“Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything,” economist Paul Krugman wrote in his book The Age of Diminished Expectations in the early 1990s. “A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker.” Show
More than two decades later, the focus on productivity is stronger than ever. A multitude of time management methods, articles, books and tools inundate the business world. Around $28 billion was spent on business and professional apps alone in 2013, according to a report from VisionMobile. The market is expected to reach $58 billion by the end of 2016. But as businesses dwell on productivity, many are ignorant about unnecessary and time-consuming meetings. Changes are needed to prevent further loss of time, money and productivity. The Current State of MeetingsAccording to Atlassian, half of all business meetings are considered a waste of time. Most employees attend 62 meetings each month, creating 31 hours of time spent in unproductive meetings. Harvard Business Review reports that 15 percent of an organization’s collective time is spent in meetings. A weekly executive committee meeting consumed 300,000 hours in a year, due to ripple effects handed down in a large company. Research from Attentiv shows that for the average nine participants in a meeting, they regard a third of their time spent in the meeting as unproductive. The culprit to wasted time in meetings may be lack of preparation and decision making. Sixty-three percent of meetings were conducted without a pre-planned agenda, and few meetings actually led to any decisions. The following complaints, in order, offer insight into the problems with meetings.
The true culprit may be unnecessary meetings. Nearly half of meeting attendees complained that meetings were the top time-waster at the office, and nearly half felt overwhelmed by the number of meetings they attended, according to Atlassian. Ninety-six percent missed meetings, 91 percent daydreamed during meetings, 73 percent did other work during meetings, and 39 percent slept during meetings. The estimated salary cost of unnecessary meetings for U.S. businesses is $37 billion. Attentiv estimates the average salary cost of a meeting to be $338, which does not include high-paid CEOs and other business leaders. Those meetings can cost upwards of $20,000 each. How to Save Time and MoneyAvoid Unnecessary MeetingsIf half of all meetings are unnecessary, then a natural first step is to eliminate pointless meetings. Harvard Business Review offers a few questions that can help determine how to react to meeting requests:
David Hassell recommends only using meeting time for decision-making. “Information-gathering should always be performed prior to meetings,” says the 15Five CEO. “When everyone is already informed, the team can debate important issues and create a clear plan of action instead of wasting precious time bringing everyone up to speed.” Stop automatically accepting meetings. Meetings are often unnecessary or replaceable. Explore Other Methods of Collaboration“Don’t schedule a meeting for something that can be addressed in a phone call, and don’t make a phone call for something that can be communicated via e-mail,” says Harvard Business Review. Other methods of collaboration are often much quicker than a typical meeting. Remember that cumulative time is what matters. If an informational email takes an hour for one person to prepare, it is better than the two cumulative hours required for four people in a half-hour meeting. In this case, avoiding a meeting cuts the time and salary cost in half. Explore other collaboration methods when meetings are unnecessary. Alternative methods of collaboration often will be much more effective and efficient than meetings. Improve Necessary MeetingsIf meetings are needed, take conscious steps to prevent wasting time and money.
“Meetings are one of the biggest disruptors of at-work productivity and have come to dominate the workday, when in reality creative work should be the core focus of every day,” according to Moz. By eliminating meetings, replacing meetings with other forms of collaboration and improving the efficiency of meetings, businesses can reclaim the vast amounts of time and money lost in meeting rooms. Enhancing Efficiency in the WorkplaceImproving workplace productivity is central to leading any type of organization. In your career, this will be crucial for pursuing new job opportunities and succeeding in these roles. At Alvernia University, our online MBA helps you discover your potential as a leader. In a completely online learning environment, you can gain the knowledge and skills to move into management-level positions, start your own business or reach other professional goals. Which of the following is not a guideline to help improve time spent at meetings?Hence, inviting extra people is definitely not in the guidelines to help improve time spent at meetings. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
What strategy can a project manager employ to deliver bad news?Communicate bad news face-to-face or through video conferencing if necessary; Ensure all stakeholders receive the message that is relevant and appropriate to their needs; and. Allow for two-way dialogue to ensure everyone has a chance to share their thoughts, advice, and potential solutions.
Which document describes where the project stands at a specific point in time?Status Reports
This gives the current state of a project at any given time. This kind of report describes where the project stands at that moment with regard to the performance measurement baseline.
Which of the following processes is involved in making needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner?B: Manage Communications is the process of making relevant information available to the project stakeholders in a timely manner as planned by creating, collecting, storing, retrieving, and distributing project information.
|