According to the statistics of our clients, companies with 100+ employees spend an average of 1.5-2 hours a day on meetings. By the way, that's 7.5-10 hours a week. Just imagine that you spend 20% of your working time on meetings (and often ineffective ones) – a whole working day every week, or even more!
However, after implementing clear meeting regulations, this time can be reduced by at least 35%, without losing productivity, and even increasing it.
That's why it's important to reconsider your approach to meetings and their organization.
What are the benefits of days without meetings?
1. Increased productivity
Meeting-free days can help employees be more productive. Without constant interruptions from meetings, employees can focus on their tasks and complete them faster and more efficiently.
2. Increase the amount of time
Meetings can be time-consuming, especially if they are required every day. Meeting-free days allow employees to complete their tasks without distractions, which increases the amount of time they can use to complete their tasks.
3. Reduced stress
Meetings can be a source of stress for some employees, especially if they have to attend multiple meetings throughout the day. Meeting-free days can help reduce stress and give employees time to complete their tasks without constant pressure.
4. Increase autonomy
Giving up at least some meetings can help employees develop their autonomy. Without constant supervision and control, employees can be more independent and make decisions while developing their professional skills and abilities.
How to conduct a working meeting for the benefit of the company?
Determining the purpose of the meeting is the first step in effective management, which allows you to understand whether you need this meeting at all. So, start with this step:
- Create a list of topics for discussion. Evaluate all the topics and select 1-2 urgent/important ones.
- Select the necessary materials. These can be documents to read before the meeting, reports, etc. For typical recurring meetings, the set of documents will always be the same in most cases.
- Time is an important resource, so avoid the standard meeting duration of 1 hour or more.
Hold meetings for brainstorming, summarizing and approving short-term plans once a week, as well as when issues arise that really need to be discussed (difficulties in completing tasks, clarifications, new ideas, etc.).
Spend no more than 15-20 minutes discussing one topic, and only 2 minutes will be enough to express an idea, suggestion, or creative idea.
- Offline does not mean more effective, because such meetings require more time to organize. In addition, in today's realities, online meetings are much more convenient for employees and, as a result, more productive for the company, because they take much less time to organize.
Each participant in the meeting should be involved in decision-making to achieve the goals set. Therefore, only invite those employees who can help you solve a particular issue.
Conclusion
Meeting-free days can have many benefits for companies and their employees. They can increase productivity, reduce stress, and free up time for more important tasks, which can help companies grow and employees be more satisfied with their jobs.
