[T920]Time Management And Planning

There are many types of meeting, both formal and informal. Here I am concerned only with formal meetings - those to which attendees are invited in order to progress items of common interest. It is vital that they are run effectively, efficiently and economically and I have provided some tips as to how they can be achieved.

Are Meetings Largely a Waste of Time?

Surveys have revealed that UK managers spend more than half their time in meetings and that over half of that time is considered to be unproductive - and a similar story emerges for the USA and elsewhere. The amount of time managers waste in meetings is thefore comparable to at least one full working day each week.

There can only be two reasons for such poor time management and this alarmingly high waste of valuable time: a lack of knowledge on how to run successful meetings; or a lack of discipline in following good practice. In either case it is worthwhile itemising just a few of the ways in which meetings can become an effective, efficient and economic means of managing a business.

At the heart of this problem is the fact that people may well value their own time highly, but they seldom value the time of those they do not manage. Depending on the organisation involved, real improvement will not come without a fairly robust commitment to making change.

A Review of Meetings

Any review of the way in which meetings play a part in the management of an organisation is bound to include the number and need for meetings. Such a review should be both on-going, and undertaken periodically as a discrete exercise. It must be remembered that meetings are such an integral and important part of an organisation and its culture that if an attempt was made to drastically reduce their number, then their absence would be replaced by informal meetings with even less likelihood of effectiveness.

It is important that meetings do not proliferate and that each can be justified. Where meetings of doubtul worth are commonplace, it is very likely that there will be little or no appreciation of what could be achieved by change - and little enthusiasm to disturb what has become unthinking acceptance of routine. Rather than trying to impose radical overnight change, the problem can often be resolved by first changing the way meetings are conducted. This will do much to bring a shift in the way in which participants value those meetings, and their abandonment will often be "internally generated".

Routine Meetings

These can be the most wasteful type of meeting. They are often held on a repetitive cycle - often simply to impart information. They often require the attendance of a management or project team, ostensibly to report progress and decide priorities or steps forward for the next time period. Timing often revolves around production of management information. However, the timing of required decisions seldom fits neatly into a repetitive cycle - so that means decisions are either delayed to the next meeting, or taken outside of the meeting.

People who attend routine meetings regularly can find they do so with a clear purpose on one occasion and with no good reason on another. Where this occurs meetings, as a whole or in part, are often characterised by a poor attitude towards making sure that they are of value to the attendees and by a more casual approach in adhering to good practice in meeting management.

Of all meetings, these should be placed under the microscope, and their purpose and worth evaluated. Where possible the timing of the meeting should be made flexible and reflect the agenda items, and the attendee requirements.

Conducting Meetings

Time management within the conduct of holding meetings has many facets. All meetings should feel "fresh" and "alive" with well-defined purpose. Much can be done in preparation for the meeting, but the way in which the meeting is conducted plays a major part here. It is important to establish "momentum" early within the proceedings with active participation from attendees - and to ensure that "momentum" is not lost. There are many reason why this is not achieved and chief amongst these are inappropriate attendance, agenda and preparation; dominance by key (or sometimes not key) people, and allowing meetings to wander "off-subject". All these must be resisted by each participant, supporting the chairperson in efforts to do so. Often matters that arise can better be pursued outside of the meeting.

Always start on time. It is hard to insist that this rule is never broken and there can be occasions when a late attendance is accepted by all as unavoidable. The culture of requiring punctuality must be established with latecomers made to understand that tardiness is not normally accepted behaviour. Altering the time at which meetings commence can assist in circumventing the development of routine - something which should be avoided in almost every aspect of meetings.

The first item should be a review of the forthcoming agenda and establish ground rules for the conduct of the meeting. These should include the necessity to participate, remain focussed on each item in turn, make progress according to time allotted to each item (and what will happen if an item cannot be finalised in that time) and commitment to the agreed outcome.

The method of recording the meeting and outcomes should be established, if this has not already been done. A concise record of the agenda item, what was considered or taken into account and what was concluded can often suffice. The outcome should include the person(s) responsible, resources to be committed, deadline or reporting interval, and the means and timing of reporting progress.

Agenda

The agenda is the cornerstone of controlling meetings - in establishing the purpose and requirement for a meeting, and obtaining value for time invested.

No meeting should take place without a pre-notified agenda, and (significant emergency apart) no item discussed that was not pre-notified. Notification must include not simply the item, but information sufficient to ensure attendees have sufficient knowledge to express opinion and decide the next action. A lax approach to the formulation of, and acceptance of agenda items signals to everyone that a casual attitude is taken with regard to the meeting itself, and the importance attached to achieving positive outcomes.

At the outset the chairperson should ask each participant to signal their preparedness to discuss the item, and their acknowledgement that they have read any papers in advance. Any problems here should be highlighted at the outset as it may affect the conduct of the meeting as a whole. Each agenda item should include the range of anticipated outcomes - and where possible the desired outcome. Depending on the complexity of the matter in hand this can be the subject of a detailed paper or summarised in a few words.

The order of the agenda should allow the meeting to flow so that discussion and decisions taken earlier lead into later topics. It should also reflect the need for participation of individuals who might join or leave the meeting as needed.

The type of meeting should be reflected in the agenda items. It is often better to have separate meetings for complex planning matters and items requiring minimal consideration. Complex issues are better broken up into several agenda items.

Any Other Business

As a rule of thumb this should be used only to alert the meeting to matters that will be the subject of discussion and decision outside the meeting, or to raise matters that require attention at the next meeting and to gain approval for inclusion then. It should not be used to hijack a meeting or "persuade" attendees into consideration of an item in an ill-prepared way.

Closing Meetings

At the end of each agenda item the way forward should have been summarised and agreed. Finally the chairperson should re-state and ensure agreement with all that had been decided throughout. This allows an opportunity to evaluate the meeting - and each participant should be asked to contribute to this - and specifically whether the meeting had been productive. One yardstick against which to assess the meeting would be whether each participant felt it remained "fresh" and "alive" with "momentum" and well defined purpose throughout.