No One Actually Likes Meetings, so Why Do We Have So Many?

There's little to no proof that meetings boost productivity, but we suffer from death by meeting anyway. Why? Because we're addicted to them.

A lot can change within a company over a short period of time. Brands grow, new hires are onboarded, business practices are streamlined, and collaborative tools are employed to ensure everyone is kept on the same page.

And then the meetings ensue.

Every organization suffers from death by meeting at one point or another. It's inevitable, unavoidable, and yet, few of us walk out of our 5th meeting of the day feeling as though we accomplished anything or took away something of value from it.

So why do we hold meetings?

It's because we're addicted to them.

91% of people daydream in meetings, 39% of people doze off, and 73% of people do other work during meetings. Ask yourself if a meeting is actually necessary before setting one.

In any company, there are typically two groups: managers and makers. An oversimplified way of understanding these two groups is to think of managers as the overseers and makers as the do'ers. Usually, managers love to hold meetings and makers loathe them. I'll break it down further.

Makers are those directly and proactively involved in the creation, development and implementation of whatever it is a company makes or sells. In marketing (my industry), makers range from writers and graphic designers to photographers, videographers, creative directors and so on. In other words, the creators or creatives.

Managers, on the other hand, are those responsible for overseeing and/or selling what the makers have produced. Own an app? If you're a manager, you're directing the progress of it but are likely not making it.

When it comes to meetings, makers can meet among themselves and typically know how to manage their own workflows among one another. Managers tend to overschedule, but it's not their 'fault.' Companies have to touch base with employees and teams somehow, so why not hold a meeting? Heck, why not hold 5 per day?

But are meetings even productive?

Employees attend an average of 62 meetings per month.

1/2 of those meetings are considered a 'waste of time.'

Countless hours are lost to unproductive and unactionable meetings.

Here's something else to consider:

65% of senior execs say meetings keep them from completing their work, while 62% feel meetings keep their teams from growing closer.

No wonder companies and teams find meetings irrelevant and inefficient. What should teams do, then, to stop killing productivity and stop creating stalemates through death-by-meeting?

Don't be afraid to set (and stick to) strict time limits

Few people want to be 'that person' in a meeting who constantly reminds everyone of the time, but without a strict time limit, meetings tend to run over. Don't be afraid to speak up and 'call it' - meaning, don't hesitate to let everyone know when a meeting is running over or when it needs to be wrapped up. People will appreciate your candidness (trust me, everyone would rather be completing actual tasks, anyway). Hot tip: if you're often in meetings with chatty Cathys', let others speak and get through their points first to avoid tangents.

Have an agenda ready beforehand

Having structure to a meeting keeps people on track, especially if you have multiple meetings in one day. Send an email to any meeting attendees with a breakdown of what you'll cover in said meeting, and don't let it stray from that list of topics to address. If the meeting does go off topic, speak up! Again, people will appreciate it in the long run.

Do burst sessions and skip meetings altogether

At Kudos, we hold daily or every-other-day burst sessions/brief recon meetings in our departments to stay up-to-date on our tasks and what our own teams are working on. They're typically 15-20 minutes in length and do the trick. This allows us to skip unnecessary, lengthy meetings so that we can focus more on completing projects and less on time waste.

Set 'busy' times in your calendar to avoid being pulled into irrelevant meetings

We do this at Kudos, too. By setting 'busy events' in our calendars, where we mark off times we aren't available in our Google Calendars using the word 'busy,' it notifies other team members of our respective availability so people know not to include team members in meetings they may not benefit from participating in, anyway.

Ditch the smartphones during meeting times

If people are constantly checking their phones during meetings, you'll never get through them productively. Tell people to leave their phones at their desks or in their bags and implement a 'no smartphone' rule for meetings. The less distracted people are during a meeting, the quicker and more efficient the meetings become.

Ask for, and give, meeting feedback

No one can know how productive, constructive, or effective a meeting was unless those who attend them speak up and give feedback. You don't have to be rude, but if you feel a meeting was irrelevant or didn't accomplish anything, suggest actionable ways the meeting could be improved for the future. If you're the one running a meeting, let people know you'd love to hear their thoughts once the meeting is over. You might just discover how you can cut back on time wasted in meetings and how you can instead optimize that time to benefit everyone involved.