‘Don’t waste my time’

“PLEASE talk to me for the next few hours!” was the message from a friend, and I recognised the SOS.

“Another meeting?” I asked. 

Her reply led to a barrage of complaints, which included how the work meetings – which invariably last for two hours each – were just a platform for her boss to “toot his own horn”.

I believe most professionals can relate to the situation she was in. And while we can joke about how soul-sapping such interactions are, they do have real consequences. 

For my friend, the problem was trying to clear her backlog of work after the meeting. 

“It was an utter waste of my time. I could have been doing something else. In the end, I have to play catch-up… and work overtime,” she continued to grouse. 

A Bloomberg article last year stated that such gatherings “wasted” up to US$100 million for big companies. Employees surveyed also indicated that they felt they did not have to be present for nearly one-third of the meetings.

No grandstanding

But such conferences are needed from time to time, especially when you need the inputs or consensus of others to arrive at a decision.

While most of us know the ingredients needed for a productive meeting – such as a clear, pre-set agenda and a firm chairperson to keep the team focused – how many actually practise this when chairing one?

Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, said: “Meetings that lack purpose, structure and engagement can feel like a waste of time for many. Other factors like having too many meetings and poor time management can also make people feel that (they) take up too much time.”

Before calling for a meeting, the organiser should determine if its objectives can be achieved more efficiently through other methods, such as e-mails or one-on-one discussions. 

“As a general guide, only hold a meeting if you require input for complex issues from multiple individuals, or need to disseminate extensive or confidential information to a group,” she added. 

“Holding a meeting to brainstorm for ideas also helps because gathering everyone together to discuss and share ideas can help stimulate creativity.”

But what if the person of the hour (or longer) decides to grandstand and hog the limelight? What can other participants do besides leave the meeting on the pretext of picking up a call, only to never return?

The ‘commoners’

At times, there seems to be a dearth of people who will speak up when the show runs on too long. 

Paul Heng, founder and managing director of NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia, said: “My recommended approach is to wait for the right opportunity to speak in private with your boss. Watch your language, choice of words, body language, tone, (and the like).”

He recommends providing feedback by first sharing a recent example of how such meetings impact productivity. “This (approach) is effective because it is objective feedback, and (does not) target a particular person, such as your boss. There is a better chance that it will be received more positively,” he said.

Meetings are part and parcel of our professional lives, and attendees want to show up knowing that their time will be respected, and that real issues are on the table. 

While I am no guru on the subject matter, I believe that when one endless meeting is followed by just another, that is when productivity and staff happiness are compromised. 

“Argh, see la, five pages of meeting minutes and only this bit on work,” my friend lamented. 

Productive, much?