The Next Chapter in Hybrid Work
Too many unfocused meetings were a crisis of wasted time and energy before Covid. Now they’re almost too easy, even with cats knocking over coffee and kids needing attention just offscreen. Zoom fatigue is real, and yet we have a new chapter in the future of hybrid work unfolding before our eyes. What comes next?
As with any problem, it helps to start by understanding it. A recent article written by Ben Aston on Project Manager News puts the problem in staggering terms. Americans participate in 55 million meetings every single day. 55 million! But does that number shock you? Sources note that while many companies are clear about how they manage human capital, new investments, and delegation of authority, “an organization’s time, in contrast, goes largely unmanaged.” This is why Science House created Model Meetings, not just to make meetings shorter or less frequent, but to offer a science-backed framework to help our clients manage time the way other resources are managed for better results, less stress and deeper alignment to business value. We have seen some clients save millions of dollars on the first day of training, just by mapping meetings to purpose and eliminating unnecessary meetings still being held out of habit. We have seen others go on to accomplish great feats of software engineering, revolutionizing their industries and becoming less stressed and more customer-centric while practicing Model Meetings.
Aston gathered data from thousands of professionals in 19 million meetings to reveal:
This last statistic requires a lot of thought, especially as millions of women have been driven from the workforce by Covid. Things won’t go “back to normal.” Companies in the UK are already preparing for less control over a hybrid workforce. And yet workers early in their careers need face to face time to learn how to navigate advancement, people want social interactions (several of our clients have surveyed the workforce to learn that most people want a day or two in the office for social reasons, which raises questions about where and when work should optimally be completed).
The article also reveals:
People aren’t that focused during meetings
33% of people respond to emails during meetings, 22% respond to personal emails during meetings, 17% visit the restroom while 24% eat lunch during a call.
People want to know their time’s not being wasted
The poll found that while people don’t necessarily hate meetings, they hate feeling like they kept having the same unguided meetings over and over again. Even when meetings are repetitive and progress isn’t being made, many are still obligated to commit their time to yet another meeting.
Aston says, “...meetings will only meet their objectives if employees believe that the meetings have a clear agenda and leave them with enough time to do their work. This implies constantly evaluating your organization’s culture relating to meetings is the best way for you to determine whether the meetings save or waste resources.”
PS. I am excited to share that Model Meetings is about to launch a learning platform where our clients can take the training course we’ve been teaching for the past few years in person with certified instructors. The site will also include a roster of live instruction delivered virtually, including by me. The beta launch for select existing clients will take place within the next few weeks. If you want more information now feel free to contact me. Model Meetings is modular, so anyone who gets trained can start with the basics right away. Focused meetings with behaviors aligned to the purpose of each, clear agendas, the right people in the room. Model Meetings goes far beyond fixing the basics to accelerate the delivery of business value in a way that’s actually less stressful for the workforce. Our speciality at Science House is clarifying the path between strategy and execution, and there’s no better way to do that than achieving clarity and focus in the meetings along the way.