Meetings, meetings, meetings. No matter where I go or what organization I’m in when I am looking for a leader or manager, I constantly hear, “They’re in a meeting.” So much time is spent at meetings, and my question is, what really gets accomplished?
The Cost Of Ineffective Meetings
Not only do meetings take time away from your work, they also cost the company a significant financial loss. Did you know that between 36 and 56 million meetings take place daily, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $70 to $283 billion annually due to inefficiency? Let’s look at a senior manager in an organization with a salary of $150,000. Assuming an hourly meeting cost of $72.12 and 15% of that time wasted, the loss per one hour meeting is $10.82. For a manager attending 17 meetings weekly, this inefficiency totals about $184 weekly, adding up to $735 monthly and $9,562 annually for this one individual. The cumulative financial impact is substantial when this scenario is expanded to include a hypothetical enterprise of 1,000 employees. (Business, 5/2024).
Today’s technology makes having meetings even easier as you can sit at your desk, in the car, at home, and even in another country and call into meetings via various telecommunication platforms. However, many organizations when using these various platforms do not obligate meeting participants to have their camera on or to actively engage in the conversation. Without this level of engagement, meeting participants are often distracted by the dog, the kids, the television, social media platforms and the phone, to name a few. If you have meetings and staff are not on camera and muted, what are they doing? Are they contributing to the subject matter and solution development that needs to occur? How can we redesign our meetings to ensure that we are getting value from everyone’s participation and solving problems within our organization.
Strategies for Engaging Meeting Participants
If an organization is going to continuously improve its performance, then hosting meetings to review current performance data and develop action plans for improvement are essential to operations. When leaders, managers, or teams plan to discuss ideas, share information, or offer solutions to workplace challenges, meetings are necessary. When designed well, these events provide collaborative space to freely express opinions and update each other on current tasks along with sharing data and information to lead us to informed decisions. However, the key to making these meetings truly productive and engaging lies in the preparation. When conducting a meeting, it's crucial to send an agenda and inform employees of the meeting's topic beforehand. Noting which topics will require the committee to make decisions is also very helpful. This empowers everyone to come prepared and ensures that the meeting stays on track, making the most of everyone's time. It is also important to prioritize the order of the meeting agenda so that the team discusses and makes decisions on the priority items first.
It's important to schedule and hold meetings because they provide employees with the opportunities to discuss their thoughts, ideas, and concerns in a comfortable and collaborative environment. Many team members can use their meeting time to share feedback with one another to develop and build upon certain ideas and strategies. Allowing a space for employees to share information, make decisions, and provide project updates can allow them to build a stronger connection as a team. We often hear from staff that participation in meetings is difficult for bedside care providers due to the lack of coverage available. Give thought to developing a communications process where bedside staff can still provide their input such as via e-mail, or ask committee members to gather the input from other members that perhaps cannot participate in the meeting due to schedule conflicts. This can boost energy levels, work culture, and collaboration among coworkers.
Here are some examples of common reasons to hold meetings.
- Sharing important company information
- Making key decisions
- Providing updates on a project's status
- Brainstorming new ideas
- Solving organizational challenges
- Asking for feedback
Remember, meetings have their place in the organization. Be prepared and mindful of the length of the meeting. 30-45-minute meetings will keep the team focused and more productive than longer meetings. Many organizations have developed “ meeting-free” time periods each day to avoid over scheduling of meetings. We also often see where the same topic is discussed at two or three different meetings. Be certain that committee chairs understand what agenda items require decisions to be made and which topics are informational only. Determining the key stakeholder committee for each initiative or problem is essential and will help to avoid multiple committees from discussing and changing another committees decision without authority. An interesting approach to sticking to assigned meeting times is scheduling face-to-face meetings standing up ( No chairs allowed).
The most important step that makes your meetings successful is ensuring that decisions are made at every meeting. No topic discussion, unless it is being shared for informational purposes only, should ever end without a decision or action plan. Committee chairpersons must stand strong and not allow the topic discussion to conclude without a decision or action. Once the committee members realize that the topic will not change without action, they will change their approach and your meetings will be more productive.
Reference
- Wasting Time in Meetings? (And What to Do About It), Business, May 17 2024.
- 6 Reasons for Conducting Meetings and Why They're Important, Indeed,June 24, 2022.
For questions or to learn more contact the C&A team at 704-573-4535 or email us at info@courtemanche-assocs.com.
