Hands up if you attended an unnecessary meeting this week. Happens to the best of us. In fact, the average worker in the US attends about 62 meetings each month, half of which are reported as unproductive. And it all adds up to thirty-seven billion dollars a year wasted in salaries. Ouch. Sounds about right though.
The problem is, unless you’re working alone, meetings are needed to keep projects moving along, people on the same page and employees accomplishing objectives. Furthermore, when teams don’t meet, they start to become disorganized, unproductive and internal decision-making becomes difficult and slow. So, how do you reduce time waste? Here are a few easy steps you can take right now:
Good timing is key to increase efficiency
Many leaders forget that scheduling meetings during times where the team may be tired or hungry is a mistake simply because of human nature. Avoid planning meetings before lunch and at the end of the day to ensure your employees won’t default to making the simplest possible decision to get it over with as soon as they can.
Also, short meetings tend to be more productive so aim for the sweet-spot of under 30-minutes. With less time, everyone tends to stay on track, off-topic conversations are kept to a minimum, and less time is wasted overall.
Meetings should benefit everyone
Everyone’s been in meetings that are redundant, veer off topic easily, speak to things that don’t matter (to you) and encourage a lot of chitchat on the side. Of course, there are ways to make them better but the easiest way to save time is to invite the right people in the first place.
Before sending invites, ask yourself: What is the meeting accomplishing? If it’s a brainstorming session, you might not need to invite the tactical execution team. If it’s a project status meeting, maybe don’t involve marketing. Thinking about roles versus outcomes can save a huge amount of time for the entire company.
Utilize your team effectively
On the other hand, it’s important to think about the resources at your disposal. Tom in accounting might be a painter in his off time, or Sally in HR might be an excellent chef. Even though their role in the company isn’t inherently creative doesn’t mean they don’t have something creative to contribute. Gather all resources and give an agenda that notes what you want accomplished and what you’re asking of the participants so that they can gather and develop concepts. This way you can better utilize the whole team to craft the elements that make up a more cohesive overall plan.
Learn what works best for your employees
Knowing your employees and letting them work together efficiently goes a long way to creating efficiency in meetings. Great leaders understand their employees and know how their motivators impact productivity. In other words, it’s extremely valuable to know who performs well under strict deadlines and which people need to have structure and stability. While both types have their strengths and weaknesses, your team will most likely be a diverse mix, so it’s crucial to take the time to learn about their preferred work style.
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