Monthly Archives: June 2021

improve meeting management

Improve Meeting Management to Increase Employee Productivity

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Employee Productivity is Down for Remote Workers due to Too Many and Poorly Run Meetings


A recent study showed that performance of people working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic was as good or better than when they were working on-site. But a newer study showed that although people were performing, their productivity per hours worked was done by 20% on average.


This was manly due to managers calling too many meetings and meetings being inefficient. The theory is that because managers could not walk up to people to check in on them, they were calling more meetings instead.


“Bartleby’s law: 80% of the time of 80% of the people in meetings is wasted. This study certainly offers evidence for the proposition”

Meeting management has always been an issue. Meetings need good planning, and they need to have a purpose or goal, begin and end on time, and have follow-up on action items set at the meeting.


I have been using a meeting planning tool I created and after reading the article on the study, I decided to upgrade the tool and make it available for free download.  


Meetings also need to be well facilitated or chaired and roles should be assigned to help things stay on track. Roles could be a timer, notetaker and gatekeeper. The gatekeeper helps the chairperson to keep order and remind people of the meeting guidelines. Guidelines might be acting with respect, listening, not interrupting, etc. There guidelines should be set at the beginning of the meeting or be established by the company and applied to all meetings.


I like to use a few criteria to determine if the meeting was successful.


  1. Did the meeting begin and end on time?
  2. Was the purpose or goal of the meeting achieved?
  3. How satisfied were the participants with how the meeting was managed?

In the video I go through each component of my meeting planner and show a sample planner. I suggest watching the video to see if what I explain can help you make your meetings more effective.


I have often heard employees in companies complain about having to attend too many meetings and that they often waste their time there. Those that arrive on time and must wait for others to arrive feel disrespected and this is quite common and should be addressed if it is your case.


Meeting efficiency can usually be improved, and everyone will feel more productive and satisfied. You can start by thinking twice about calling your next meeting and decide if it is necessary. Make sure that those who are invited really need to be there and you are not wasting their time.


Download my form and watch the guided video to start improving your meetings now.


improve meeting management

being adaptable

Being Adaptable is A Key Learning from the Pandemic and Working from Home

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Most office workers were forced to work from home during the COVID-19 Pandemic and lessons were learned. The key takeaway is to be more adaptable, and that goes for both employers and employees.


I recently read an article in a business magazine that reported that business owners and CEO’s we pleasantly surprised to discover that employee productivity from those working from home was as good or better than before the pandemic.


Leaders were forced to be adaptable in having employees work from home as this was the law in many jurisdictions with no choice. Most people are responsible enough to perform and perhaps to even improve performance as this was an opportunity to show employers that allowing them greater flexibility can work and be productive.


Employees also had to adapt to all the changes imposed on them and handle both the challenges and the opportunity to function with more independence. This has resulted in a new way of working that fosters a better balance between professional and personal responsibilities.


Definition of adaptability

Noun

The quality of being able to adjust to new conditions.

Adaptability is an advantage in the harshly competitive global economy.


Some people are more naturally adaptable to change and even enjoy it. Others find it more difficult to adapt to changes that are imposed on them and have a higher tendency for resistance. Personality traits drive how adaptable we are and takes work to become adaptable. Being too extreme either way is not ideal and it is best to learn how to strike a balance.


Imposed situations like COVID-19 force us to find a balance and if we are a less adaptable person resisting becoming more adaptable can cause stress and increase negativity This can lead to mental and physical health issues.


On the other hand, being too adaptable may mean we just follow the rules blindly and do what we are told and fail to question things that should be questioned. Knowing yourself and when being less flexible is not best and when being too adaptable is not good can help you to learn ways to adjust your responses to situations and strike better balance in life.


Larry Karass

The Benefits of Having a Pro-Active Board of Advisors or Directors for a Small/Medium Size Business

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Small and medium size businesses can greatly benefit from having a board of advisors or directors that are actively helping the business owner and management team make good and timely decisions.


I had the opportunity to interview businessman Larry Karass of Stratik International who sits on the board of many successful businesses. He relates many of the benefits of having an active board and gives examples from his experience.


I learned a great deal from the interview with Larry and have a much better understanding of why a business owner would want to seriously consider creating a board of advisors who can help implement better management practices.


employees in decision-making

When to Involve Employee in Decision-Making

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Involving employees in decision-making is an effective method to improve employee engagement and motivation. When employees participate in decision-making, they feel empowered and valued.


It is not feasible to involve employees in all decisions as this would take too long and is unnecessary.  The decisions on which to have employees participate is based on how the decision will affect their work, their attitude and ability to be perform well.


Take for example a small business owner with 15 employees and one supervisor. The supervisor manages a team of 8 employees in the production shop and the rest of the employees are in sales and administration.


Suppose demands for the companies’ products are rising quickly and the owner has been having difficulty hiring additional production staff. He needs at least 3 new employees to train rapidly, and this problem is causing the firm to be unable to meet demand.


As well turnover is above what it should be further contributing to the problem. The owner could call on consultants to address the situation and perhaps that would be wise. But at the same time, he could involve the employees in the decision by asking what they think is causing the turnover and what the company needs to do to fix that and attract new employees.


Using the input from the employees could help the business owner not only work better with consultants but also make decisions about what to do to make the company a better place to work. Implementing the solutions based partly on employee input will have them want to be part of the solution. Those that are more engaged with the firm would act as leaders in helping fix the problems and getting other employees on board with the solutions.


Obstacles

The biggest obstacle to involving employees in decision-making is time. That is why it is important to choose the right problem or decision for which to include employees.


The decisions that need employee backing to work are those that you need to set aside time to get their input. These types of decisions should not be rushed as the implementation of the decision could backfire, causing more problems.


Leadership style is another factor that affects involving employees in decisions. A participative leadership style is required to make employee involvement work. Autocratic leaders with high energy and a competitive nature might lack the patience to go through the process of getting employee input. The leader needs to be aware of this and work on that aspect of themselves.


Methods

There are methods to involve employees in decision-making. At the very least is asking their opinion and using that information to make the decision.


Another level would be to engage in deeper discussions and perhaps problem-solving exercises using consensus to build solutions. A more advanced stage would be to empower employees to make the decision.


In the example of the small business owner, empowering employees to make the decision could mean they get to choose who to hire to join the team. But to get to that stage requires a progressive approach and training. The leader who involves employees in decision-making will reap the benefits of building trust and respect and have more engaged and loyal employees.