Organize and attend meetings in a productive manner 

The Meeting Culture Score summarizes all five patterns into one measure. It works as an indicator that will help you and your organization quickly determine which entities are performing well and showing a good example and which entities might need help and guidance to optimize their communication.

Drilling down further will show, for example, in a department with Meeting culture score 5, which patterns exactly need improvements.

The earlier meeting invitation is sent out, the better

Late scheduling is a pattern that has adverse effects on the individuals that take part in the meeting:

• The invitees may not be available;
• Invitees may have other plans and will only attend if it’s critical;
• It creates a negative impact on the team building and teamwork.

To avoid these problems, we recommend scheduling meetings at least a day in advance. The earlier meeting invitation is sent out, the better.

Unavoidable events might lead to making last-minute changes in meeting schedules, affecting not only the employee making the changes, but also their colleagues, creating a domino-effect of impractical and performance-hindering patterns.

Impact employee well-being and health towards their place of work

Meetings that take place outside office hours are not deemed productive. The higher the percentage of meetings outside business hours, the more detrimental is the impact on business efficiency.

It is important that meetings take place at a time when everybody can attend them. If there are too many meetings during the weekend, or before 7AM in the morning or after 7PM, then a lot of people will feel that they have to make a sacrifice in order to keep up with their work schedule, and this will detract from the meeting efficiency and productivity.

Another aspect to consider is the fact that the employees might be working over-time. This can greatly impact their well-being, health, and overall feelings towards their place of work. If this problem is ignored for too long, the organization might face loss of employees and valuable talent.

Cancelling meetings lead to a decline in productivity and progress

As a busy professional, it is easy to get pulled away from important tasks with day-to-day e-mails and tasks. However, not showing up impacts business and colleagues.

Meetings are vital for communication and productivity –they provide the opportunity to share information and create a dialogue. Meetings are also opportunities to build relationships with clients, foster professional bonds and seek feedback on work product.

When people have to cancel meetings, it can be a major disruption for the person who arranged and prepared for the meeting. Cancelling a meeting is very disruptive to the organization, which can lead to a decline in productivity and progress. It impacts workers who rely on meetings to make decisions, prepare, and communicate.

Keep your employees focused during meetings

A new survey from Office Team found that 25% of office workers check their email during meetings. Of those surveyed, 24% say they are checking because they feel pressure to stay connected, and 42% check because they are bored.

While checking the e-mail might be one thing, actually sending e-mails during an ongoing meeting is another –composing an e-mail regarding a different topic than the meeting means that the employee is switching his or her focus and becomes less efficient in the meeting, thus hindering the progress not only for him or herself, but also for their colleagues.

Many of the e-mails sent during meetings are not necessary. When someone needs to send an e-mail during a meeting, they should ask if it is an emergency or if it can wait until the end of the meeting. Occasionally, e-mailing during a meeting is necessary, especially if it is being sent to another attendee of the meeting (sharing information whit each other).

Too many meetings hinder productivity and put pressure on busy workers

Meeting overlap is a term used to describe meetings that run long or occur at the same time as another meeting. It can be a source of frustration for meeting participants and managers alike. With the right preparation, calendar management, and follow-through you can shrink your meeting’s duration or avoid it altogether.

Meetings are necessary for communication and collaboration within a company. But too many of them can hinder productivity and put pressure on busy workers. Meetings are essential for many jobs, but they sometimes last longer than needed. An easy starting point for reducing your meeting load is to review your recurring meetings and make sure they are a good use of time each week.

Another way to deal with an overrun meeting is to be proactive. Don’t just wait around for it to end; go find out what’s delaying the speaker or ask if there’s anything else that needs to be addressed. Something as simple as this can make a big difference in how everyone feels about your part of the meeting.