How to run productive meetings your colleagues will love to attend
A meeting is a regular management activity in every organisation that enables leaders and teams to organise and accomplish work.
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Meetings could take varied forms in terms of duration, number of people attending, location, format, frequency, range of topics discussed and the level of staff involved.
If your organisation or team is organising more meetings, don't worry.
This shows your organisation is following the global trend of increased meeting frequency. Several studies have highlighted the increasing frequency of meetings throughout organisations.
According to a study by Bain & Company, meetings have increased in length and frequency over the past 50 years, with the average executive spending nearly 23 hours weekly.
Another article in the Harvard Business Review stated that the average employee attends 62 meetings a month. Managers spend up to 23 hours per week in meetings, according to research from MIT Sloan Management Review.
Ordinarily, every meeting should move the agenda of the team or organisation forward. If meetings were accomplishing their purpose, the increasing frequency should not bother leaders or organisations.
Unfortunately, many meetings are not conducted effectively to achieve the desired results. According to research by Notta, organisations spend roughly 15% of their time on meetings, with surveys showing that 71% of those meetings are considered unproductive.
A study of 182 senior managers in varied industries published in the Harvard Business Review indicates that 65% said meetings keep them from completing their work.
71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient. 64% said meetings come at the expense of deep thinking. 62% said meetings miss opportunities to bring the team closer together.
A survey by Doodle found that 37% of employees consider unnecessary meetings the greatest cost to their organisation. Steven G. Rogelberg, in his work on "The Surprising Science of Meetings", showed that 67% of meetings are considered failures by executives.
Many team members have come to expect meetings to be unproductive and have found ways to keep their productivity up by finding other ways to use their time while the meeting is ongoing. Research showed that 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings.
The truth in these statistics means you must be brave to call for your next meeting. Indeed, the odds are against every leader.
Leaders must put in the extra effort to make their meetings effective. Ineffective meetings are so prevalent that every organisation must meet to discuss how to improve the effectiveness of meetings (Seriously!).
One CEO cancelled all scheduled meetings in the calendar over one weekend and asked all leaders to reschedule their meetings if necessary.
How do you ensure your next meeting is productive and enjoyable for every team member present?
Broadly, every meeting should achieve the task, build the team and allow every member present to be seen and heard. Hosting effective meetings requires that every leader manage the three main segments of their meetings properly.
Prepare to meet for a productive outcome
Preparation and clear agendas are keys to making meetings effective: A survey by Doodle indicated that 62% of employees believe meetings could be more productive if attendees were better prepared.
Have clear objectives: According to Atlassian, 50% of meeting time is wasted due to unclear objectives and a lack of actionable outcomes. When meetings lack a clear purpose, attendees feel the meeting is unproductive. Do the following:
1. Improve the clarity of the agenda items. Every agenda item must be worded carefully to reflect targeted outcomes. This helps invited members to anticipate their role and prepare adequately to participate effectively in the meeting.
A nebulous agenda item such as "branch expansion" could be changed to "consider and approve the opening of x branch by Q4".
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2. Allocate a time budget to every agenda item. This allows leaders to prioritise and spend the right amount of time on each agenda item.
The usual drag with meetings is curtailed, and the most important issues get attention. Effective meetings increase the speed of execution, which is a strategic advantage.