Anyone who has ever worked in an office knows firsthand how disruptive it can be for productivity to have to call your team every two hours to update them, review an email that was sent, or wish a colleague a happy birthday.
You might wonder, “What’s the point in having a few 30-minute meetings scattered throughout the day?” You might be thinking, “What’s the harm in a few 30-minute meetings sprinkled throughout the day?”
We’ll get to that second part later, but if you are concerned about the potential harm of having a few 30-minute meetings throughout your day, this is a good place to start.
The following were the results of a Harvard Business Review survey that included more than 180 senior managers.
These inefficient meetings cost the U.S. economy hundreds and billions of dollars each year.
Who is responsible for all these frustrating, expensive, and debilitating meetings?
You are.
You are the first line to protect your team’s productivity as a project manager or small business leader. Meetings can sometimes be distracting, but they are necessary in certain circumstances.
Managers of small businesses and project managers can reduce the number of meetings and consolidate others to dramatically reduce the time spent in conference rooms. This will allow their employees to be more productive.
This guide will help project managers plan and execute a productive meeting schedule that maximizes productivity.
Before you plan a meeting, here are 5 questions to ask yourself
Teams must communicate. However, too many meetings can reduce employee effectiveness which is crucial for small business growth.
This will help to avoid any negative consequences. Before adding any meeting to your calendar, I recommend that you sit down and ask yourself these five questions:
Jump to:
What is the purpose of the meeting? Can it be done by email? Who needs to be present at this meeting? Here are some tips for running an effective meeting.
1. Why are we having this meeting at all?
You shouldn’t hold a meeting if you don’t have a clear deliverable.
If the purpose of the meeting to make an announcement, share status updates, or field feedback, there are better, faster, and less time-consuming ways to reach those ends. For example, you can send an email or use project management software to collaborate.
If you are unable to come up with a concrete goal for your meeting, you can cancel it or replace it.
2. Could this be an email meeting?
To get multiple people in a room or on a call requires coordination and time. It takes only minutes to send an email with the same goal.
Here are some situations where you might want to send an email (or an instant message) rather than scheduling a meeting.
You can get the same result with an email or instant messaging as you did in a meeting. Replace the meeting with a text message.
3. Can these meetings be combined?
You’re having serious Sunday Night Scaries. You open your calendar to see a dizzying array of blocks spread across the next five days in an effort to get ahead of your busy week.
It’s possible to thin the crowd by asking yourself why you are having these meetings and if there are any other alternatives.
Ask yourself which meetings could be combined for the rest. You might have a quick meeting with two project leaders Monday morning to review the numbers. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, you will check in with those same managers to set a date for a project kickoff meeting. You could combine these two 20-minute meetings to make one 30-minute meeting.
If the same people are involved in two meetings, they won’t be highly valued.