure for a Jour Fixe is as follows:
- Welcome: This includes a brief look at the upcoming agenda.
- Review and status updates: What was discussed at the last Jour Fixe and what goals were achieved? The team members can briefly report on this at this point. Discussions should be avoided at this point.
- Discussion of the agenda: This is about the current topics and problems that your team is dealing with. Everyone involved has the opportunity to contribute their thoughts, ideas and concerns.
- Decision-making: Once the topics and problems have been discussed, decisions are made. Possible solutions and measures are developed and recorded.
- Allocation of tasks: Once a consensus has been reached on how to proceed with a project, the next steps are decided. The answer to the question “Who does what and when?” is key to clarifying responsibilities.
- Summary and conclusion: At the end, the most important points are briefly summarized and an outlook on the upcoming deadlines, tasks or challenges is made. This is also an opportunity for feedback from the team.
How do I prepare for a Jour Fixe?
The right planning is the be-all and end-all for a successful Jour Fixe. If all the important points are thought of, then they are a helpful support in project management. Below you will find the most important points when preparing for a Jour Fixe meeting. We will also show you how to implement them in a project management software such as Stackfield.
A fixed date:
Sure, a Jour Fixe takes place regularly. This means that the appointment series only needs to be found and communicated once. If you want to be reminded of these dates, then you can simply create a recurring appointment for a Jour Fixe in Stackfield - including a reminder. This way, nothing is lost, even in a hectic project.
Clear allocation of roles:
Who leads the Jour Fixe and who records the meeting? A fixed assignment of roles not only helps you with orientation, but also with structure. In Stackfield, for example, the roles can be assigned directly in a separate Jour Fixe room. This makes it easy to see who is responsible for what, even outside the Jour Fixe.
Are you worried that team members who don't have an active role will sit back and not participate? Then simply set a predetermined speaking order in which each member has to give input in the discussion and/or feedback round. This will ensure that everyone engages with the agenda.
All necessary documents:
Necessary materials must be prepared and made available in good time so as not to hinder the course of the Jour Fixe meeting. If you are still using paper, you can prepare information folders, for example. However, it is more effective and cost-effective to provide the documents digitally via a shared online platform. This ensures access even after the meeting.
A detailed, well-organized agenda:
The agenda is the centerpiece of every Jour Fixe and must be prepared accordingly. It is helpful to start with simpler topics and place more complex ones at the end of the agenda. A note with the planned time for each agenda item also helps to keep the Jour Fixe short and efficient.
The time schedule for a Jour Fixe can be planned in a task.
In Stackfield, an agenda can easily be created as a task with several subtasks. This has the advantage that everyone involved in the project has an immediate overview of the upcoming topics and is on the same page. The person responsible can be assigned to each item and an exact time measurement can also be specified. In addition, the task can be quickly copied with the created agenda and simply linked in the upcoming appointment.
Practical tips for holding a Jour Fixe
The Jour Fixe is coming up, the team is assembled and the agenda is set. Nothing can go wrong now, can it? Unfortunately, even a well-prepared Jour Fixe is not a sure-fire success. There are also a few things to consider during and especially after the Jour Fixe. If you already use project management software such as Stackfield, it can help you keep track of everything.
Every meeting is also a challenge and not everything always runs smoothly. In the following list, we present you with a few of the points that you don't necessarily always have in mind when planning a Jour Fixe meeting - solutions included.
Online or on-site appointment:
A Jour Fixe meeting benefits from the physical presence of everyone involved in the project. However, this is not always possible or feasible for every project and is not the ideal way, especially for international teams. Fortunately, you can use a conference via audio, video or screen sharing online.
You can quickly start a video conference in Stackfield.
Of course, the planning has to be right here too. Who invites people to the meeting and do all employees have the same technical requirements to be able to hold an online Jour Fixe? Anyone who uses Stackfield in their company has an advantage here. Thanks to the integrated communication options, you can start conferences directly via the tool – without the need for additional programs.
Say "no" to a textual wasteland:
A Jour Fixe appointment thrives on lively exchanges. Often enough, however, hard figures, data and facts have to be presented. Without a proper visualisation, this can become hard to follow quickly. A clearly structured graphic stays in the mind much longer than a page-long wasteland of text.
Collaboratively created presentations, such as a chart on a whiteboard, are particularly memorable. The disadvantage of a physical whiteboard, however, is that the illustrations are usually no longer available after the end of the meeting. This cannot happen with a digital whiteboard. Here, the notes are permanently stored securely for all team members.
The value of good records:
As with any important meeting, every Jour Fixe should be recorded. After all, the records are one of the most valuable results of every Jour Fixe meeting. With a quick glance, all the content, results, tasks and decisions can be recalled and it is also a confirmation of what has already been achieved.
If you want to keep particularly effective records, you can do this directly in a shared project management tool. In Stackfield, for example, you can create a separate page for each Jour Fixe in a shared room. This saves time and all team members have access to the notes without the need for an additional text document.
After the Jour Fixe is before the Jour Fixe:
When the discussion is over and the objectives have been defined, a Jour Fixe is not yet over. The most important point is just before the end: the distribution of tasks. After all, the solutions found should be implemented quickly.
If you clarify responsibilities directly and set deadlines, you give the whole team a framework within which they can act. In a project management tool like Stackfield, new tasks are quickly created and distributed. This means that every team member knows exactly who has to work on which topics and by when.
Conclusion: A helpful standard when planned correctly
The Jour Fixe is a standard in scheduling for good reason. With the right planning and preparation, a Jour Fixe can be an effective communication tool for small and large projects. The right approach helps everyone involved to keep an eye on the core topics and objectives and to avoid frustration.
For particularly simple and efficient planning, you can also consider using a project management tool. Whether for time management, documentation or communication – a tool like that can help you keep track of all steps, goals and decisions.