I previously wrote about findings from my research group on how to run an organisational meeting. Today I make two related points: (1) Don’t meet unless there is a good reason to meet; (2) Keep meetings focused on the good reason to meet.

I will illustrate with my own examples. As the head of a group that meets monthly, I realised that our upcoming meeting had no decisions to make and no important information to share, so I canceled the meeting. As the head of another group, I realised that the upcoming monthly meeting had only a small amount of information to share (all in writing) and one small decision to make — whether to affirm a minor change in a policy. Because I was only the acting head and this was the final meeting of the year, I decided to go ahead with meeting. In other circumstances, I would have met via email. I set a personal goal of running the shortest meeting in the history of the group. To help, I decided to start promptly. However, a member came early and then left, and I decided to wait for her to return. We started a few minutes late with chit-chat between members about recent travel. We could easily have spent over an hour schmoozing and musing, but we actually kept that to a minimum as we focused on our tasks for the day. We finished in 21 minutes, which I, in all subjectivity, consider a record. As a mostly task-oriented leader, I felt happy about the quick work of this group and the saving of time in the other group by not meeting at all. Why? When several academics meet, the cost per hour for their salaries and benefits can amount to $500 to $1000 per hour. Meetings of larger groups can cost thousands of dollars per hour. I often ask myself whether we will accomplish something worth that cost. More human-relations oriented leaders might view the social interactions as building rapport and team spirit. I myself have only rarely seen these outcomes from staff meetings, especially long staff meetings where the group makes few or no decisions. What did I actually do with the saved time? I worked on a research manuscript on phobias I am writing, and I posted for students information about current interesting developments relating to psychological disorders, a topic about which I recently guest taught. So, in truth, my employer did not save any money through meeting efficiency — it helped me produce more in the realms of research and teaching.

What are the meetings like you attend? Is time well spent? What do leaders and group members do that help the meetings operate efficiently?

John Malouff, PhD, JD
Assoc Prof of Psychology