Climb out of the Box of Bad Meetings - How to Hold Effective Meetings
Meetings are a necessity in the work environment and also can be one of the most challenging to organize. But what if there were ways to hold effective meetings that would actually save you money? In this article, the author discusses how companies may gain more control over their meeting costs by eliminating unnecessary meetings, increasing their meeting productivity, and making use of these tools.
The author also provides an acronym for holding effective meetings: S.H.A.L.E.
The primary focus of this article is to discover ways that a company can hold effective meetings with less expenditure in meeting costs.
The main guidelines for holding effective meetings are as follows:
S.H.A.L.E (Saves money, Have control, Ambiguity-free) is an acronym that means to eliminate unnecessary meetings; increase the productivity of meetings; make use of these tools; and learn how to overcome the limits of time and financial resources by applying activities learned in any meeting held (i.e., evidence-based management). The purpose of this article is to help employers identify areas where they can gain more control over their meeting costs by eliminating unnecessary meetings and increasing their meeting productivity. S.H.A.L.E helps employers to achieve a great deal more than just attending meetings; this acronym guides them through an organized thought process toward meeting management excellence.
Saves Money - According to one study completed in 2005, "U.S businesses, individuals and government entities collectively lost $37 billion per year due to inadequate meetings." The Government alone wastes an estimated $7 billion annually due to meetings that have little or no value.
Have control - S.H.A.L.E identifies confusion as the primary cause of unnecessary meetings, as well as the primary contributor to ineffective meetings that cost time and money and often lead to poor decision making (Kostoff & Jenson, 2001).
Ambiguity-free - The S.H.A.L.E acronym provides guidelines for making meetings more effective and cost-effective.
The first guideline is to "save money in meetings." In 2005 the annual direct cost of meetings for US businesses and government was estimated at $37 billion (Neely, 2005). This amount was calculated using an average of $1,200 per meeting with 2,768 hours meeting time being lost annually per employee (a total of 180 billion hours). Using these figures as a basis for calculation, the overall estimated cost of meetings would be approximately 3% of gross domestic product.
These figures are based on an average of $1,200 per meeting with 2,768 hours lost annually per employee (a total of 180 billion hours). According to another study completed in 2006, direct time loss due to meetings is at least three times that amount ($3.3 billion), again based on a hypothetical 4% annual cost of meetings. This study estimated the total cost of inefficient meetings to be $9.9 billion in 2006 ($6.75 billion in 2005). A variety of other sources suggest the annual costs of inefficient meetings at $12 billion and more.
The second S.H.A.L.E guideline is to "have control over the meeting by scheduling it. This provides the authority to conduct meetings in the way the organization needs. There may be a variety of reasons for not having control over meeting time and place. This includes not having full authority over meetings, due to lack of resources, and also due to external factors such as politics or other organizational issues. S.H.A.L.E thus becomes a reality in holding effective meetings."
The third guideline is to "eliminate unnecessary meetings." According to previous studies, American businesses lose an estimated $37 billion annually due to inadequate meetings, which include unnecessary meetings that have no business value or do not advance business objectives (Neely, 2005). Many meetings are ineffective because no one is in control of them. Control over meetings can be established by eliminating unnecessary meetings, using meeting guidelines such as those provided through the S.H.A.L.E acronym, and by being aware of the reasons that may be contributing to poor decision-making (Kostoff & Jenson, 2001).
The fourth S.H.A.L.E guideline is to "increase the productivity of meetings." Productivity in a meeting is measured by how much business value was delivered by that meeting and how effective it was in doing so (i.e., what percentage of time was devoted to issues with active participation). The most productive meetings deliver maximum business value for the length of time spent on a meeting topic by fully participating in that meeting.
The last guideline is to "make use of these tools." These tools provide workplace users with information that can help them make decisions, achieve results, and spend more time doing what they want to do (and less time doing what they do not want to do). Information on these tools includes tips and hints, checklists and best practices, as well as steps they can take to make their meetings better.
A company may also consider using an online meeting system rather than traditional email at meetings in order to reduce costs further.
For additional information on effective meeting best practices, particularly as they relate to virtual meetings and online meeting systems, please visit the website for the SCORE Association.
The following table provides a breakdown of the different types of meeting described in this article and provides the typical cost for each type. Actual costs can vary widely by region. The figures shown are based on the United States and Canadian dollars (USD). Costs in other countries will vary slightly due to exchange rates applied by banks at time of transfer. These costs are estimates based upon real projects and reflect a variety of factors including technology, staffing, staffing ratios, time of day, frequency and complexity of workflow.
The costs of meetings can quickly add up. Simple tips and techniques that can easily be implemented will help to reduce these costs. The following table shows how to cut meeting costs in half by implementing basic best practices. These best practices are applicable for in-person meetings and are not included in other sections of this article covering virtual meetings, although they could be applicable for some virtual settings (e.g., videoconferencing).
To further reduce meeting costs, organizations can use an online meeting system for virtual meetings or set up a shared calendar on Outlook or Google Calendar to schedule events into the future.
Conclusion
Meeting costs can be reduced by implementing basic best practices such as: 1) "save money in meetings," 2) "have control over the meeting by scheduling it," 3) "eliminate unnecessary meetings," 4) "increase the productivity of meetings," and 5) use these tools. For example, one of the best ways to eliminate an unnecessary meeting is by scheduling it and establishing a clear agenda with timeframes for action. Once this has been established, people can determine if their meeting need is now greater or less than before.
A wise organization will schedule only necessary meetings, so as not to waste time on peripheral or unnecessary ones that have little or no business value.