b'THE HR HANDBOOKThe Cost of GatheringMEETINGS MIGHTbe one of the most expensiveedge of the group or you need to achieve alignment costs of doing business. As a tangible measure, calcu- and commitment of the group. These objectives will late the salary cost for the team members around thehelp determine who should be at your meeting. Who table for your next one hour meeting. That calcula- possesses the critical knowledge and whose commit-tion does not include the opportunity cost of doingment is required to achieve the objective? Invite these something else, the transition time, the loss of flexiblepeople. Consider only inviting a representative of a scheduling and the loss of spirit from sitting throughgroup rather than all members. To be informed is poor meetings. (What is the cost of a meeting after thean often-cited reason to attend a meeting. There are meeting?) This is not to suggest that meetings are notways to be informed that dont require sitting quietly to ever needed. I would suggest though that many meet- watch others discuss a topic. Thats expensive! When JONATHAN SHAVERings are not needed, and that most can be improved.individuals have played their part, they should leave. is the president andGathering people together has a cost and we shouldThink of having three 20-minute meetings rather than owner of Envisiondo all we can to maximize the return on investment. one 60-minute meeting. Once you have a list of attend-Partners LLC.Experts suggest that meeting planning shouldees for each topic, begin to anticipate the reactions and take one-third of the time expected for the meeting.resistances of individuals; the personality dynamics and Start by writing an active purpose for the meeting orother events in the organization that might impact the for your currently desired topics. The purpose shouldsuccess of achieving the objective. This thinking step begin with a verb and be specific: will inform the questions to ask or the time required.Identify the problemAligned with establishing a purpose, the agendaPropose solutionsis an action plan, not a list of topics to be covered.Update on progress Agendas should be prepared and shared beforeBuild a modelthe meeting. Meetings should have a notetaker (orShare learnings record the meeting), and a timekeeper. As opposed toGenerate new ideas information sharing, the majority of a meeting shouldIntroduce new org structure be information processing. Every topic must have aHear disagreements desired outcome (a reason for being on the agenda).Summarize conclusions Start with an easier topic and have fewer rather thanTest understanding more topics. Scheduling the appropriate amount of Then secondly, ask yourself if there is any othertime is the most difficult step of agenda preparation. option other than bringing everyone into the sameError on too much time rather than too little, and then space at the same time that could fulfill the objec- do all you can to reduce the need for allotted time. tive. If the answer is yes, use it! There are many usefulSend out the desired outcome and discussion ques-communication channels that dont require gathering.tions a fair amount of time ahead. Expect members Weve discovered that virtual meetings is one way toto pre-read and respect those that have. Keep track reduce meeting cost. Asynchronous communicationof time during the discussion and focus members on has been around longer and is an even better way toachieving commitment to the outcome. If the conclu-reduce cost. Think about interoffice text, email, whitesion within the allotted time is to table the topic, this papers, slide decks, virtual presentations or videocan inform future meeting improvement. messages. Repeat this review for each topic that youPlanning is just the start. Facilitation of dynamic think needs a meeting. Some topics might be partiallygroup conversations should also receive your attention. achieved without a meeting, and therefore will reduceGiven that meetings are a major expense, we should the amount of meeting time needed. Do this with thestrive to improve every aspect as we would any other list above and see if you can reduce the input cost. process in the workplace. Good planning might initially The most common reason to have a meeting istake more of your time, but good planning takes less of because you need to combine the collective knowl- everyone elses time. SW56/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2023'