By Dave DuBois
Ever feel like you’re in too many meetings? You’re not alone: 92% of employees consider meetings costly and unproductive, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Now, many organizations are trying to cut down on the meeting clutter. In a dramatic step to improve productivity, Shopify went on a “calendar purge” and eliminated all recurring meetings involving more than two people. My company, Curriculum Associates, an edtech company that designs educational materials and assessments, developed a similar sentiment toward meetings but took a different approach to address the problem.
Similar to Shopify, we were struggling with the inefficiencies and loss of productivity that stemmed from meetings—a natural byproduct of transitioning out of the startup stage and into a middle-market company with more than 2,000 employees. However, rather than direct staff from the top down on how to spend their time, we empowered our employees from the bottom up—encouraging them to be masters of their own time and find strategies that worked for their positions and teams. We encouraged them to say “no” to meetings.
Here’s how we did it: We sent a company-wide memo articulating to employees that while some meetings are useful, especially in a remote environment for building connection and community, they are not a measure of productivity at Curriculum Associates. We asked employees to reduce time spent in meetings, report time savings, and share their strategies for doing so. We then included incentives, such as giving out a clock or watch.
After three months, the 300 employee participants not only reported 8,000 hours of time savings, but also enhanced workplace happiness, more time devoted to deep and creative thinking, and most importantly, more open communication with colleagues and managers. From talking with folks about their success, we found that employees were able to be more efficient because the company articulated its values and culture and empowered them to say no to meetings that they previously would have accepted.
Oftentimes, calendar invites come from superiors, so employees, especially those who are more junior, feel obligated to attend. Other times, people wouldn’t feel comfortable declining meetings because they didn’t want to be perceived as rude. So, the challenge empowered employees to make decisions about their time and encouraged people to think creatively about how to best communicate.
From the strategies reported by our team, we learned that there was no one-size-fits-all way to reduce the time spent in meetings. Rather, there are a multitude of paths that can yield success. People found that utilizing other communication channels, such as Slack or email, were in some cases actually better for communicating. Others learned that a meeting previously scheduled for an hour could be conducted in 30 minutes and adjusted the calendar invite accordingly. Some found that they did not have an essential role in the meeting and that their time could be better spent on other projects.
Our colleagues used the extra time gained from better meeting management in a variety of ways: from engaging with out-of-the-box thinking and brainstorming to taking longer walks with their dogs and taking a much-needed break from their computer screens to stretch.
Our time-management challenge served as an important signal, which told employees that the company values their time and their well-being, wants them to be able to be productive at work, and trusts that they know how to manage their time best. It was also just a start, something to build on as we look to increase participation and embrace the best practices our employees shared with us.
The challenge taught us all an important lesson: Real change happens in lockstep with your people. Equip and entrust your staff with the right tools and support, and they will return the favor.
Dave DuBois is the senior director of business transformation at Curriculum Associates.
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