Why focus on developing meeting culture?

Why focus on developing meeting culture?

Whether you are developing a company or managing a team, it is important that the meeting culture becomes a consciously managed, continuously monitored element. Unfortunately, many teams struggle with meetings being inefficient, which is a significant waste of time, energy and money. In this article, we look at why good meeting culture is important, why it is a challenge for many organisations, and how to improve the effectiveness of meetings to increase productivity.

If the meeting culture is not right, it can affect the business success of the whole company.

Why is a good meeting culture important?

Research shows that employees spend on average 6 hours a week in meetings, while middle managers spend 21-23 hours a week. For senior managers, this can be as high as 28 hours. Hours spent in meetings consume a lot of time and energy and often have a negative impact on productivity.

If the meeting culture is not right, it will affect the business success of the whole company. If team members do not think meetings are effective, efficient or even time-wasting, it leads to miscommunication, frustration and conflict. This in turn leads to difficulties in decision-making, achieving goals and carrying out daily tasks. It is therefore essential to pay increased attention to making meetings as effective as possible.

Meeting culture: reform in large companies

Many large companies are working to improve their meeting culture, whether it's by introducing proper standards, values, behaviours for meetings or by giving employees the opportunity to work in depth Facebook, for example, has a "meeting-free" day every Wednesday, allowing employees to work on their projects without interruption.

Uber has also responded to this negative trend, with employees spending more and more time in meetings. No meetings are held on Mondays, as they believe that the start of the week is the most difficult day for employees. Company managers say the more meetings employees have to attend, the more easily they lose focus and the more tired they become.

Virgin Atlantic Airways in the US holds "walk-in meetings", where employees take a stroll around the block while discussing business. Other companies encourage standing meetings, which have been shown to improve concentration and efficiency.

What is a good meeting culture?

Above all, a strong meeting culture means that each member of the organisation is aware of the organisation-specific meeting rules and feels the right and duty to represent them in practice. Thus, it is possible to convene a professional meeting of any size that is well organised and leads to tangible results and next steps.

In general terms, the meeting culture of our organisation is reflected in the following:

  • the ability of the team to work together
  • the organisation's expectations of individual employees
  • how successful the team is in achieving company goals

In our own experience, it is also an important indicator that

  • how much participants dare to speak out at a meeting
  • how prepared the participants and the meeting leader or facilitator are
  • whether there is healthy debate between participants, even between manager and subordinate
  • the atmosphere at the end of the meeting how participants formulate and take on tasks
  • whether there is practical progress between two meetings

A good meeting culture is characterised by transparency, sustainability, and discussions are guided by mutual respect and accountability. Everyone involved in productive group meetings understands their role and has a sense of responsibility for meeting etiquette.

But why is effective "meeting management" a problem for many organisations?

Within organisations, people often don't value meetings as much, even though this is a space where different opinions and insights about organisational problems, projects and tasks can be brought to the surface or misunderstandings clarified. The number one requirement for effective problem-solving is to have the right information, which most often requires sharing ideas. Many employees, for example, believe that meetings are time-consuming, but are afraid to speak up, which leads them to work during meetings in search of workarounds, or to arrive depressed because they are used to meetings being a must-have, which often fail to deliver.

But it is not only employees, but also senior managers who often find negotiations burdensome. In a US survey of 182 managers from different industries, the following results were obtained:

  • 65% said that the meetings prevent them from completing their own work
  • 71% says meetings are unproductive and inefficient
  • 64% believes that meetings are at the expense of deep thinking

The causes of problems in general:

  • inefficient planning
  • lack of concentration during meetings
  • inadequate follow-up after the meeting
The development of a meeting culture is a key issue for all organisations.

How to improve the meeting culture?

Let's look at some effective ways to help you develop a meeting culture.

  • Before the meeting, the meeting leader defines the objectives of the meeting and what tangible results he expects (e.g.: decision on topic X, discussion of a list of feasible ideas for project X, etc.).
  • The manager uses the desired results to determine who to invite to the meeting and how to structure the agenda.
  • The objectives and expected results are either stated by the meeting leader at the beginning of the meeting or in the meeting invitation, informing colleagues why their presence is needed
  • If the discussion is off-topic, any member of the team can ask how what is said helps to achieve the meeting's purpose, bringing the discussion back to the topic at hand.
  • At the end of the meeting, the team assesses together whether the desired result has been achieved.

And:

  • The members of the organisation have the knowledge to:
    • what the tasks of a meeting leader or facilitator include,
    • how to detect the emotional state of the participants,
    • are able to support the development and maintenance of psychological security even in more stressful moments,
    • how to set meeting objectives and tasks so that the work after the meeting is as clear as possible for everyone

All this makes the discussions result-oriented and efficient, both for meeting and for work or project objectives.

What to look out for when planning meetings?

Meeting preparation

Establishing a process when planning the meeting is crucial. It sets the basis for the meeting. Attention should be paid to, among other things, planning the outcome of the meeting, identifying the topics and locations for discussion, setting the agenda. If one or more of these factors is not properly coordinated, it will affect the rest of the meeting and the post-meeting period.

The preparation phase itself accounts for roughly 40% of the total meeting cycle. Without setting the standards for the meeting and effective planning, the whole process will fail, so this phase of the meeting culture is the most important aspect.

Some key things that should always be done before a meeting:

  • Setting the agenda.
  • Selecting the participants for the meeting.
  • Appoint a moderator or facilitator for the meeting.
  • Send a calendar invitation.
  • What kind of meeting will there be?
  • What is the purpose of the meeting?
  • When and where will the meeting take place?
  • How long will the meeting last?

If these points are clarified before the meeting, stressful situations, surprises, misunderstandings and disruptions can be avoided.

Arguably one of the most important factors in preparing for meetings is setting the agenda.

 The agenda is the structure of the meeting, which:

  • contains all the discussion and action points of the meeting
  • helps you to stay focused
  • ensure that the objectives of the meeting are achieved without wasting time (this is possible if everyone knows why they are there, what is going to happen and how long it will take)

Running the meeting

For a meeting to be successful, you need to focus on a number of key areas, including tone, punctuality, commitment and following the agenda. These are essential to creating the right meeting culture within the company and ensuring that each meeting is conducted as planned, engaging and, above all, effectively. It is worth clarifying or briefly reiterating with the team at the beginning of the meeting the norms that should be followed in order to conduct the meeting in a respectful and effective atmosphere.

Follow up

The follow-up to the meeting can be determined by how the meeting ended, what action was decided and whether any follow-up is needed.

A follow-up to the meeting could be, for example:

  • a summary e-mail
  • identify the necessary next steps
  • feedback form, etc.

After the meeting, it is important that the participants know what their tasks are and that the management is aware of the goals that have been achieved.

If a meeting ends on a positive note, decisions are made and next steps are discussed, the meeting has achieved its purpose. However, if the meeting ends with participants feeling frustrated, angry, or even exhausted and depressed, this is likely to affect future meetings, causing disruption between teams and ultimately destroying the meeting culture.

When can we talk about a successful meeting?

As we have already said, a good meeting has a purpose and an outcome. If there are no goals, it's a waste of time. Therefore, to determine whether a meeting has been successful or not, it is important to consider the following:

  • Are we on target? How did we achieve it?
  • Why has the target not been reached?
  • Collecting feedback on how the meeting was for participants. It is best to get feedback on the meeting without being asked.

Understanding whether the meeting has achieved its objectives will partly help you to identify whether there is a problem with the meeting culture and take steps to improve it. Developing a meeting culture is not necessarily difficult, but it can be a lengthy task, as in most cases it requires a conscious change in behaviour along new norms from both employees and managers, based on feedback and self-reflection.

If you think it is important for you as a leader to continuously train yourself for your business success, to achieve results in improving your organisational and meeting culture, then take a look at our current training courses for leaders!