But are they productive?

Recent studies are challenging that belief, with research showing the impact that unnecessary and inefficient meetings have on productivity. As productivity declines, so does employee engagement, which hits companies where it hurts the most: their bottom line.

Research on Microsoft 365 apps and surveys found that the average worker sits through 7.5 hours of meetings each week. This means employees are trying to manage 40 hours of work with a time deficit — every week. Of the top five obstacles to productivity, Microsoft research ranked “having too many meetings” third, but “having inefficient meetings” came out on top as the No. 1 enemy of productivity.

Why should that concern business leaders? Because frustrated, disengaged employees are expensive. A Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report estimates the global economy loses $8.9 trillion to low engagement.

“Unnecessary meetings are expensive. Not only do superfluous meetings drain morale, but also they cost a bundle in lost productivity,” said Nir Eyal, author of “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.” “A one-hour meeting of five people with an average salary of $100,000 costs $350.” He added that people could underestimate those calculations since those attending often stop working on tasks 15 to 20 minutes before the meetings and lose time refocusing on tasks afterward.

But do they really stop working on tasks during meetings? Studies show that at least 73% of employees work on other tasks during meetings.

It’s hard to find a balance, especially when your job requires managing different client schedules.

The Salt Lake City-based Fullcast Services team, for example, spends much of its time meeting with different clients through regular communication. With preparation, managers optimize this time to connect with clients and coworkers.

“With a remote team, it’s important to touch base with each other on a daily basis,” said Jennifer Gallacher, marketing manager at Fullcast. “We host a quick 15-minute daily scrum to coordinate resources, discuss any issues and allocate support for team members who need help.”

She added, “It’s important to respect my team members’ time. We keep it short and sweet so team members can quickly get back to work. This quick stand-up meeting style has been effective as well as efficient.”

If you’d like to find a balance between meetings and productivity, explore the value of your meetings by first evaluating the amount of time employees spend in meetings, then consider actionable outcomes, attendees and duration. Here’s how:

Are meetings producing actionable outcomes?

Over half (55%) of employees can’t identify the action items following a meeting. The big question is, do any exist?

“Fostering a positive company culture is essential, but socializing should be its own thing; it’s not a business meeting,” Eyal said. “Company announcements can easily be sent over email. No one needs to hear a colleague say things out loud that could have been read in an email in their own time.”

Remember, the primary purpose of meetings is to make decisions, assign tasks, clarify the next steps and gain consensus among attendees.

Are the right people attending meetings?

With the exception of all-company meetings, have you considered the roles of those attending and why they are included?

“We schedule and attend meetings out of fear of missing out on important information and a chance to contribute to discussions,” said Phu Ta at wudpecker.com. “This can result in overcrowded meetings with many participants who are not meant to be there, without necessarily adding value to the group.”

Ask yourself: Does this person have the skillset and job position to contribute to and benefit from this meeting? If portions benefit them, consider sending a link to the recorded meeting or an email with bullet points.

Do meetings start and end on time?

Frankly, I’ve never met a stand-up meeting I didn’t like. They are short, to the point and action-oriented. When the goal is met, it ends. What’s not to love?

Only some essential meetings can be as fun-sized as a stand-up. But concise timing still matters. Review whether meetings adhere to their scheduled start and end times. Consistently running over time can indicate a lack of agenda or poor meeting management, suggesting a need to streamline.

It is true that the development of virtual technology has made it easy to have a meeting, but keep in mind that the most powerful meeting is the one you don’t schedule. By asking these questions, managers can gain insights into the effectiveness and necessity of their current meeting structure and identify areas for employee-centric improvement.

J’Nel Wright is a content writer at Fullcast, a Silicon Slopes-based, end-to-end RevOps platform that allows companies to design, manage and track the performance of their revenue-generating teams.