Make the Most of Meetings

Should I really write about this? Well... Yeah! I should!

Most of us including me think meetings are just pointless in many cases and we can see various ways people waste their time at work & workplace meetings are right at the top of the ladder.

Don’t get me wrong, meetings are important. It will help teams to be on track, aid quick problem solving, and even take an organization towards the vision. However, the problem is that a lot of business meetings are not efficient. The reason is meetings have only grown longer and more frequent. On the face of it, inefficient meetings lead to wastage of time, and hence, resources, etc. More importantly, companies can pay a stiff price for ineffective meetings.

Research suggests that organizations that frequently deal with meandering conversations, complaints, and criticism at meetings have a low market share. Frequently bad meetings can also adversely affect employee satisfaction and collaboration at work. Even when other factors such as pay and supervision are good, or at least, satisfactory, wasteful hours at meetings can take their toll. And then there is the cost of innovation. When people are frequently distracted by meetings, they can find it hard to focus on higher cognitive tasks, which can hamper their creativity.

Trust me on this! It's evident that frequent inefficient meetings hamper employees' productivity and creativity.

Meetings, when conducted well, can foster collaboration and teamwork to their best. In order to get there, we need to identify where the problem lies and what are we trying to solve. Since meetings affect group time as well as an individual's time, it is very important to ensure either of those times are not affected by meetings.

How to identify the need for a meeting?

We can find out if our meetings are a waste of group time, individual time, or both by just asking people in our organization. Interviews and surveys are the simplest tools available to collect data. You might be surprised how much resentment is building under the surface when you receive the right feedback from your colleagues. Once you have the information, analyzing it is the next step and you will see the most common problem areas with badly run business meetings like the ones mentioned below:

• Selective people dominating the meetings.

When you have a 30-minute meeting with 10 people, it can be tough to ensure that every participant gets equal time to put forward their views. However, the idea is to encourage broader participation. When you see an individual dominating the discussion, ask the concerned person to hold their views while you get others in on the topic. If someone was cut off before they could complete, come back to them before you move on to the next thought. If you are concerned about certain individuals dominating a meeting too much, talk to them after the meeting. Ask them to encourage people to participate in discussions the next time around. When you put the onus on people to lead, they tend to act more responsibly.

• People are distracted

Very often, people can be on their phones answering texts, or on their laptops, answering emails. This not only leads to lesser participation from people, it also sends a message that the meeting is not that important. If it happens too frequently, it can be detrimental to collaborative work in the organization. Start with a “no diversion” policy if the meeting is really important. If it is challenging to implement the culture throughout the organization, set an example. As the leader of the meeting, leave all your other tasks outside. Indicate clearly that it is a “no diversion” meeting,

• Meetings that are frequent or similar to the ones already done

Very often, people can feel like every meeting is about the same issues and nothing gets done in between. To avoid pointless meetings, send out the minutes of a meeting within a couple of hours of it being finished. The minutes should clearly state the issues discussed, the solutions agreed upon, and the tasks assigned. Before scheduling the next meeting, check where everyone is on their respective tasks. Ideally, you should aim for a group completion rate of 80-85%. If progress is lagging, have a one-on-one chat with the concerned employees and find out the reasons for the delay. It is very important to track and check progress on all action items discussed in the meeting.

Here are a few tips to drive meetings efficiently:

• Limit the number of participants

To avoid meandering conversations and agendas getting sidestepped, only invite people who are essential to a meeting. For example, Amazon has a two-pizza rule for meetings. Fewer participants also tend to encourage broader participation.

• Set the agenda

This one looks obvious, but very often, it is overlooked. Even before you schedule a meeting, set a clear goal. Sharing relevant information/documents with participants beforehand can make your meetings shorter and more efficient.

• Identify a leader

Someone should be responsible for running the meeting, you don't have to be the leader every time :). They set the agenda, encourage participation, and are responsible for breaking the ice when the situation demands. Without a clear leader, meetings can be a wild goose chase.

• Give PowerPoint a break

While that may be a little extreme, if you are using PowerPoint to narrate a presentation verbatim, it is pointless. Use visuals only as a cue for the next part of the meeting, or even to inject a little humor, but that’s about it. Less from the PowerPoint and more from you and the participants.

• Ditch the boardroom

Conference rooms are convenient for team meetings. However, once in a while, break the monotony. It can inspire creativity. If it is a one-on-one meeting, maybe talk over a walk. Taking your team off-location for a day of meetings can also be a fun way to get things done. Or even let everyone assemble in the pantry :)

• Keep meetings time-bound

To avoid meetings that seem to go on forever, set a clear start and end time. When you are doing that, make sure you account for logistics. For instance, if the meeting is in another wing of the office, account for the walking time. Similarly, if there is a meeting scheduled before yours, account for the time it will take people from the previous meeting to disperse. Use technology to schedule meetings without the constant back-and-forth emails.

And keep the duration of meetings towards the lower end of the spectrum. For example, if you think 60 minutes is enough to discuss the action items, limit the duration to 50 minutes. When you stipulate a certain duration for a task, people tend to fill that time, even though it might not be necessary. It is Parkinson’s Law at work!

• Regularly Take Stock

Improving the efficiency of business meetings is not a one-off task. It is an ongoing process. Even after you have implemented all or some of the ideas listed here, it is important to regularly collect feedback from employees. Frequently talking about the efficiency of meetings can also foster a more tolerant work atmosphere where people give and receive constructive criticism.

Regular discussions also become important as you start to bring in changes to the work culture. People tend to be slow to adapt to change. Regular debriefing can help them transition to more efficient ways of running and participating in business meetings.

Agree?

Happy effective meetings :)