It’s time again—time for another company meeting—or is it? Meetings at some businesses are productive, informative, and highly beneficial to the employees and to the business as a whole. At other businesses, however, so-called “company meetings” are often a waste of time, unproductive, and may even generate negative review advice from those employees who attend the meetings, such as urging other people not to bother attending or not to even think about working for the company.
PURPOSE OF MEETINGS
So why do businesses hold meetings with employees? Some common reasons often include making general announcements, explaining new policies, or announcing changes in aspects of the business. Of course, most if not all of these types of meeting agenda items could be covered just as effectively in emails or other company communications. These would seem to fall under the category of “meeting just for the sake of meeting.” If that’s the case, what’s the point?
MAKE MEETINGS MEANINGFUL
Probably the most important reason for holding company meetings is to ensure they are meaningful for those who attend. Just as there’s not much point in giving “mindless busy work” to school students, there’s likewise not much point in holding unnecessary meetings that waste valuable time for employees. Meetings that are the most productive, informative, and beneficial to employees usually include some of the following characteristics:
– Empower employees
– Boost morale
– Develop work skills, leadership, and team spirit
– Communicate more complex information that may be misunderstood or misinterpreted in emails or memos, by allowing discussion and “Q & A” time
Tips for improving meetings to make them more productive and beneficial may include the following:
– Prepare ahead of time
– Establish and share the agenda
– Pay attention to stated start and end times
– Hold fewer but more effective meetings
– Include all employees, not just the privileged few in executive or management positions
– Stay on track
– Establish and assign action tasks
– Request and evaluate feedback
PURSUE POSITIVE PUBLICITY
In the final analysis, a business and its management typically should want to pursue and maintain positive publicity. The last thing a business needs is a disgruntled employee spreading or posting negative review advice about a company because of its pointless meetings that tend to be nothing more than a waste of the employees’ time, during which the management demonstrates no interest in its employees. Instead, meetings should be meaningful, beneficial, and employee-friendly, causing attendees to come away with a sense of accomplishment and empowerment.