Meeting Waste
 Meetings can be a source of wasted time
Are you lonely?
Do you hate making decisions on your own?
Would you prefer to talk about it than do it?
Then why not hold a Meeting!
Issues associated with meetings
Have you ever gone to a meeting and some of the following things have occurred?
I'm sure you've experienced some or all of these situations. A simple way to describe the waste associated with meetings is as follows:-
Most organisations waste up to 20% of their payroll on BAD meetings.
Next time you are in a BAD meeting look around you and count the cost
Making Improvements
So how do we go about improving our experience of meetings?
How do we have fewer, shorter and more effective meetings?
How do we think Lean when it comes to meetings?
Here are some of the things we need to do.
Before you even contemplate holding a meeting ask yourself the following questions.
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Do you need a meeting? |
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What is the Purpose and expected outcomes?
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Is a meeting the best way to accomplish the purpose?
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Have you considered all of the alternatives first?
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What would be the consequences of not having it?
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When the meeting is finished how will I judge if it was a success or failure?
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Does the meeting support the overall Organisational objectives? |
Getting Lean is all about eliminating wasted time.
What sort of meetings are best to target in terms of eliminating wasted time?
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When the meeting is always held once a week/month/year usually for a hysterical / historical reason. These meetings are often equivalent to show and tell at Primary School |
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Meetings to discuss a previous meeting? Usually because the previous meeting was so poor that it needs reworked
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Meetings solely to distribute information |
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When the meeting leader is regularly ill prepared and tries to wing it! |
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When the decision(s) has already been made. |
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6When the topic is not important enough to justify everyone's time. |
So what are the prerequisites for organising a successful meeting ?
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Time to plan it. |
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Where the other participants are given time to prepare. |
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Where participants are available and willing to attend |
You should also ask yourself what type of meeting it should be.
Virtually every item on an agenda can be placed in one of the following:
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Discussion |
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Information |
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Decision |
Why DID we have this meeting?
Here are some good reasons to hold a Meeting.
1) You need the interaction of opinions to create an idea plan or project
2) Group dynamics are essential to accomplish the purpose
3) Time restrictions limit other options - need decision
4) The subject is sufficiently complex
The 4 W's for Planning a Meeting
Think about the Environment
"The softer the seats, the less effective the meeting. Meeting attendees will get down to business and stay
more efficient when they stand, if physically able, for part or all of the meeting."
Source: "Dr. J. Keith Cook Guidelines for More Effective Meetings."
In Communication Briefings, 1995.
Running the Meeting
Think about these:
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Start Meeting on Time - Waste if people late
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Stick to times On Agenda
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Aim to Finish on Time or 5 minutes early! - Waste if meeting over runs |
Successful Meeting -Tips
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Aim to accomplish three things in one meeting |
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Build in social break if only time together |
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Define Any Other Busines (AOB) |
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Eliminate, avoid or delegate or reduce meetings |
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Investigate other means of holding meetings |
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Be clear about what you want any meeting to achieve |
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A meeting should have a beginning, middle and an end |
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Take a turn at chairing |
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Don't go to meetings if you have nothing to say |
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Every meeting should result in action |
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Actions must be followed up |
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Read the meeting papers before hand |
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Don't be late |
Assess the meeting
Here are some of the Potential Benefits if you adopt some of these
ideas:
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Graham Ross
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