Use Data to Conduct Successful Meetings
Companies are using data to plan their business strategies and are investing in analytics software to assist them. When we think of data analytics in organizations, we usually assume
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My perfect meeting – 10 questions you need to ask your busy team
An awesome 220 million meetings are held every month in the US at an average salary cost of $338 per meeting, according to recent figures.
But the same survey – by decision-making platform Attentiv – showed that employees feel a third of all the time spent in those meetings is wasted.
Do the math…that’s a lot of expense for nothing.
So why do we set up meeting after meeting, only to fail to achieve an efficient outcome?
Employees’ top complaint is that they never see published results from their meetings. They also complain that during the meeting, some individuals dominate. Both problems require questioning or confrontation, and often a culture change in the organization.
But the next biggest objection is that meetings are too disorganized – and that’s an issue that can be tackled much more easily if an organization has the right kind of tools.
So we’ve compiled a list of the 10 questions you should ask your busy team about the meetings they organize and attend – and we’ve made some suggestions that could help save some of that costly wasted time.
1) How easy is it for you to quickly find a suitable space for your meeting?
2) Do you need to call anyone to book a space?
3) Have you ever booked a room at an external venue because it’s simpler?
4) Are meetings in multiple locations or time zones hard to organize?
5) Have you ever chosen not to use video conferencing? Why?
6) Have you ever missed a meeting because the time was changed?
7) Do you ever see empty meeting rooms in your building?
8) How easy is it for you to find the correct meeting room?
9) Have you ever had the start of a meeting delayed because the room was missing some equipment?
10) Is it complicated to arrange catering for your meeting?
Some of the answers you receive may give you concern – and there are some where you definitely need to act quickly.
1) How easy is it for you to quickly find a suitable space for your meeting?
If a majority of your team answers ‘Not easy’, you have a huge problem on your hands. Today’s workspace needs to be flexible, providing facilities for both formal and informal meetings, and for remote employees who drop in and out of the office.
If employees cannot find the best space to work, and have to wander around the building, it hinders their productivity – and the frustration created also causes a well-being issue.
It’s worth exploring the capabilities of meeting room scheduling software, which gives employees immediate online access to locating and booking workspace – no more delays, and plenty of time saved.
2) Do you need to call anyone to book a space?
In many organizations, meeting room booking is still in the hands of administrative staff, which is a time consuming job for those whose day could be spent more profitably dealing with more important issues.
Having to call someone to book a room also adds a level of complexity and can act as a deterrent to busy workers. The self-service functions of meeting room scheduling software provide an answer that’s much more in keeping with modern office practice.
3) Have you ever booked a room at an external venue because it’s simpler?
When a busy person can’t get what they need one way, they’ll go down an easier route – and that can be an unnecessary cost to your organization when internal space is unoccupied.
4) Are meetings in multiple locations or time zones hard to organize?
Sure they are, if you’re trying to call a lot of administrative staff and a lot of attendees across a lot of locations.
But a scheduling system helps employees easily locate the office spaces they need in each location, with appropriate equipment such as AV and VC. And if the meeting changes, it will automatically make the changes across all time zones and inform each attendee.
5) Have you ever chosen not to use video conferencing? Why?
It’s estimated that difficulty organizing meetings in remote locations is one of the major factors why many people fail to make the most of video conferencing facilities.
The time and cost saving benefits of this technology are well known, so if your team describes the above referenced reason, you are spending unnecessary money.
6) Have you ever missed a meeting because the time was changed?
It’s likely that your employees will answer in the affirmative; it’s a common reason for meeting inefficiency. Technology that automatically keeps attendees up to date is invaluable in solving this issue – and if it integrates with digital signage, it also makes sure attendees can locate the meeting.
7) Do you ever see empty meeting rooms in your building?
No-shows do occasionally happen – but with office space rentals becoming more expensive all the time, your business cannot afford for this to happen.
A meetings scheduling system will monitor attendance and release the room back into availability if noone shows up; used together with desk sensor technology it’s also a great way to make sure hot desks are being actually used.
8) How easy is it for you to find the correct meeting room?
This can be an issue if you have attendees coming from another location or from an external organization, so use digital signage to guide them to their destination quickly and effectively. This wayfinding should integrate with your room and resource booking system.
9) Have you ever had the start of a meeting delayed because the room was missing some equipment?
A leading area of frustration and a real drag on productivity – think how much a ten-minute delay in a meeting of seven people costs in salary alone.
Keep an up-to-date inventory of important equipment such as AV, video conferencing, projectors etc using your meeting and resource scheduling system, so employees can book everything they need for their meeting in one transaction.
10) Is it complicated to arrange catering for your meeting?
There’s nothing trivial about this question. Catering – even when it’s just coffee – provides vital fuel for attendees in an intense meeting, and catering software should always be integrated with your meeting booking system.
That way, employees can book catering at the same time as the room, and the catering software enables them to define exactly what their requirements are. Integrating your catering software with the scheduling system will mean caterers are automatically informed about meeting changes at the same time as attendees.
And there’s one further question – one you need to ask yourself.
Is investing in the tools to make your meetings more efficient really worth it?
America meets a lot, as the survey points out. And when it comes to saving time and keeping talented employees happy, it’s not hard to identify the ROI.