Posted on January 8, 2014

Too many meetings, too much time wasted.

In France, one executive in two complains about meetings. He considers them too numerous, inefficient and too long [1] .

Because they are asked in too many meetings, or they have been reprimanded by their manager for not responding to their emails, or simply because they are bored, you regular annoy the frames.

In order to make the time constrained, these managers scribble, prepare another meeting or another activity, surf the Internet, consult and write their SMS and their emails, play with their Smartphones or other tablets … Some even arrive to start a little nap.

Others come and go frequently from the meeting “not to disturb their colleagues or collaborators” and answer calls on their mobile phones that remain on. It is not uncommon for these behaviors to be led by the organizers of the meetings themselves.

Should we interpret these actions, which appear more and more frequently in any form of assembly (meeting, training session, conference, debate, seminar, interview, etc.) such as:

• A lack of respect ?
• A lack of listening and concentration?
• A form of immaturity?
• A loss of control?

In any case, it seems that personal priorities are increasingly taking precedence over the interests of the team. Difficult in these conditions to access the synergy yet recognized as a real asset for the creation of value.

Solutions 

Reminder of the original meaning

The meeting is the union again. It is the union around common interests or bonds. It is the fact of re-establishing the agreement, the union thus constituted between people.

This original meaning does not seem to correspond to what we observe in the working meetings as they are practiced today.

Also, to be effective, meetings must take place between people who agree to spend time together to share information, solve problems or make decisions.

Three formulas for crossing resistances

We must consider the attitudes of the executives in meeting described above as resistances put in place to respond to the constraint. The best way to cross resistances is to take them into consideration, to dive into them [2] . Here are three ways to improve the effectiveness of collective work.

Radical Solution: Removing Meetings

Dissemination of emails, use of social networks, broadcasting of videos or audio recordings; technological developments allow us today to hold meetings at any time with all the participants we wish without mobilizing them at the same time. These technological means allow us to participate in these new forms of meetings without attending. Is not that great?

So why make all your meetings in this archaic form?

Reasonable solution: quotas

Since many meetings can be conducted by new technological means, it seems reasonable to limit their outfits and establish quotas. Forbids – for example – anyone to attend a new meeting when they have exceeded their monthly quota. Any manager should refrain from calling a new meeting when he has exceeded the quota of accumulated hours that he deems reasonable to immobilize to perform his duties and achieve his objectives. Each year, in order to satisfy the continuous improvement process, these quotas could be revised downwards.

Stand-up meetings or standing meetings may facilitate the implementation of this quota strategy. This provision, which has been in practice for a long time among law enforcement agencies and in many startups, makes it possible to limit the duration of meetings (15 to 20 minutes on average) while optimizing their effectiveness.

Fertile solution: make extraordinary moments

Opportunities to unite and gather. Your preparation should help to make your meeting meaningful by answering the following questions:

• To what extent will the meeting you are organizing strengthen the union, the agreement between your collaborators?
• How does the problem you are submitting to your assembly contribute to improving its cohesion?
• How do the information you want to share is also useful for the gathering, the new union of your collaborators?

This type of meetings is implemented to solve important problems (strategy, innovation, task force, etc.).

When it comes to improving the effectiveness of organizations, the process group, also known as Personal Exploration Group (GPE), is a particularly rich formula. It is a provision designed to establish and cultivate trust among a group of individuals. By focusing on simplicity, members of a process group work to establish a level of trust conducive to open and honest communication. ..

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Conclusion

The three formulas described above may apply simultaneously. For example, weekly progress meetings can be suppressed and replaced with daily standups. Information meetings can be suppressed and replaced by multimedia broadcasts. Some problem-solving meetings can be conducted asynchronously using our technological tools. All of these provisions can contribute to improving efficiency and well-being at work.