just say no to meetings that don't accomplish anything and make you question your life choices. use these agenda templates to align your team without wasting anyone's time.
behind every unproductive meeting is an agenda that missed the mark or didn’t exist in the first place. and that's a serious problem, considering how much time we all spend in meetings.
the 2022 atlassian state of teams report found that in-office employees spend an average of five hours in meetings per week, with remote and hybrid teams averaging eight hours. yet nearly a third of respondents in a 2021 surveymonkey survey said they believed all or most of the meetings they attend “could have been an email.” yikes.
starting with a clear agenda can help identify gaps in the discussion or maybe even lead to the decision that you don’t need a meeting at all. what a concept!
let's talk about the ingredients of an effective meeting agenda and then get to the good stuff: all those juicy trello templates that will make your life so much easier–and your meetings so much better.
how to write an agenda for a meeting
no matter what kind of meeting you're having, there are some best practices to keep in mind:
- set a meeting goal. take a moment to define what you hope to accomplish by the end of the meeting. is it a decision? to share information? to gather ideas for a specific initiative? this goal will keep the meeting focused, determine the type of meeting needed, and shape the items on the agenda.
- determine agenda items. what information are you going to share with attendees? what meeting topics are you going to discuss? what action items need attention? these will be your agenda items.
- allot a specific amount of time for each agenda item. these time limits will help you stay on track and ensure you actually get to each item on your agenda.
- designate team members to lead each agenda item. that way, attendees know ahead of time to come prepared with the information, presentation, or anything else they might need.
- provide relevant meeting materials ahead of time. if there are any materials relevant to topics being discussed (like reports), link to the docs in the agenda, so attendees have time to go through them before the meeting.
sample meeting agenda
here's a general sample agenda that can be adapted for any type of meeting.
product team sprint retrospective | 2/14/2023 at 9-10:30 a.m. et
attendees: @product team members
meeting goal: to evaluate the process and outcomes of this sprint and use these insights to improve future sprints.
note to attendees: please fill out the sprint retrospective trello board with your thoughts ahead of the meeting, so we can discuss them.
agenda:
- sprint overview (15 minutes) | @veronica
- what went well? (15 minutes) | @leroy
- what can we improve? (15 minutes) | @brianna
- what did we learn? (15 minutes) | @christina
- what do we need to do going forward? | @kevin
- closing thoughts | @veronica
this is what the agenda would look like in trello:
14 trello team meeting agenda templates your team will love
once you have the meeting agenda basics down, it’s time to explore the templates that will make your meetings even more successful.
trello has a library of meeting agenda templates for just about any kind of meeting. and the best news is that with trello enterprise, your org has unlimited workspaces—so each team or department can create a dedicated space for all their own meeting boards.
check out these 14 templates for weekly stand-ups, all-hands meetings, brainstorming sessions, and more.
1. weekly team meeting agenda template
no more scrambling to find out what you’re going to discuss as a team each week. trello’s weekly team meeting template gets everyone engaged in the process from start to finish.
with trello’s weekly team meeting agenda template, you can plan everything from the meeting lead to each discussion topic.
this agenda template gives you a list of cards with detailed info on each component of the board. for each weekly meeting, you’ll assign a meeting lead and scribe (who takes meeting notes). each discussion point gets its own card and assigned team member who will moderate that topic. this template even has opportunities for team updates and shoutouts.
2. all-hands meeting agenda template
all-hands meetings are key to org-wide alignment, which is why it’s important to use this staff meeting time wisely. trello’s town hall meeting template lets you map out each part of your all-hands meetings to clearly communicate company-wide updates, goals, and more.
use the trello town hall meeting agenda template to plan out the company and product updates and initiatives that will be discussed.
the first list column in this template includes all the info team members will need for future all-hands meetings—including instructions for joining the meeting remotely. each meeting gets its own list with cards for company and product updates, plus initiatives being covered. there are also lists for general announcements and questions and meeting minutes.
3. team stand-up meeting agenda template
with so much to do and so little time, it can be hard for team members to know what to prioritize. that’s where team stand-up meetings come in, and the team tasks - 5 things workflow template makes it easy to run effective stand-ups so everyone knows what to work on each day.
within the trello team tasks - 5 things workflow template, team members use individual cards to share what they’re working on each day.
before each team stand-up meeting, team members can add cards within their designated list. these cards will note two tasks they’re currently working on, two tasks next in the pipeline, and one task that’s been requested but is not currently prioritized—these are the five items. that way, managers can help team members reprioritize as needed.
4. sprint retrospective meeting agenda template
with so much to cover, teams can quickly lose focus in sprint retrospective meetings—which can keep you from gaining valuable teamwork insights. trello’s sprint retrospective meeting template lets teams carefully reflect on what happened over the course of the sprint—and what the path forward should be.
the trello sprint retrospective template has lists for each discussion point of the meeting—including what went well and what needs to change.
this template includes lists of the main discussion points: what went well and what needs to change.
ahead of the sprint retro meeting, team members can add cards that cover their thoughts on these points. there are also sections for questions and discussion, as well as next steps. the board will guide your meeting and also function as an accessible space for the thoughts shared on changes to future sprints.
5. sprint planning meeting agenda template
sprint planning meetings can feel like a never-ending game of tetris. keep the process organized using the trello agile sprint board template.
on the trello agile sprint board template, teams can track backlogs and plan out each sprint with stakeholder input.
trello’s agile sprint board offers a space to collect and track all backlog items and prioritize them for your sprint planning meetings.
stakeholders can input requests as cards in the general backlog list. then in the meeting, as projects are selected for the sprint, team members can move their respective cards to the sprint backlog list. from there, everyone will know what will be worked on for each sprint.
6. post-mortem meeting agenda template
post-mortem meetings offer a closer look at what went wrong in a project. and this trello post-mortem meeting board template provides these insights at a glance as you discuss them as a group and come up with solutions.
in the trello post-mortem meeting board, team members can use cards to raise issues that impact the business.
in the trello post-mortem board meeting template, team members can create cards in the “matters raised” list for issues as they come up. from there, throughout the meeting, you’ll all move cards to other lists (“requires investigation,” “to monitor,” or “closed/resolved”) based on what’s decided at the discussion stage.
7. one-on-one meeting agenda template
one-on-one meetings are vital to the growth and success of your team members. guide these important conversations with the trello 1-on-1 meeting template.
use this template as a single source of truth for topics, goals, and action items for one-on-one meetings.
this board creates a home base for you and each of your team member’s one-on-one meetings with cards for topics both the team member and manager want to discuss.
this is also where team member goals live. and there are labels to prioritize discussion topics—like blockers—and discuss if interested. you can use this same template over and over again and keep each one private, so only the team member whose one-on-one agenda it is can see it.
8. new-team meeting agenda template
when a new team is formed or team members join new teams, it’s time for everyone to get to know each other. in fact, this act is a key piece of the forming stage of bruce w. tuckman’s team development framework. and this stage is all about building trust within your team, aligning on a team mission, and establishing team processes.
a fun icebreaker or new-team meeting can help kick this stage off, and trello’s team icebreaker: surviving the apocalypse template is a good one to start with.
this board has everything you need to run your icebreaker for a new-team meeting, starting with instructions.
the template offers a space where all team members can interact as they participate in a zombie apocalypse–themed icebreaker. it has a list laying out the rules and other lists for participants and the supplies available. the board is a definite conversation starter that helps team members bond.
9. brainstorming meeting agenda template
innovation happens best with dedicated team brainstorming—especially when team members are scattered around the globe. the trello distributed team brainstorming template offers a place for this critical collaboration to happen, even when teams are hybrid or remote.
the trello distributed team brainstorming template uses cards for each part of the meeting, from the problem being solved all the way through ideas you’re seriously considering.
start using this template by deciding on the problem you’re solving. then begin round one of brainstorming—adding cards for each idea. add lists of the brainstorming constraints that you’ll have to work with—or elements ideas must include.
from there, select the finalists as a team. these will be the ideas you want to consider further.
10. project planning meeting agenda template
to get projects started on the right track, you need to take the time to carefully plan and set them up for success as a team. the trello project management template helps teams plan entire projects—due dates, task assignments, and more.
the trello project management template functions as your planning hub to map out project tasks, due dates, and assignments.
this meeting agenda template is for overall project management—including the planning meeting. it offers project resources and a to-do list to plan out all the tasks that need to be completed by the entire team and get the project to the finish line.
11. okr meeting agenda template
enterprise objectives and key results (okrs) are complex and require precise planning. when you schedule your next meeting to determine okrs, use the okr template to figure out the key results necessary to reach your objectives.
the okr template has lists for each objective your org sets and cards for each of your key results.
within the okr meeting board, you have dedicated lists for each org objective. and in each list, you can add cards for each key result.
these cards also have the capability to set up advanced checklists for the subtasks needed to accomplish these key results. you can see your team’s progress at a glance, thanks to trello’s visual capabilities.
12. 4ls meeting agenda template
if you’re looking for a team retrospective approach that goes a little bit deeper than a typical retro, the 4ls meeting is for you. the 4ls meeting helps keep a pulse on employee engagement as well as outcomes and workflows. use trello’s 4ls exercise template to look back on and learn from everything team members loved, longed for, loathed, and learned over the last quarter.
the trello 4ls exercise template gives you a space to reflect on the last quarter.
look back at the last quarter as a team with this template. it includes lists for the milestones you hit and each of the 4ls. there’s also a section for action items to take in the next quarter based on the 4ls.
13. team health monitor meeting agenda template
a happy and healthy team is a productive team. conduct regular team health monitor meetings with this trello template to check in with your team and get a high-level overview of how they’re doing. 
with this template, you can measure the health of your team in different categories—including fun, teamwork, and velocity.
use trello’s team health monitor agenda template throughout the meeting to record how healthy the team feels they are in important categories. the lists include fun, teamwork, shared mission, delivering value, and more. you use red, yellow, and green labels to determine if the team feels good, bad, or somewhere in the middle about how they’re doing.
14. daci meeting agenda template
it can be tough to make big decisions about company projects and initiatives. a daci (driver, approver, contributors, informed) meeting can help by providing a structured meeting agenda to figure out all the logistics involved in making a final decision. and trello has a template to help.
the trello daci decision-making framework has lists for every stage in the decision-making process.
in your daci meeting, you can use this template to make sure you’ve taken every step necessary to make an informed decision for your business. this includes establishing a driver to guide the team to a decision and an approver who signs off on the decision. you’ll also need to identify project contributors taking part in the decision-making process and the team members impacted by the decision who need to be informed.
integrations to “power up” your trello meeting agenda templates
on top of the wide range of meeting agenda templates trello offers, the product also has integrations (better known as power-ups) to give the templates a boost. these are the top two power-ups used across these templates:
- voting: this power-up lets team members vote in favor of specific cards and is especially useful for team health monitor meetings and brainstorming meetings. when you set it up, users will vote on cards using the thumbs-up vote button. the votes will then display at the top of each card, so you know how many votes an item has and who voted for it.
activate the trello voting power-up to make decision making during meetings a breeze at your org.
- confluence: with this power-up, you can add more detailed project pages to your meeting agenda cards for additional context. you can also use the confluence integration to take meeting notes that you can then attach to your trello card for easy reference.
attached detailed confluence project pages and meeting notes to agenda cards for additional context for your team.
but these power-ups are just the beginning. trello has over 200 integrations, so you can customize your meeting agendas to meet your needs.
amp up the value of your meetings with trello enterprise
productive meetings provide opportunities to brainstorm, reflect, learn, grow, and make important decisions. use your team’s time wisely with these agenda templates and more from trello enterprise.
ready to learn more?
good or bad, we’d love to hear your thoughts. find us on twitter (@trello)!
