How to have productive office meetings
Office meetings your employees may want to go to
Would you say that your employees love your office meetings? Would they say they are a good use of their time?
If you are not confident the answer to those questions is yes, you are not alone. According to a report by Harvard Business Review, more than 70% of the senior managers surveyed said that meetings are unproductive and inefficient.
If you aren’t approaching meetings the right way, this could be true. It’s time being spent by your employees. They are being paid for that time and it takes them away from other tasks. Can you say that their time in meetings was worth it?
Here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of your meetings AND that employees actually like coming to them.
Have a clear agenda
There should be a point to the meetings other than just to have them. If there’s not, you probably shouldn’t be having a meeting! Make sure you have a clear agenda before the meeting starts. It’s good to distribute this to your staff before the meeting so they can brainstorm and be prepared. It’s not often that people come up with their best ideas right on the spot.
Set time limits (and stick to them)
Communications expert Beth Noymer recommends shorter is better. For some reason, the standard timeframe has become an hour, but most meetings don’t need this much time to cover your agenda. Not if you are sticking to it, and moving on.
Don’t fall prey to psychological failures
There is such a thing as herd mentality, and this can hurt your brainstorming sessions. When a group is asked for suggestions, they can sometimes be reluctant to share ideas. Especially if those ideas are different than the ones being shared. You could leave a meeting feeling like you got feedback, but missing out on great suggestions.
This is why it helps to have an agenda and to share it before meetings. Ask for suggestions individually before the meeting even starts.
Could it have been an email?
That’s the common complaint, isn’t it? “That meeting could have been an email”. It’s become a joke, but there is truth behind the humor.
Google prides itself on having meaningful and productive meetings. According to their chair Eric Schmidt, “Any meeting should have a purpose, and if that purpose isn’t well defined or if the meeting fails to achieve that purpose, maybe the meeting should go away.”
Make sure there are action plans afterward
If your meeting was productive, you should have an action plan afterward. Be sure that this is put in motion. To be clear, the next meeting is probably not where this should happen. Put someone in charge to have oversight, and make sure that it’s being followed up on during normal work hours.
Try targeted meetings
Office-wide meetings are standard practices for some. However, there is a lot of evidence to back up that they aren’t effective. Focused meetings can be much more productive, and much more cost-effective for a company.
It’s great to keep people in the loop when it comes to what’s going on in other departments, but you don’t necessarily have to use a person’s time to achieve that goal. Try to keep meetings as small as possible. Have them include essential personnel only. Distribute any notes afterward that could be relevant to other employees.
Be flexible with how often you have them
Why are weekly meetings so popular? They are easy to schedule and keep track of, but do they make sense? Sometimes they might, but not always. Having a weekly meeting could lead to having a meeting just to have it.
If there is not a clear reason for a meeting to happen on a weekly basis, don’t feel obligated to stick to the schedule. Call the meetings when it’s time to have one. There doesn’t need to be a set schedule.
Timing is everything
Studies show that when it comes to productivity, there is a sweet spot. A recent article by Quartz states that the best time for a meeting is Tuesdays at 2:30.
While this might not work for your meetings, it might be best to avoid meetings first thing in the morning (especially on Mondays). People haven’t had a chance to review notes, check their email, or maybe get in their morning cup of coffee. They will likely be distracted and not prepared, meaning you won’t get the best results.
Late afternoons are also not ideal. As the day wears on, employees can lose their spark. Working lunches are also a big no-no. According to Forbes, expecting employees to work through their lunch break quickly leads to job burnout.
While every business is different, if you can shoot for late mornings or early afternoons for a meeting, odds are you will see better results.
Don’t be afraid to not have them!
Meetings really don’t have to be mandatory. There are a lot of ways to keep people connected, open the lines of communication, and to brainstorm without having a meeting. Basically, if there isn’t a reason to have a meeting, then don’t.
Meetings can be great. As long as they are being used effectively. Try following some of these tips, and see how your meetings transform.
