Efficient meetings instead of pointless meetings – that’s how it works

Loss of productivity due to unnecessary meetings

Many companies stick to poor routines when it comes to meetings. That’s why many of the employees don’t like meetings. This is shown by several employee surveys, such as a survey among the employees of Igloo Software. Here, 47 percent of those surveyed found meetings generally unproductive, as the project management company Asana reported in an article. Time wasted on inefficient meetings is one of the biggest barriers to productivity. It’s important to focus on how to modify unproductive meetings to stop wasting time.

Break through existing structures

As the German Press Agency reports in an article, according to trainer and team development consultant Teresa Stockmeyer, various measures can help to modify existing meeting structures. According to her, it is particularly important to adapt and optimize existing structures. Among other things, the goal and agenda of a meeting should be determined and communicated in advance, the number of participants should be limited and a moderator should lead the meeting. According to Asana, it is therefore possible to use different meeting variants as needed. Personal or video meetings are best suited for complex topics and brainstorming sessions, while a 15-minute stand-up meeting or a short vote is usually sufficient for short status reports.

Stockmeyer also advises not to simply sit through meetings that feel unproductive and pointless. Rather, you should actively address this and get feedback as to whether others feel the same way. This means you can ask before meetings what contribution or expertise is expected. According to the expert, a quick assessment should be carried out after every meeting to learn what worked well and what can be improved.

The “Kill all meetings” experiment offers a more radical approach. All meetings are deleted from your own calendar and, if necessary, the team calendar for two weeks. According to Stockmeyer, you quickly notice where replacement is not necessary and where replacement is missing. A thought experiment can also help to identify pointless meetings. To do this, you should ask yourself the following initial questions: “What meetings or summaries would I need when I return to work from a three-week vacation?” or “Which meeting participations and summaries can I do without for three weeks and still be able to work after my absence?”

According to Asana’s article, it generally makes sense to introduce a weekday without meetings in order to fully dedicate yourself to tackling complex problems and important projects. If necessary, certain time slots can be set aside in the calendar every day for concentrated work.

Reasons why unnecessary meetings are held

According to Stockmeyer, the reasons why unnecessary meetings are held are often related to hidden, sometimes unconscious goals of meetings. It can be that meetings secretly serve the purpose of social exchange or status presentation and self-expression instead of discussing business matters. Or, the meeting is supposed to bring structure to the working day and strengthen belonging and motivation. However, the opposite of the desired effect often occurs: Instead of structuring working days, they are fragmented by constant meetings – “especially if meetings are poorly timed or take place too frequently,” says Stockmeyer. This often creates the feeling of pointless meetings, especially when people are invited who have little to contribute to the actual topic – just to meet the need to include everyone in meetings or exclude no one, explains the team consultant.

Marina Schausbreitner, editorial team at finanzen.net