Who loves long meetings?
I believe no one does.
Then, how do we make our meetings effective but shorter?
According to Wilbert van Vree, larger numbers of people become mutually dependent over larger areas and/or differences in power decrease between people, an increased number of problems needs to be solved through talking and decision-making in meetings which require an ever-increasingly precise, more equal and more embracing regulation of impulses and short-lived affects.
Meetings are obviously a very necessary part of our life, the very common complaint about meetings is that these are too long and sometimes, pretty much a waste of time. Though meetings are known to be a necessary evil but, sometimes they seem to be eviler and less necessary.
Basecamp founder and CEO, Jason fried believes that meetings should like salt, a careful sprinkle of the spice which enhances the flavor of a dish. But, as we know too much salt destroys a dish, similarly, too many long meetings destroy the morale, motivation, and self-confidence of the employees.
Is it about the Length of a Meeting?
Should we always withstand to have short meetings? No. In fact, it is not rare for meetings to be too short. People generally think that meetings should not be held longer because they rarely enjoy being in the meetings. At times, employees feel unproductive, unengaging, and boring.
So, unfortunately, processes that require more time and collaboration get short shifts and, this sort of situation is not desirable. The objectives of a meeting should be clear and the distribution of necessary materials in making a decision should be advanced. As, excessive meetings waste company time and tend to be draining on employee’s week in and week out.
According to a Clarizen/Harris Poll survey, an average worker spends more or less 4.5 hours in general status meetings every week, and workers, just to prepare for those meetings, spend even longer (4.6 hours). Almost half of the survey respondents wished that they would like to do any other unpleasant work than preparing for these meetings. In such a way, these long and frequent meetings can be a heavy toll on the motivation of the overall employee base of a company, and thus decrease the efficiency of the workforce.
Set a timeline for every topic
A meeting that is filled with quick updates and brief discussions can be set to a 30-minute or hour limit. But when the stakes are higher, people still want to jam longer and often want to be more involved in a small box. Moreover, we’ve all been burned with long meetings without having our desired net positive returns after an hour or two.
Elevate – Engagement
As a leader, in an important meeting for your employees, you need to keep them engaged and alert. When employees have to manage between tasks and meetings, which can lead to feelings of anxiety, at times make it even more important than your meeting to become successful.
Author: Sharmin Rahman
Edited by: Alimul Khadem
Photo: Fauxels
References:
- https://bettermeetings.expert/blog/are-your-meetings-too-long-or-are-your-meetings-too-short/
- https://execed.economist.com/blog/industry-trends/how-stop-wasting-your-time-and-everyone-elses-meetings
- https://www.spookynooksports.com/manheim/blog/meetings-events/how-long-should-a-meeting-last
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1008603001894
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2011.01987.x
