Meetings are a great way for your team to catch up face-to-face and discuss important matters. Sadly, this often turns into a general chit chat and not much is actually done. So why are internal office meetings slowly becoming a thing of the past?
Time
We spend so much of our working lives in meetings. In fact, the average worker spends 10 years in meetings or carrying out prep work. Not bad when most people only tend to work for 40 years! Some professionals have been known to go to 61 meetings per month, with a third of these believing that meetings are a waste of time and could be a lot shorter.
No Structured Follow Up
A bad meeting can come from the follow up too. It could have been really productive, with lots discussed and planned, but without specific actions, owners and timelines, what needs to be done and when can often get lost in translation.
No Structure
73% of workers believe having a structured agenda before you go into a meeting is crucial to its success. However, 50% of time spent in most meetings is irrelevant because there isn’t a plan of action! Without structure, people are more likely to daydream (91% admitted to this) and if you meet with a laptop in front of you, 73% said they tend to do work unrelated to the meeting. Also, when was the last time you went into a meeting that started and ended on time? Hooking up laptop screens to the TV and trying to get projectors working all cause delays.
Expenses
Do you have staff in different locations and once a month, expenses flood in as they all meet at head office? Fuel, train costs, food and sometimes hotel bills can all stack up. With lack of structure, unproductive chit chat and no structured follow up, it’s estimated that a staggering £37 billion is lost every year because of unproductive and sometimes pointless meetings.
Want to overhaul your meetings? Call our team on 0330 400 5465