Most of us, at some point in our careers, were included in a Zoom call or an in-person meeting which was completely unnecessary and RSVPing "No" wasn't an option. What started as a funny meme has now turned into a $100 million mistake that most companies are making, according to a recent survey. The survey, conducted over the summer by Steven Rogelberg, a professor of organisational science, psychology and management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the US, showed that unnecessary meetings which are not critical and absolutely necessary cost companies upwards of $100 million (around Rs 825 crore) annually. According to a Bloomberg report, Rogelberg’s earlier research had found that poorly managed meetings can hurt employee engagement and even boost their intention to quit. How, then, can Indian workplaces avoid this $100 million mistake?
RSVPing ‘No’ Should Be Normalised
Vaibhav Joshi, CEO and co-founder, Easy Pay, says, the attendees should be allowed to opt out of non-critical meetings. “In fact, no reason needs to be cited for it,” he adds. Arti Agarwal, head, human resources at Tata Asset Management Pvt. Ltd, says, “I strongly believe that organisers should earmark mandatory and optional attendees. This would enable the participants to make an informed decision.” Elaborating on the same, Ankit Oberoi, CEO and founder, Zelto Inc., adds “It is possible that the employee might have to sideline some other important work just to attend the meeting, which in turn hampers individual productivity as well as might result in poor time-management. A lot of the meeting organisers operate while thinking who 'might' be needed in a discussion, if we just change it to who 'will' be needed, this solves most of the issues”.
Sunita Rath, chief people officer, Aegon Life Insurance, believes that the entire debate around unnecessary meetings boils down to "urgent tasks versus important tasks". “The dilemma is that sometimes important tasks usually get outdone by urgent tasks”. Rath recommends that the leadership should give employees the context as to what is important and what is urgent so they can make better decisions. However, she feels that if an employee is always opting out of a meeting, then it is a trend which needs to be discussed. “In such situations, it's the responsibility of the manager to discuss with the employee, understand the issues, and look for a solution to help the employee”.
Setting the agenda and meeting minutes
If an employee RSVPs "No", the battle is only half won. The employee would then have to bug their colleagues for updates on what transpired in the meeting which can be counter-productive to the very purpose of skipping a non-critical meeting. “If the meeting is not meant to be confidential, then the meeting organiser can record the meeting and share it with all participants — even those who attended the meeting, so that they can go back and refer to it if needed,” says Rath. This will help the employees who couldn’t join the meeting. “For example, for wellbeing-related workshops, even if one cannot attend the session, the recording will always be available for them to listen to at a convenient time,” Rath adds. Joshi agrees that sharing a "minutes of the meeting" note with the invitees will help them catch up later. “The organiser can share a summary note highlighting critical call-to-action points discussed or any important announcements,” he says.
While it is important to have a summary of key points discussed in a meeting, it is equally important for the organiser to set the agenda of the meeting in clear and concise terms. “Organisers should circulate the key points to be discussed to all participants as a part of the meeting agenda. It need not be in a summary format but has to be precise and to-the-point,” says Agarwal. Joshi says, the written agenda and key discussion points will allow attendees to come prepared with a question which will ensure that the meeting is more productive. “This also allows those who cannot attend the meeting, due to legitimate reasons, to skip the meeting and still share their insights on the talk-points via email,” he adds. Post-pandemic zoom fatigue
After the pandemic hit, most meetings and conferences shifted to Zoom. As a result, the employees found themselves feeling more distracted and fatigued, especially during the meetings, which went on for hours. “With a physical set-up, it was easier to walk up to someone to discuss and take quick action. Online meetings tend to get formal as you block someone's time and need to finish your tasks within the time-frame. It does not give that scope of informal interaction/connection to lighten the mental fatigue,” says Rath. Joshi agrees. Elaborating on the same, he adds, “The main reasons for fatigue are long calls, passive listening, toggling between multiple window tabs to complete other tasks, and overstraining the eyes."
Oberoi adds, “For cases where the calls are running longer than expected and not all the employees are required on the call, they should drop off and continue with their work”.
Agarwal believes organisers should give short breaks in between meetings which are long, to retain the attention of the participants. “I have experienced virtual meetings ranging from three minutes to even as long as three hours. Organisers must ensure to break the chain in between, thus keeping it interactive rather than a monologue,” she says.
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