Everybody is familiar with the phrase ‘meeting overload’, and it was one of many expressions to have gained prominence by the movement to remote and hybrid working. Pretty much everyone can relate to it – we’ve all attended a meeting and thought ‘this could have been an email’ or sat through a meeting where only two people are speaking (who you can barely hear in an echoey meeting room). These are just two examples that leave you thinking: I’ve got better things to do!
Whilst meetings are essential to most businesses, not all meetings (by any measure) are created equal. The start of a new year is an opportunity to go ‘out with the old, and in with the new’, and bad meeting habits are something you should focus on. Here are just a few ways, across people and technology, that you can wave goodbye to unproductive meetings in 2023.
Break the old meeting routine, and watch for drift
Keeping things fresh is vital for combating meeting fatigue. Human beings are naturally drawn to newness, with a University College London study finding that a human’s brain responds better to novelty than to the familiar. To keep attendees on the ball, meeting hosts should experiment with different ways to keep things interesting, such as switching locations, inviting a different guest attendee for a recurring meeting or varying meeting duration. A practical way of introducing variety is by switching up meeting room design, to keep meetings fresh and spark creativity.
When a team gets off topic, it’s tough to get them back on track, so be sure to prevent drift with a clearly defined meeting objective and an actionable agenda. In fact, a study of 59 team meetings from 19 organizations found that proactive communication—such as who will do what and when—significantly reduced negative meeting behaviours, such as lack of focus and complaints. Leaders must also ensure their group is ready to engage in complex discussions – encouraging active conversation is a great way to maintain focus and promote flow.
Use big groups for innovation & creativity, and let it be social
Big ideas need big groups, but it is vital there is structure to harness that collective brainpower and generate creative ideas. At the same time, allow participants to take advantage of what is a social process at heart, but also make sure they recognise the collective obligation to stay involved and consciously participate.
Capturing creativity isn’t easy, and a mistake that is often made in creative meetings is to try and let the ideas flow in a ‘natural’ way. However, this can lead to muddled and chaotic meetings. The best way to harness creative brainpower and generate innovation is to take a more structured approach to the meeting, with clear processes to drive ideation. Giving participants structure and restraints is a great way to get them to think even more creatively and inventively when solving problems.
Make meetings equitable
Every participant should feel an equal contributor to the meeting, regardless of where they are. Yet with some employees now working fully remote, the hybrid dynamic can make it difficult for everyone to feel they have an equal seat at the table. However, new technologies such as on-table cameras and white board cameras are able to help minimise the gap between in person and remote participants.
Whiteboards are useful collaboration tools, but are no longer practical in a hybrid meeting set up as remote employees can’t contribute and usually struggle to see the content. Whiteboard cameras can overcome these issues by streaming the content straight into a virtual meeting, providing remote participants a view of the board that is just as clear as if they were in the room.
Seeing each other’s faces is an important part of connection in any social situation, and not being able to see everyone clearly in a meeting can lead to meeting participants disengaging. Tabletop cameras promote equity in meetings by giving remote participants a view of in-person attendees that is just as clear as if they were sitting across the table from them.
Help remote participants focus and look their best
The New Logic of Work means work (and therefore meetings) can happen anywhere, especially from home. However, the home is full of distractions which can cause remote participants to tune out of meetings. The good news is that there are increasingly affordable solutions coming to market to help keep remote participants focused and looking their best.
Background noise and distractions are a major issue for remote meeting participants, which is compounded by poor technologies leading 89% of remote workers to report video issues, and 85% also reporting audio issues. To stay focused in meetings noise cancelling headsets are an essential part of the remote working toolkit. Camera quality and bad lighting are also aspects of home-working that cause issues, so equipping employees with webcams that automatically optimise lighting while providing HD video is an efficient and low-cost way to boost focus and confidence in meetings, making participant more likely to provide useful contributions.
Make 2023 the year of the meeting
Meetings are part of everyday life at work. Equipped with the above you can make 2023 the year that you wave goodbye to unproductive meetings. By breaking old routines and experimenting with new technologies your team will be sharper than ever, providing you with killer ideas whilst helping your team to feel included and valued wherever they are.
