Too Many Meetings: A Best Practice Guide for Improved Meeting Culture
Have Too Many Meetings? Me too.
In today’s ever-evolving post-pandemic corporate world, meetings are on the rise — along with frustration about meetings. Knowledge workers are caught in the relentless cycle of back-to-back meetings resulting in meeting overload — leaving workers feeling drained, unproductive, and burned out. And the reality is that many of those meetings could have been an email.
As a high percentage of workers have transitioned into permanently remote roles, there’s a need for companies to embrace tools, systems, and policies that make hybrid communication more efficient. Yet, the corporate world is proving to be slow to fully embrace changes that will improve meeting culture.
This blog post delves into the latest statistics surrounding meetings in 2023, providing insights into their impact. It also offers a downloadable best practice guide to make meetings more productive. Let’s dive in!
Statistics about meetings reveal they are unproductive:
Additionally, we have seen an increase in meetings and a decrease in the value attendees place on them.
252% increase in meeting time since February 2020
71% of meetings are considered a waste of time by attendees
47% of workers report that meetings are their #1 waste of time
However, it doesn't have to be this way. By implementing some well-defined meeting best practices, you can improve meeting culture and transform your meetings into a highly efficient and effective tool for collaboration.
How to make your meetings better:
1. Have a Clear Agenda and Stick to It
One of the cardinal rules of productive meetings is to have a clear agenda in place. I’ve heard the phrase No Agenda, No Attenda bounce around corporate spaces — it’s painfully cheesy, but perhaps a mantra more need to adopt. A meeting without an agenda is a guaranteed way to waste time and make the meeting unproductive. When crafting an agenda, clearly define the purpose of the meeting and the key discussion topics. Utilize tools like meeting templates to help you stay on track and ensure everyone is aligned with the meeting's objectives.
Even if you venture into a non-traditional meeting approach like silent meetings, the agenda still needs to specifically outline how the meeting with unfold. And don’t be caught making the agenda five minutes before the meeting begins. Putting effort into the agenda is one of the best ways to improve the meeting situation in your workplace.
2. Have a Parking Lot for Off-Topic Items
In any meeting, there's a tendency for off-topic discussions to emerge. Rob is retiring next month, should we do a party? When is the new building construction beginning? The office temperature is too cold, can we bump it up a degree or two? The list of tangents can go on (and on and on). Be prepared by designating a "parking lot" section in your meeting notes. By having a place to note these tangents, you can exercise restraint and avoid having the meeting veer off track. Staying focused on the agenda is essential for maintaining productivity.
3. Make Meetings Shorter
Efficiency starts with punctuality. Begin and end your meetings on schedule and establish this as the norm. In some cases, it may require a cultural shift. When a workplace is accustomed to leniency, such as accepting the "I'm running five minutes late" excuse for every meeting, initiating a culture change often necessitates an open and honest conversation with your team about setting a new precedent. Rally everyone to understand that the overarching objective is not just about punctuality; it's about lightening the collective burden of meetings by ensuring that the scheduled meetings are highly productive and effective.
In addition to starting and ending on time, implementing a brief, five-minute introduction that outlines the meeting's objectives and a concise five-minute recap of the next steps can be a game-changer in reducing meeting durations. To conserve everyone's energy, it's also crucial to avoid scheduling meetings back-to-back.
4. Make Meetings Smaller
Meetings multiply the ineffective use of time because most of them (a) include too many people and (b) are far too long. They have evolved into a lazy way to shift accountability from an individual (or two) to a group. Critically consider who needs to attend before sending that next meeting invite. Also, try applying the two-pizza rule coined by Jeff Bezos: if you can't feed the group with two pizzas, the meeting is too big. Whenever possible, limit the number of participants to only those who are essential (feeding them with one pizza is an added bonus!).
5. Define Roles
Assign clear roles for each meeting. This should include a primary presenter or facilitator, decision maker(s), subject matter expert, and a note taker/disseminator. Including these roles in your meeting agenda enhances visibility and accountability.
6. Match Time to Scope
Allocate specific time slots for each agenda item. An effective agenda should provide a predetermined amount of time for each topic, ensuring that discussions are concise and focused. Meetings don't have to be uniformly 30 minutes or an hour; adjust the duration based on the agenda.
7. Let People Opt Out
Institute a participant check-in after the first five minutes of any meeting. “Now that we’ve all heard the topic, anyone who doesn’t feel like they need to be here can opt out. We’ll post a recap for you on the company intra-web this afternoon.”
8. Prioritize Pre- and Post-Work
Meetings should not be information-gathering sessions. Ensure that participants are well-prepared before the meeting, and use meeting time for discussions and decision-making. After the meeting, assign clear next steps with set due dates, enhancing accountability and ensuring progress.
How to have less meetings: Communicate asynchronously
It’s key to remember that not every interaction needs to be a formal meeting. To support hybrid workstyles, you need to make relevant, updated information easily accessible. Utilize tools like Loom or Zoom Clips as substitutes for traditional meetings, allowing team members to provide updates and share insights without gathering everyone in one place. Create a centralized team page for updates, agenda items, and meeting notes to reduce interruptions and track progress efficiently. Encourage input from a larger group prior to the meeting, giving all team members a voice in decision-making.
By adopting these best practices and leveraging asynchronous communication methods, you can drastically reduce the number of meetings you need while increasing the productivity of the ones you do have. Make meetings a valuable tool for collaboration rather than a drain on your time and energy, and watch your productivity soar.
Booqed: https://www.booqed.com/blog/minutes-wasted-of-meeting-50-shocking-meeting-statistics
Zippia: https://www.zippia.com/advice/meeting-statistics/#:~:text=Or-ganizations%20spend%20roughly%2015%25%20of,per%20year%20to%20unproductive%20meetings
Trulist: https://truelist.co/blog/meeting-statistics/
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