When work meetings become a problem

During a recent HR consultancy assignment for a technology company, we found that meetings had become a significant issue for both team leaders and the teams themselves. Essentially, we found that meetings had become a source of problems for a number of reasons:

• An agenda saturated with frequent and back-to-back meetings that were time consuming and not well structured.
• The experience of physical and mental fatigue, which affected concentration and contribution in the constant meetings.
• Limited time for individual work.
• The perception of spending too much time in meetings with no clear value added had a negative impact on morale and job satisfaction.

 

Too many meetings are actually a symptom of something else. Something worse. What are they a symptom of? First and foremost, these frequent meetings are:

• A symptom of a dysfunctional process: The excess of meetings reveals a broken operational process. We use meetings as an easy resource when we don't know how to tackle the work, or when we are unwilling to invest in an efficient process that leads directly to the goal.
• A symptom of status manoeuvring: Over-scheduling meetings is often a sign of status-seeking. We crave to be called to meetings to underline our importance and imply to others the relevance of our responsibilities through a packed calendar. Our place at the table becomes more valuable than being useful when we're there.
• Indicator that we do not know what our job is: We confuse meetings with productivity and don't know how to justify our work without them. This convinces us that our work is the meetings, or that inaccessible meetings are the reason we can't be more productive.
• Substitution of ordinary communication: The tendency to rely exclusively on meetings for routine and operational communication reflects a wider problem. Teams can become so dependent on meetings that they lose the ability to communicate effectively in other ways, whether in person or online.

 

To avoid these problems, it's important to consider the following points:

• Each meeting should have a defined purpose and clear objectives. This will ensure that the meeting is relevant and productive.
• Plan an agenda for each meeting and share it in advance. This will help maintain focus and will guarantee that important issues are covered.
• Invite only those people whose presence is relevant to achieving the meeting's objectives. Avoid including people who do not have an active role in the issues to be discussed.
• Keep meetings as short and to the point as possible. Setting time limits helps to maintain attention and optimise the use of everyone's time.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of each meeting afterwards. Were objectives achieved? Were there any areas for improvement?

 

In summary, the frequency of meetings is not inherently a problem. However, it is crucial to ensure that each meeting is meaningful, effective, and essential to avoid negative impacts on team productivity and morale.