How many corporate meetings does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Cue Dilbert, and
realize it鈥檚 not funny that there are countless potential endings for that joke, most
of them riffing on wasted time. We meet to focus skills, talents, and minds on things
that bring success. In short, meetings are the heart of corporate communication, so
a business that can鈥檛 hold productive meetings is akin to a standup comic who can鈥檛
write jokes. OK. No more punchlines today, just 10 tips for more productive meetings.
Statistics Show How Unproductive Meetings Can Hurt the Bottom Line
Doodle, which bills itself as the world鈥檚 leading online scheduling platform, released a in 2019 based on a 鈥淣ielsen (Corp). study of 1,000 professionals (conducted August 2018), a survey of 5,528 professionals from the UK, Switzerland Germany & the USA (conducted October-December 2018), and analysis of over 19 million meeting responses shared via the Doodle platform in 2018.鈥�
The report quantified the cost of disorganized meetings in 2018 in Switzerland, the U.K., Germany, and the U.S. It鈥檚 a staggering amount, almost $564 billion. Here鈥檚 the breakdown:
- $33.15 billion in Switzerland
- $58.11 billion in the United Kingdom
- $73.66 billion in Germany
- $399.01 billion in the United States
Doodle also asked participants to comment on the consequences of poorly organized meetings:
- 43 percent cited a lack of clarity that yields confusion
- 38 percent said they produce a lack of clarity on projects
- 31 percent said unnecessary attendees hamper progress
- 26 percent said they weaken client/supplier relationships
That said, here are our top 10 tips on how to hold productive, effective meetings
and avoid the aforementioned pitfalls/costs:
10. Set Clear Goals and Have a Firm Agenda
Unless it鈥檚 a daily meeting to facilitate a routine process, distribute a meeting agenda that clearly indicates the expected progression of events, from hello to goodbye. State your goals. If there aren鈥檛 any, you probably shouldn鈥檛 be having a meeting. If you don鈥檛 have an agenda format, there are plenty of available.
A article notes that a 鈥渕eeting without a 鈥榩ower agenda鈥� is really a waste of time. A power agenda considers the communication and information needs of all attendees, provides links and documents that may be needed before the meeting and after the meeting, clearly assigns timelines, deliverables, mechanisms and people to projects, and highlights the overarching, 鈥榪uantifiable鈥� goal of the meeting.鈥�
Give people a heads-up on the meeting and the agenda well enough in advance to ensure
they can prepare; a reminder wouldn鈥檛 hurt as the meeting draws nigh.
9. Set and Follow Rules
The agenda is the map that drives the meeting, and there must be rules of the road.
People should know coming in that there are expectations regarding participation (everyone should), interruptions (no nonessential devices, including smartphones and tablets), and being prepared, particularly people responsible for important information, data, or props.
It鈥檚 all but inevitable that someone will do an irritating rendition of a person driving
around lost with a good map in their glove compartment. Set expectations so that following
the agenda is the norm.
8. All Meetings Should Have a Leader; None Should Have Unnecessary Attendees
There should be a meeting facilitator who is responsible for prepping the agenda and getting it in all the right hands. That leader should ensure that the agenda rules the day and that everyone knows the rules of the road.
Beyond directing or delegating the duties and logistics of everything from delivery of snacks and beverages to PowerPoint presentations, the leader should see to it that the timing of the meeting works for all participants and jibes with the timelines of the tasks/projects at hand.
The leader also can save time and avoid aggravation by staying on top of absenteeism. If a key player is going to miss the meeting, making it moot, it鈥檚 better to call off the gathering or tweak the agenda than waste time and money.
Sightseers and guests are nice, if you鈥檙e running a national park or a hotel. Everyone
at your meeting should have a role to play. Those who don鈥檛 are at risk of becoming
distractions, which can embarrass them and obstruct the meeting.
7. Stick to the Clock
Meetings should, within reason, start and end as scheduled; that means the agenda should be a realistic map of what鈥檚 going to happen, with a bit of buffer built in to accommodate hiccups. You鈥檙e gathering key people, and they have schedules to keep and other responsibilities to fulfill.
Strike a balance. Don鈥檛 let the pressure of a timeline stifle productive engagement,
and don鈥檛 get lost in the weeds and forget the clock.
6. Stay Focused
ProjectManagementHacks.com offers an offramp for meeting facilitators who have to deal with someone going off-topic. It鈥檚 called the parking lot solution. You open the meeting with a reminder to stay focused so you can hit your timeline. When the inevitable transgression occurs, recognize the point being made by saying something akin to this: 鈥淟et me write down that item in the parking lot and I will include it in the meeting notes that I will send out by email so we can explore that point at the right time.鈥�
No feelings irreparably hurt; little time lost. Project Management Hacks also notes that you must follow up (See rule No. 2) to avoid losing track of a worthwhile idea or point and to guarantee execution of proposed actions.
The meeting leader also needs to be ready to end a discussion that gets hopelessly
mired. Keep things moving, but keep tip No. 5 in mind.
5. Be Careful Not to Smother Ideas, Creativity
Your timeline is designed to stifle hiccups, not ideas. If a discussion is on the
verge of derailing the timeline, despite the buffer you鈥檝e built in, advise the room
or individual that you鈥檙e on a worthwhile track that will be revisited during the
question-and-answer period or follow-up. See tips No. 4 and 2.
4. Don鈥檛 Give the Q&A Short Shrift
The question-and-answer period is too useful and productive to be underplayed. Project
Management Hacks notes that it often is abbreviated to the point of uselessness, saying,
鈥淭o ensure more meaningful engagement, consider extending Q&A session(s) to match
the length of the meeting. You might even consider switching up the overall format,
with a short meeting intro followed by a longer Q&A. Depending on the meeting type,
this could create a virtuous cycle, and help with building an enthusiastic team.鈥�
3. Affirm Conclusions, Decisions, Actions to Be Taken
Don鈥檛 close the session without bringing clarity to what has been concluded and decided and what actions are to be taken, including, if known, the who, when, and how.
concludes that 鈥渁 quick refresher gives attendees the chance to ask questions or admit
when they鈥檙e uncertain how to accomplish a goal, too. This reduces the danger of costly
mistakes and saves time down the line.鈥�
2. Follow Up and Through
Ideally, engagement that begins in a meeting eventually must continue until the idea bears fruit, the task is completed, or the issue is resolved. It鈥檚 an ongoing effort that shouldn鈥檛 be put on hold until the next meeting. Keep track of things in face-to-face fashion, by phone, email, social media, or messaging platform chats. Whatever it takes.
notes that it鈥檚 鈥渜uite common for people to come away from the same meeting with
very different interpretations of what went on. Document the responsibilities given,
tasks delegated, and any assigned deadlines, and send out the meeting notes on the
day of the meeting. That way, everyone will be on the same page.鈥�
1. Think Outside the Meeting Room
The best laid plans often fall victim to boredom and malaise born of repetition. One option is to tweak the frills of the meeting. You can take this beyond a different schmear for those bagels or an exotic coffee. Try changing the venue to a unique location, even if you have to finding a place.
Depending on scale, you could convene at a caf茅, restaurant, or even a park. Do whatever it takes to shake off the doldrums, help your team produce, and make the meetings more productive.
Good leadership can keep meetings on track, and it鈥檚 essential to business successes. USF鈥檚 Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education can give you an edge if your goal is to improve leadership skills, yours or those of a subordinate.
Explore a Corporate Leadership Program that is tailored to the needs of aspiring, first-time, and director-level managers.