I’ve written a few posts over the years Evaluating Meetings, Planning a meeting using PPO and Leading Meetings Effectively. Meetings are a fundamental part of business life, whether you are a small company or a large international organisation, meetings are intended as a way of communicating, sharing information, decision making and as a vehicle for perhaps delegating tasks that need to be done. This post is meant to go some way to answer the question; What’s causing unproductive meetings in our working environment today?
Meetings take up a considerable amount of our time, but for most organisations the actual ‘cost’ of meetings is simply lost or never thought about in real terms. Have you ever stopped to work out the actual cost to the organisation of a meeting? The next time you’re sitting in a meeting, take a moment to work out an estimate of the cost to the organisation. Think about how much time is being spent. Think about the average salary sitting round the table or “on the call”. Think about the loss of productivity whilst people are in the meeting. Or maybe think about the “loss of potential customer contact” whilst you’re in the meeting. In this technological age where teleconferences and video conferencing is becoming more prevalent, providing new distractions and opportunities to not focus on the task at hand.
The truth is that many meetings that you attend are about as useful as a chocolate teapot is for making tea. (Mind you, you can always eat it!)
Of course there are many potential causes for poor meetings and lack of output from meetings. For me, the number one is lack of planning and structure. Once you have a plan and a structure you need to follow it and that then brings up the skills of the person running the meeting and the discipline of those who are attending the meeting. I believe that everyone in the meeting, whether they are physically there or dialling in or on video conference has a duty to ensure that the meeting achieves its purpose and its stated outcomes.
This info graphic caught my attention because it summarises beautifully how much meetings actually can cost us and many of the things that are possibly going wrong in your meetings. Its well worth a look at;
So what do you think? How much do your meetings cost you? What do you do that keeps your meetings productive?
It would be great to hear from you……
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Meeting Skills is one of several skills development training courses that we’re able to run for your business. Why not give us a call for a no obligations discussion on 01273 358863
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Martin Smith Learning and Development Ltd is a specialist consultancy working with leaders at all levels to improve their relationships with the people that they interact with both internally and externally to the company. We work with organisations, teams and individuals to identify how they can get the best from their people. We have experience spanning diverse industries and encompassing sectors such as engineering, design, customer service, finance, supply chain, sales and procurement.
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To discuss how Martin Smith Learning and Development Ltd can help you and your business please contact us;
Phone; 01273 358863, Email; [email protected] Web; www.martin-smith.biz