To Meet Or Not To Meet

Meetings are an essential and beneficial core of modern business. They can have many forms ranging from formal to informal. There are many reasons to have a meeting, but there are also reasons not to have one. When is it a bad idea to get your people together? What kinds of meetings should you use or not use?

While meetings have many benefits, if used improperly they can seriously waste time and money, squander resources, and lower morale. When you are about to schedule a meeting, stop and ask yourself if this is the best medium for what you have in mind. Identify the most significant aspect of your agenda and question what kind of meeting – if any -- would be most appropriate.

A major use for a meeting is the dissemination of information. Mainly this means getting your team on the same page and heading in the same direction. Ideally, this type of meeting should be done at the beginning of a project. Your team should have a common goal. If new information arrives that affects that goal as a whole, this warrants a meeting. This is especially true if that goal has changed altogether. What you should not do is meet again and again with the same information at hand. For example, if you have new members joining your team, meet with just them, or simply bring them up to speed one-on-one. Also, if changes only concern certain parts of your team, then speak with just those affected.

An often used, but probably abused meeting is the “Regularly Scheduled” kind. This is a meeting that happens on a recurring basis -- every Tuesday at 3pm for example. The worst thing about this kind of meeting is that it happens whether it is needed or not. Conventional thought says that if there isn’t work at hand, the meeting can be used to “touch base.” Does this need to happen? Does creating some sort of an agenda to fill the scheduled time make sense? The point is, very little actual work gets accomplished. Not only can this affect the project, but also your team. No one likes to be in a mandatory, pointless meeting, especially one they have to dread as it comes each and every week. A project can change often enough to need regular meetings, but that should be decided on a case by case or week by week basis.

“Progress Report” meetings can be confused with the regularly scheduled meeting, but there are key differences. First, they should be much farther spread out on the schedule. Second, you should make sure there has been some actual progress made – have something to talk about -- before scheduling the meeting. Progress reports are ideal for raising morale and competition. Simply showing where everyone is at in their respective parts relative to the rest of the team is often enough to motivate your people

A different approach to meetings is the “semi-impromptu” meeting. A prime example is a small group stepping out of the office to visit the local coffee shop. Another example would be sitting down in the nearby park. This meeting occurs at a particular time, or a particular day. It is usually out of the office, but not too far away. It’s not long, there’s no agenda, but a lot can happen. The beauty of the semi-impromptu is the change of scenery, the informality, the fresh air, and the free exchange of ideas. It’s a regular event, but loosely planned and should always be aborted if work is to be done. If it is too difficult or there would be too many people gone, try setting up an informal meeting spot within the office. Bring back the ol’ water cooler and let it be known that from 2pm to 2:20, hanging out and chatting in the break room is encouraged. It could be said that having your employees “waste” twenty minutes of their day is bad, but think of what could be gained. Morale would climb, energy would be restored, and some networking might break out. Ideally, in the informal atmosphere, colleagues chatting about their day may get a spark of intuition. Suddenly, they’ve got a great idea on their hands!

Meetings can have great impact on your project and team, both positively and negatively. Match the correct type of meeting with your needs. Use them as the great organizational tools they are, while being careful not to abuse them. Make sure your meetings are for the betterment and progression of your goals and not an unnecessary drain on your team’s time and morale.