Unproductive meetings often cost companies a lot of time and money. According to Zippia, U.S. organizations have 55 million meetings each week. Since 71% of these meetings are considered unnecessary, this has resulted in an estimated loss of $37 billion each year. However, when the best strategies are implemented to ensure meetings are productive, not only does it help the company save money, but also gives employees the ability to thrive.
Meetings can help to keep a company on track by encouraging collaboration, developing ideas, and solving various issues. According to Indeed, there are usually six reasons for conducting meetings, including:
Company Updates - Sharing new policy updates that impact everyone in the company such as new initiatives, training programs, and milestone achievements
Making Key Decisions - Generally these meetings are for key decisions are that are made by managers about new processes or procedures that can affect several departments
Reviewing Project Status - Gives managers and staff the chance to review the status of specific projects including any deadlines and deliverables
Brainstorming New Ideas - Using teams to brainstorm and develop new ideas for innovative strategies that can help the company grow
Addressing Ongoing Challenges - This meeting usually focuses on a specific challenge or issue that needs to be resolved with different perspectives from various team members
Requesting Additional Feedback - Soliciting feedback that can assist the company in receiving staff perspectives to help improve and develop the organization
According to Forbes Advisor, in 2023, the hybrid model (working both from home and remotely) has reached 28.2%. Upwork estimates that 22% of the working population or 32.6 million Americans will work remotely by 2025. With more employees meeting virtually, some of following considerations can be helpful to ensure hybrid meetings work better for everyone, including:
Time Zone Scheduling - When meetings favor one time zone on a consistent basis that usually makes it difficult for other coworkers to fully participate if a meeting is scheduled either too early in the morning or late at night. Finding the balance between the two regions usually allows for more schedule flexibility and happier employees.
Engagement Challenges - Typically, colleagues who are physically in the office have the advantage of extending side conversations before and after the meeting that isn’t readily available to remote workers. Encouraging additional opportunities for virtual employees to collaborate with their in person counterparts can help establish a more inclusive environment.
Technology Assistance - Employees that work globally need access to tools that make scheduling, project management, communication, and conferencing easier for achieving the best results. Also, if there is a technology issue that needs to be addressed, the availability of a dedicated support team is generally appreciated as well.
Productive meetings typically have a clear vision of the ideal outcomes that are wanted before the actual meeting occurs. In order to achieve these goals, the following strategies can help meetings run more efficiently while also encouraging engagement. A productive meeting will typically:
Allow time for rapport - Giving employees an opportunity to interact at the beginning of the meeting helps develop rapport, celebrate recent achievements, and sets a positive tone
Use scheduling parameters - Have a clear start and ending time for the meeting so participants can plan other tasks before and afterwards shows consideration
Send out your agenda - Sending out an agenda gives the attendees a preview of what will be discussed and also an opportunity to prepare for the meeting
Get input from everyone - Meetings that focus on long monologues from one or two people aren’t usually as productive as getting additional ideas from everyone
Set a professional example - Intense discussions have the potential to become unprofessional and often needs strong guidance to avoid a meeting from turning into a debate
Discourage multitasking - If employees are more focused on their phones during a meeting it will generally tell others the meeting isn’t important or deserve their full attention
Table issues as needed - When an issue needs additional research or delegation, tabling it helps to keep the meeting on track versus only discussing a couple of agenda items
Following up after the meeting - An email with a summary of the discussion, along with any decisions or tabled issues will help keep everyone informed until the next meeting
Since collaboration is a key way to shape a company’s future, employers will often benefit from conducting the most productive meetings and also gain:
Better communication - When everyone communicates various issues, proposals, and solutions it helps keep everyone in the loop and avoids surprises that can occur from a lack of information
More productive employees - Employees that aren’t stressed out by multiple back-to-back meetings that aren’t needed or effective, will have more time to get their work completed and increase their overall productivity
Easier project management - Understanding exactly who is taking on certain tasks, what is being delegated, and the deliverables that will ultimately be achieved, makes it easier to oversee the entire project