Work meetings are part and parcel of Irish business life but for many employees having to sit around the table listening to the constant use of ‘buzz words’ and cliches can prove extremely annoying.
A survey on the topic by recruitment website IrishJobs.ie has now named “In the current financial climate” as the most irritating phrase with 30 per cent of respondents followed by “going forward” (22 per cent ) and “thinking outside the box” (15 per cent ).
Of the 81 per cent of respondents who had meetings over half (54 per cent ) had weekly meetings while just under a third (29 per cent ) met their colleagues monthly, with 17 per cent having daily meetings.
In regard to how long meetings last, the survey revealed that nearly half go on for between 30 and 60 minutes while just over a quarter (27 per cent ) lasted under 30 minutes. Almost one in five (18 per cent ) people have meetings that last between an hour and an hour and a half while seven per cent have meetings that go on for more than 90 minutes.
Looking at small, medium, and large companies it seems that small companies, ie, companies with fewer than 50 employees, are most likely to have the longest meetings, followed by medium companies (50-249 employees ) and large companies (250+ employees ).
The IrishJobs.ie survey also revealed that sales is the profession most likely to have the longest meetings while IT has the quickest meetings. The longer meeting times for sales teams may well be due to the fast-paced and changeable nature of the sales industry, whereas solutions to issues in the IT profession would probably be more logical and follow protocol.
As to the usefulness or otherwise of meetings, 40 per cent of workers identified “making no decision” as the biggest meeting crime while almost a quarter (23 per cent ) of respondents said “one person dominating” was their top offence, followed closely by “going off agenda” (20 per cent ) and “rambling” (17 per cent ).
“Meetings are part and parcel of everyone’s working life,” said Valerie Sorohan, narketing manager with IrishJobs.ie “While employees recognise and accept the need for internal meetings, the survey identified many areas that companies can improve on to make meetings more efficient. Respondents revealed that the main issues that need to be tackled with regard to team meetings are a lack of agenda, rambling, and no decisions or actions concluded. Respondents also specified that the key to a good meeting is the person who chairs it. A good chairperson will keep a meeting focused and orderly and ensure any decisions taken should be acted upon.”
The majority of workers recognise that meetings are needed with 62 per cent of respondents telling IrishJobs.ie that they are necessary for the company/team to work effectively. However a third of people (29 per cent ) feel that while meetings are helpful they can take up too much time, with less than one in 10 (nine per cent ) admitting they would rather do their work than talk about it.
