Meet Agendaful, a Slack app for 1:1 meeting agendas
Enhancing 1:1 Meetings with Agendaful: A New Slack App
Hi, Engineering Leaders!
As a software engineer with nearly two decades of experience, I’m excited to introduce you to Agendaful, a Slack app designed specifically for creating collaborative 1:1 meeting agendas. After months of development, it’s now live, and you can try it out for free!
What is Agendaful?
Agendaful is a Slack-based tool that allows you to manage shared agendas for your 1:1 meetings. This app is particularly useful for interactions with your direct reports, enabling them to contribute meaningful agenda items that foster their professional growth. With Agendaful, you’ll receive reminder notifications when it’s time to prepare for your next meeting, and on the day of the meeting, you’ll receive a Slack message containing your agenda.
Why Did I Build Agendaful?
Having occupied both individual contributor and managerial roles, I’ve faced the challenge of ineffective 1:1 meetings. Most existing tools treat meeting preparation as an afterthought, which can create friction in team communication and hinder professional development.
My extensive experience with Slack prompted me to create an app that focuses on engineering leadership, particularly enhancing the effectiveness of one-on-ones. I recognized an opportunity to streamline this vital aspect of leadership, and thus, Agendaful was born.
How Does Agendaful Work?
Using Agendaful is straightforward:
- Schedule Your 1:1s: Add your 1:1 meetings and specify how often they recur.
- Set Preparation Reminders: Inform Agendaful of when you’d like reminders to prepare for these meetings.
- Collaborative Agenda Creation: When it’s time to prepare, both you and your reports can add agenda items. You’ll receive a notification when this occurs.
- Receive Meeting Agendas: On the day of the meeting, a Slack message will be sent to you with your complete agenda.
It’s that simple! Agendaful is fully integrated with Slack, promoting ownership of the meeting agenda among your reports.
Addressing Common Concerns
As we dive deeper into this tool, it’s essential to address some common concerns regarding data handling and storage, especially for organizations with strict data control policies.
How to Record Notes During a 1:1?
One question that often arises is how to record notes during 1:1s and share them with participants. While Agendaful itself focuses on agenda management, it is vital to establish a separate process for note-taking. Many leaders find success using platforms like Confluence for this purpose. This approach not only organizes meeting notes but also ensures they are easily accessible for future reference.
What Happens to Data During Organizational Changes?
Concerns about data availability can arise, particularly during offboarding, changes in Slack licenses, or organizational restructuring. Agendaful is designed to operate within Slack, and it’s crucial to understand how your organization manages data within this ecosystem. Currently, Agendaful does not store data outside of Slack, but you should consult your organization’s policies regarding data retention to ensure compliance.
Declaring Data Use for Compliance
For organizations with tight data control measures, it’s crucial to declare how meeting data is used and stored. While Agendaful empowers your reports to own the meeting agenda, any sensitive information discussed should be documented in a secure manner, such as through a shared Confluence space or similar tool.
Ready to Transform Your 1:1s?
If you’re ready to enhance the quality of your 1:1 meetings, install Agendaful today for a free 1-month trial—no credit card required! Let’s work together to make your team’s 1:1s more meaningful.
Open to Feedback
I’m eager to hear your thoughts on Agendaful! If you try it out or have any suggestions, feel free to reach out to me here or at david@madebydw.com. Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to improve this tool.
Let’s elevate our 1:1 meetings to a new level of effectiveness!
This blog post is structured to introduce Agendaful, explain its features, address common concerns, and encourage feedback, all while maintaining a professional and engaging tone.