Meetings occupy most of the time in our daily agenda. According to The Economist, before the pandemic, managers were spending an average of 23 hours a week in meetings, and now that the barriers to calling people have come down, it's even higher. The 2022 Microsoft Workplace Trends Report found that weekly time spent in meetings had increased by 252 percent for the average Teams user since February 2020.
Meetings are important for connection and collaboration. However, long and large meetings are costly and, most of the time, are considered a waste of time for the participants. Bad practices in meetings impact the engagement and productivity of the organization. But it doesn't have to be that way.
There are many resources on how to make meetings better. Here are some suggestions that will help you make the most of the time spent in meetings:
1. EVALUATE FIRST
First, even before scheduling the meeting, evaluate if this is the best way to get what you need:
Do you need a question answered? Pick up the phone and close the topic.
Are there difficult or sensitive issues? Resolve it in a one-on-one meeting
Is it a recurring meeting with no news or updates? Cancel the meeting. Please don't hold a meeting only to bring people up to date. (Send it by email.)
Ask yourself: Do we really need this meeting? Would something happen if we skipped it?
2. BEFORE THE MEETING
A. Planing
Have a clear purpose for the meeting
Evaluate what is the most productive way to share this information
What will be your role in the meeting? Are you there to push a group to a decision? Are you responsible for making a decision? Are you seeking information? Etc.
B. Prepare
Who needs to attend? Keep the audience as small as possible.
How much time is needed? Keep it as short as possible and no longer than one hour. Consider blocks of 25 or 45 minutes so people can have a space between appointments.
What preparation would help? Is the meeting going to be in-person, virtual, or hybrid?
C. Communicate in advance
Develop an agenda, assign owners and time to each topic
Communicate the purpose of the meeting and be clear about the expectations
Send the agenda and supporting material in advance
3. DURING THE MEETING
Start and finish on time. End early when possible.
Assign a note-taker and timekeeper
Recap the meeting's purpose. Ensure participants know the agenda and goal of the meeting.
Stay on the topic.
Avoid distraction. Invite people to be fully present. If it's possible, ban devices.
Wrap up. Conclude with a summary, clear the next steps, and establish accountability.
4. AFTER THE MEETING
Send brief notes to meeting attendees and people who were absent, focusing on the following: Decisions made; and actions, items, and owners.
Review what worked and what didn't. Take note for next time. Ask for feedback.
You don't need research to prove how much time we are wasting in meetings because they need to be more effective, although there is plenty of data about it. We can make better use of everyone's time by taking some actions. Time is one of our most scarce resources. Start by challenging the next meeting you organize.
