When meetings are well managed the results are worthwhile. Meetings that are time-consuming however, bring about unproductivity by slowing down employees and employers in the work pace.
In his article Brian Tracy, a self-developed author says that meetings are the third major time waster in the world of work. It is estimated that at least 50 per cent of this time is wasted. This means that about 25 per cent of working time is lost in meetings.
Alliance Igisubizo, a Managing Director, says that most times meetings are not necessary, as some conduct them for the sake of just holding meetings.
"There are times meetings are just not necessary, like there are no issues to solve no decisions to make. I am not saying meetings that happen to recognise achievements are not needed but sometimes the person in charge of doing reports can do that without calling for a meeting. I believe meetings can be more effective when conducted only if there are decisions that need everyone’s contribution,” she says.
She also adds that to make meetings more effective the one in charge of directing them should make an agenda, including the issues to be discussed, the ones to decide on, and how many minutes the meeting will take, so in that way, he or she can stop the meeting when done and note what they missed so that they could discuss them in another meeting.
Olivier Rurangwa, Head of Strategy at a local agriculture firm, says that clarification is what misses sometimes in meetings for them to be effective and productive.
"In some meetings, some don’t know why they are there or how their contribution matters, and if they are told about the purpose of the meeting they don’t know about the issues that need to be addressed. In other cases because of not planning some don’t know where the meeting is going, there has to be a clear understanding of the ones conducting a meeting and the ones attending it about the purpose of a meeting for them to be effective,” he says.
According to Tracy’s article, however, meetings are not evil. Meetings are a necessary business tool for exchanging information, solving problems, and reviewing progress. But they must be managed and they must be used effectively.
Therefore, before conducting one they must ask themselves if the meeting is necessary.
"Many meetings turn out, in retrospect, to be unnecessary. There are other ways to achieve the same goal. Something you can achieve is by circulating a memo. You can have a conference call. You can speak to people individually. You can even postpone it to another meeting or another time altogether. If a meeting is not necessary, avoid holding it. If the meeting is necessary, then ask, "Is it necessary for me to attend this meeting?” If you don’t need to attend, don’t go in the first place,” he notes.
"If you have determined that the meeting is necessary, establish a clear purpose for the meeting, and write up an agenda. An excellent time management tool is for you to write a one-paragraph statement of purpose for the meeting,” he adds.
He also suggests starting and stopping on time. Set a schedule for the beginning of the meeting, and set a time for the end of the meeting. If the meeting is going to run from eight until nine, start it at 8 o’clock sharp and end it at nine o’clock sharp. The worst types of meetings are the ones that start at a specific time but have no clearly determined ending time, he says.
Tracy’s article also suggests summarizing each conclusion. "When you discuss each item on your meeting agenda, summarize the discussion and get closure. Get agreement and completion on each item before you go on to the next one. Restate what has been decided upon and agreed to with each item before you proceed”, he says.