It is largely agreed upon that company meetings have the potential to be highly unproductive, and more often than not, that is exactly how they turn out to be.
At the same time, company meetings hold critical importance, such as safety meetings or budget meetings for instance.
Therefore, it’s not the concept of company meetings which is at fault here, but the execution of them.
Acknowledging and understanding the mistakes is the very first step.
Acknowledge Mistakes that Lead to Unproductive, Time Wasting Meetings
The unproductive nature of company meetings can be attributed to five primary faults in their planning and execution, which are:
1. Frequency: Calling a higher number of meetings than should be necessary, within any given period of time;
2. Objective: Calling any meeting without a clearly defined cause and objective;
3. Planning: Calling a meeting without provisioning and preparing for it in advance;
4. Timing: Calling the wrong meeting at the wrong time;
5. Attendance: Engaging employees/executives who can be more productive somewhere else at that time, or that have nothing to do with the topic.
Prepare in Advance for Scheduled Meetings
Scheduled meetings should be prepared for well in advance, as we already know when the next one will be held.
For example, in high-risk sectors such as construction, manufacturing and supply chain, conducting safety meetings every week is a requirement. Visit Weekly Safety to find a constantly updated source of safety topics, as well as the various informational resources you will need to structure the agenda and prepare the material for a fast time-efficient execution.
Condense It Down
Condensing down company meetings will add more meaning and importance to them.
Go through the following rules of shrinking company meetings, so as to improve their efficiency:
• Make it a rule to only call company meetings when they are necessary;
• Every meeting should only consist of employees/executives relevant to the objective(s);
• Keep workhour meetings short and to the point, preferably with a short, maximum time limit;
• Punctuality is a critical aspect of conducting productive meetings, so it must be maintained.
Time them Well
Barring emergency meetings, time the rest with company productivity and the specific attendees in mind. Busy hours and long meetings are inherently counterproductive, especially when the attendees could be of better use at work. Also, time each topic with sensitivity and awareness of the immediate environment and circumstances both within and outside the organization.
