Meetings Poll ? Feedback Report We're a nation addicted to meetings! By ? DeskDemon.com Print this Page Over 1000 of you responded to our recent ?meetings? poll in association with OfficeTeam and the results show that British office workers are a nation addicted to meetings! Almost a quarter (22%) of you reported that you spend more than a full working day (8+ hours) each week in meetings. The majority (49%) spend between 4-8 hours, whilst 29% spend less than four hours a week in meetings. Overall, the average time spent in meetings each week is six hours. Whilst meetings are an important function in the business world, the poll showed that an overwhelming majority (74%) of you didn?t think it necessary to be in every meeting. In fact, a previous survey by OfficeTeam also revealed that over one in ten (13%) actually view ?meetings? as the biggest distraction in the workplace. When you convert this to monetary terms, unnecessary meetings are wasting businesses up to *?3,700 a year per employee! Claire Howell, regional manager of OfficeTeam commented: ?Whilst meetings are a crucial vehicle within business to exchange information, solve problems and achieve consensus, employers should think seriously about the real objectives and what they hope to achieve before calling a meeting. Simple procedures such as producing an agenda beforehand, starting the meeting on time, keeping to the agenda, taking notes, and following up swiftly afterwards will help to keep people on track and stop meetings being viewed as a waste of staff time.? As support staff levels reduce and the number of bosses you report to increase, the greater the pressure on PAs, secretaries and administrators to manage time effectively. Unproductive meetings and needless interruptions can cause you to get behind with your work - this raises stress levels and increases your hours to catch up, thereby interfering with your work-life balance too. How to Attend Fewer Meetings How often have you attended a meeting, only to find out that it involved nothing to it that couldn't have been dealt with via email or the telephone? How many meetings have you attended where your presence was entirely superfluous? What about those meetings where you were put on the spot, and you wished you hadn't attended? Learning to say "no" to unnecessary meetings should be an important part of your meetings strategy. It is only by declining to attend inappropriate or poorly planned meetings that you will find the time to prepare for and attend those that are of real value. To work out which meetings you want to avoid find out: Is there a Chair? If no one is in charge of keeping the meeting on track, it is more likely to go into overtime. What?s on the Agenda? Find out the objective of the meeting, format it will take and issues to be discussed. The meeting should have a distinct purpose, whether it's to get everyone up to speed on a project or identify a solution to a problem. Ask what input is expected from you personally. Are you being invited to the meeting because your input is needed or as a courtesy? If there a large list of attendees, it might be because the person holding the meeting doesn't want to exclude anyone, not because your participation is necessary. Is it a routine meeting? Regularly scheduled meetings can lose their value over time. Determine if any agenda items pertain to you before agreeing to attend. Who else is going? You may find that the two others from your department attending can relay the relevant information and outcome of the meeting; therefore your time is better spent planning for that new project or completing an existing one. Stress the benefits for not attending and show that they are in the best interests of your boss. Can you make your contribution ahead of the meeting? Providing the Chair or a colleague with the information that is required can prove useful if your involvement is superficial or if you are needed for your opinion in a fairly narrow area. Deciding which meetings to attend is best done in a considered and direct way. It is in everyone's best interest to attend effective and well-structured meetings. Remember, your time is your responsibility, if you decide that you should not attend a meeting, then take action to avoid it. back to index

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