Meetings are everyday occurrences in the corporate world. Unfortunately, a lot of meetings are really just time-wasters and do nothing to keep projects on track. The good news is that you can use document management software (DMS) to get rid of inefficient meetings altogether. In this article we’ll discuss why meetings are a waste of time and how workflows inside of DMS provide a solution to the dilemma.
Why Meetings Are Often a Waste of Time
A lot of employees attend meetings on a regular basis. Managers often end up in meetings all day long. The problem is that most meetings are actually a huge waste of time. While meetings happen in many companies, the insurance industry stands to benefit the most from finding a better solution.
Meetings Start Late and End Late
Many meetings start late because people show up late. Meetings often take longer than anticipated when the meeting leader isn’t organized. Another problem is that most meetings are scheduled to last for an entire hour, even if 15 or 30 minutes would have been plenty of time to cover the meeting’s agenda.
Meetings Are Expensive
The people who like to organize meetings don’t always realize how expensive they really are. But even though you’re not writing a check for holding a meeting, you should think about what it costs your company. If 10 people attend your meeting who earn $30/hour, then your hour-long meeting costs $300. And that doesn’t include the time it takes for these 10 people to get to your meeting or the time it takes for them to make up the work they missed.
Meetings Are Used for the Wrong Purposes
Most meetings are boring. Employees may relish the fact that they don’t have to do any work, but sitting in meetings really hurts their productivity for the day. The problem is that meetings are often used for the wrong purposes.
For example, many meetings are held to inform employees about changes inside the company or to work processes. Informational meetings are rarely a good use of time. If you can send a memo or an email communicating the same information, then you should skip the meeting.
Another problem with meetings is that they often involve too many people. The more people show up for your meeting, the less productive it will be, especially if you’re asking for people’s input.
Meetings Are Repetitive
Meetings are often used to communicate repetitive information. It’s no wonder that employees check their phones or laptops during your meetings and don’t really pay attention. In order to hold an effective meeting, you should have an agenda and stick to it. It’s also important not to let any of the participants derail your meeting by going off on a tangent.
Meetings Are Inefficient for Project Management
When departments or companies start big projects, they often schedule project meetings. These meetings are used to provide project updates for managers and discuss project changes with employees. While it sounds like a good idea to do this in person, it’s really not necessary. After all, it’s not helpful for every member of your team to know what every other member of your team is doing, and it drastically reduces employee productivity.
How Document Management Software Can Replace Meetings
People use meetings to provide progress updates or discuss how the process will change. Meetings are also used to keep projects on track. Fortunately, it’s not necessary to call in a meeting for any of these reasons.
Using Workflows to Get Things Done
If you want to elicit opinions and responses from your employees, then you have to talk to them in person. However, if you want to get things done, it’s better to use workflows inside of document management software than to schedule a meeting.
Your employees are more productive when they have a structured workflow to follow. Instead of waiting for the next meeting or sending you an email when they’re out of work, the workflow will direct them to the next project that needs attention.
You can even use workflows to assign priority to certain items. Best of all, managers can keep track of what their employees are doing without having to interrupt them at work.
Updating the Workflow
Instead of scheduling a meeting, managers can update the workflow inside of document management software (DMS). DMS is intuitive enough for employees to understand how the workflow is changing without requiring a manager’s explanation.
There is a possibility that it may take the manager slightly more time to update the workflow than to hold a meeting to communicate the changes. However, the meeting attendees will not waste any time in getting the work done because they don’t have to attend a meeting. Therefore, using a workflow generates a huge return on investment in terms of workspace efficiency.
Keep Projects on Track
Your company can use workflows to keep projects on track. Task management is much easier for managers with workflow because they can see what got done and what didn’t. They can also see whether any of their employees are behind or ahead of schedule, and they can identify which employees have the ability to take on additional tasks.
You don’t have to abandon meetings altogether. However, we think it’s generally a good idea to use workflows inside of our document management software instead of interrupting your employees’ workday. After you have used workflows, you’ll never want to go back to other time-wasters, including meetings and emails.