Death by meeting: why having too many could be detrimental to your team’s results

If you’ve spent any length of time in the corporate world, chances are that you’re quite familiar with the feeling of “this meeting could have been an email”. Perhaps you’ve muttered it under your breath to a colleague, or even interacted with one of the many memes out there that have turned this all-too-common gripe into a joke, often illustrated by frustrated-looking professionals half asleep at a desk.

It's an issue experienced almost universally at work, regardless of location, and it seems to only be getting worse post-pandemic. Prior to 2020, most of these meetings – necessary or not – would take place in person, but now we’re in a hybrid and remote-working world, they’re naturally happening more often online. While this is great for accommodating more individuals, as you aren’t limited by the availability of office space, it means that diaries are being increasingly filled up by virtual AND in-office meetings – and they’re taking a real toll on the productivity, motivation and output of employees across the board.

Professionals say excess meetings prevent them from getting their work done

This excessive number of meetings has in fact become such that 76% of workers report feeling “drained” on the days that they have a lot of meetings in their diaries – according to a study by software company Atlassian. This could be down to multiple factors, from having to ignore their ever-mounting stack of deadlines as they act “present” on calls, to finding it hard to stay engaged due to the sheer length, time and volume of these diary invites. 

Not only that, but research from the same study shows that 78% of people are expected to attend such a high number of meetings that they struggle to find time to do their actual tasks, and a shocking 51% report that they need to work overtime a few days a week to make up for it. 

For many employees, “saying no” and hitting that decline button just isn’t an option. They may be fearful of repercussions, such as being chastised by their manager, or worried that they will seem unwilling to participate and be a true team player. The only option for some? Quietly working in the background, hoping they won’t get found out. And, with 80% of people saying they’d be more productive if they spent less time in meetings, it’s hardly surprising.

Rethink your meetings for better performance, morale and productivity

According to a study carried out by Harvard Business Review, in which staff at 76 organisations were surveyed, a 40% reduction in meetings saw a direct correlation with improved performance. In fact, it increased the feeling of autonomy among staff by 78%, improved productivity by 71%, and reduced micromanagement by 52%.

These elements have a tangible link to staff retention, so if you want to keep your most valuable employees, it’s important that you prioritise their happiness, motivation, wellbeing and morale. Changing your organisation’s meeting culture is an excellent way to take action, so let’s look at a list of points you should consider the next time you put a Slack, Teams, or Zoom call in the calendar.

• What are you trying to achieve? It’s important to highlight the goal of the meeting ahead of time, so that all attendees understand the purpose and what they might need to do to prepare.
• What are you going to discuss? Get into the habit of making an agenda and circulating it before the call so that those in attendance can familiarise themselves with the topics.
• Who do you need to invite? It’s easy to take a scattergun approach and invite everyone who may be relevant, but it’s important to ask yourself what you expect each individual to bring to the table. If one person from a specific team is enough, don’t invite the others. Information can be shared afterwards via email or instant message, and you’re more likely to have a smaller team of engaged participants, rather than a larger team of silent witnesses. 
• How crucial is it? Ask yourself if the information you want to share or the conversation you want to have could be carried out in a different format. For example, if you plan to take people through a presentation deck, could you email it ahead of time and reserve a 15-minute slot for people to call with questions, instead of blocking out an hour of everyone’s day? 
• How long does it need to be? Research shows that the most effective meetings are those that are shorter in length. Be succinct, concise, and only discuss relevant information and key topics to avoid fatigue – remember, this might be the only call you’re hosting today, but for your attendees, they might have attended five meetings prior.

To learn more about how to host effective meetings in your workplace, check out the free courses on My Learning. Here, you’ll find dozens of modules on this exact topic, meaning you’ll be a meeting mastermind in no time. Or, why not sign up to Thrive – our online training platform for organisations of all sizes?