1. Keep the Meeting Small:

First and foremost, inclusion does not mean bigger meetings. 

Actually, just the opposite - larger meetings undermine inclusion as there is less airtime, more coordination issues, and even something called social loafing where we don’t engage as deeply when we feel anonymous, akin to hiding in a crowd. Naturally, in larger meetings we feel more anonymous.   

So, don't over invite.  That is a false solution to inclusion.

Luckily, virtual meetings can be readily recorded and listened to at twice the speed by attendees who don’t attend live. So, let nonessential members off the hook, and just share the recording.  They can listen at their convenience rather than having a meeting interrupt their flow.  

However, and this is a big however, our research shows that while employees often complain about meetings, they also get worried if they are not invited to a meeting. So, and this is key, to avoid team members who weren’t invited from feeling marginalized, a conversation is needed in advance. Give explanation, opportunity for input, and assurance of post meeting outputs - and give them the option to attend any future meetings on the topic if they so desire. They typically won’t take you up on it, but they will appreciate being asked.   

As a related aside, I am a big advocate of teams/departments having candid conversations around how they will approach meeting sizes – create a shared understanding of when to invite and when not to invite. Establish norms around keeping meetings lean and keeping others in the loop as needed. 

Also, one meeting design practice that can help is consider inviting people for part of the meeting, but not all of the meeting. Leverage the agenda to time entry and exit. This lets you be more inclusive, without the bloat.  

Overall, when unneeded members do not attend a meeting, you save money, time, frustration, and you actually promote inclusion