
It’s probably unrealistic to think about scrapping meetings altogether.
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How to make the most of your meeting time These effects can lead to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and even death. According to Public Health England CEO, Duncan Selbie, sitting in meetings slows down metabolism and reduces the body’s capacity to regulate its sugar and thus blood pressure. Respondents said meetings keep them from completing their own work (65% ), come at the expense of deep thinking (64%), and miss opportunities to bring the team closer together (62%).Ī study conducted by Beenote showed that lack of participant preparation (28%), lack of team communication (20%), time allocated is not observed (17%), lack of follow-up tasks (25%), and lack of minute keeping (13%) are among the top problems with unproductive meetings.īeyond reduced productivity, excessive meetings can even pose a health threat. In a report by Harvard Business Review, more than 70% of the 182 senior managers surveyed agreed that meetings are unproductive and inefficient. For even more top tips to improve your workplace, check out our knowledge centre blog.What research says about meeting productivity If your meetings aren’t reaching these objectives it might be a good idea to think about other strategies, you can implement.īy following these tips, you should be able to hold meetings which are much more productive and successful. The goal is to make sure attendees leave the meeting feeling inspired and clear about the task. Ultimately, an effective meeting should be concise, align project goals and everyone should leave knowing exactly what they need to do next to push things forward.


Trialling a number of different approaches can be helpful to help you achieve your goals. It might take time to define what an effective meeting at your business looks like. State this as a requirement when establishing your effective meeting guidelines to make it best practise throughout your organisation. Plus, it means they aren’t going to be taking in what you’re saying or adding anything productive. There’s nothing more distracting than someone who is sat replying to emails on their phone or laptop. Request that people leave laptops and phones behind if they’re coming to a meeting. This isn’t necessarily an issue – some people are naturally more confident than others.īy taking the meeting out of a formal setting, more junior or less confident members of staff might feel more encouraged to speak up and share their thoughts and ideas. One of the main reasons some meetings aren’t a success is because the same people are the ones offering ideas, while others may naturally hang back. The standard boardroom format doesn’t always inspire people to speak up and can be intimidating for some members of staff.

Keeping track of time and ensuring everyone stays on task.Ī successful meeting can follow many different formats.Ending with the next steps or a clear plan of action.Sending out an agenda beforehand so everyone is clear of the action points.Reviewing the attendee list to ensure everyone who needs to be there is in attendance.

Getting the basics right can be crucial to making a meeting a success, this includes: Too many meetings can be unnecessary and counterproductive, so it’s best to ensure that everyone’s time is well spent with an efficient and creative meeting format.įor this reason alone, the first step is to make sure every meeting you hold warrants a physical meeting and isn’t something that can be outlined in an email or with a quick chat instead. The main point of holding a meeting is to get everybody moving in the same direction on a project, whether that’s keeping everyone up-to-date with developments or planning next stages on a task.Īnyone who has been in an office environment knows that meetings can take up a large chunk of your working day. Here’s how to go about ensuring that your meetings are a success, with actionable results that get all the key stakeholders involved and improve collaboration. On the flip side, poor meetings can be a waste of time and resources, so it’s important for your business to know how to make sure all meetings are a success. Productive meetings are hugely beneficial for your business and essential to driving great results.
