Start the staff meeting at 10:12am

New research shows that 22% of employees spend more than eight hours a week in meetings. Eight hours! That’s like an entire day spent in some glass cubicle talking about things, rather than a day spent at a desk actually working.

Meetings can be great if they are structured properly, chaired properly, minuted properly and create real action outcomes.

However, if you’ve got staff that are spending a day a week in meetings, then you’ve got a bad case of organisational paralysis.

There are lots of good ways to cut meeting times down and make them more focused. Some like the standing-up meeting, which encourages people to get on with things, rather than slouching in a chair and doodling.

However, one gimmick we use here at Taskmaster Enterprises is to call meetings at odd times – like 10.12am. The weird time means people don’t simply wander in late – they turn up at a precise time, ready to talk about the items on the strict agenda.

And don’t just put vague areas of interest on the agenda – only put things that actually require discussions and preferably decision.

Get it done – today!