Since the beginning of 2020, it’s a safe bet you’ve been partaking in a whole lot more virtual meetings than you’re used to. And you may also have noticed they account for a whole lot of your time.
But they don’t necessarily have to.
See, even before 2020, poorly organized meetings accounted for 27 billion hours of wasted work time annually, costing businesses a staggering $399 billion each year. And that’s not exclusive to in-person meetings either: since the rise of video conferencing, fifteen percent of the average hour-long meeting has been lost due to time waste.
Rather than losing time and money to bad meetings, your better bet is to streamline the process.
Here are 7 ways to do it.
1. Make It Short and Sweet
Statistics show that the optimal duration for a virtual meeting is between 30 and 60 minutes. Anything longer than that, and you can expect people to start losing focus and getting bored. As a result, the meeting’s productivity can drop and you run the risk of wasting time.
Keep it short and punchy. If it’s going to run longer than an hour, consider giving breaks or splitting it up over multiple sessions.
2. Have an Agenda
Speaking of keeping your meetings short and sweet, one of the best ways to do this is to have a solid agenda in place.
In fact, a structured agenda can actually reduce meeting time by up to 80%.
While each meeting is different, make sure to create a detailed overview of what will be covered and try your best to assign a time limit to each topic.
3. Have Defined Meeting Goals
On that note, it’s also wise to identify exactly what you’re hoping to get out of your meeting.
You need to have a defined outcome that you hope to achieve in your meeting. Doing so will help keep everyone focused on the task and hand without running the risk of things going amok.
Remember that survey we mentioned that found $399 billion in lost time was attributable to poorly organized meetings?
It also states that 43% of people surveyed felt this time waste was attributable to unclear actions that lead to confusion in meetings.
Define the desired outcome. Remind people of it frequently throughout the meeting. And when things get off topic, bring it right back to the focus at hand.
4. Keep It Tight-Knit
Elon Musk famously said, “Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.”
And he was definitely onto something: irrelevant attendees slowing the progress of a meeting has also been shown to waste significant amounts of time.
That’s probably why the most efficient meetings typically have eight or fewer attendees.
So, invite only the necessary people. It’ll keep your meeting productive and save wasted time for those who don’t need to be there.
5. Implement a “Cameras-On” Policy
Asking virtual meeting attendees to have their cameras on isn’t just so that you can see everyone’s faces.
It’s actually been shown that communication is more effective when non-verbal cues are involved.
Better communication inevitably leads to greater efficiency in meetings and, as a result, less time required to get through them and less chaos of people trying to suss out when another has finished speaking so that they can chime in.
6. Save Time for Small Talk
It’s natural for people to want to chat during virtual meetings. But to keep your meeting focused, try allocating some time at the beginning or end for casual conversation and catch up.
By having this time penciled in, you can help ensure people don’t go off on a tangent when you’re in the middle of your meeting.
7. Cut It Short Whenever Possible
Don’t feel obligated to fill the allotted time. If you’ve got 30 minutes booked for your virtual meeting but cover the essentials in twenty minutes, don’t try to stretch it out. Cut it short and give everyone the gift of time.
Virtual meetings are quickly becoming the new norm, especially as remote work continues to accelerate across the world. But as much as they can make it easier to stay in touch with your colleagues and clients, they can also be a time-suck if they’re not approached the right way.
So, before your next meeting, make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to ensure it doesn’t run off the rails.
And if you want to learn how Launch Workplaces can help make your virtual meetings even better by offering top-tier meeting spaces where you can sit down to take them, get in touch today. Our team is here to answer any questions you may have.
