Did you know the average employee spends 6 hours in meetings. 23 hours a week is the average for senior executives and managers are almost 4 times as much at 23 hours a week in meetings. With the recent changes in how people work means that these numbers are only growing according to research. Meeting activity, a serious part of everyone's day and energy at the workplace. Culturally they often get little thought. They are a known problem, but even with all the effort spent on them, the issues persist. Meetings are one of the most critical, yet overlooked areas of company culture, and Hybryd is trying to change that.

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There is no clear reason for this lack of correlation between need and effort. The challenge is that the problem is difficult. It touches on so many ambiguous elements, human behaviour, business needs ( known and unknown ), scheduling, timings, knowledge gaps and luck. Many have studied meetings, many have tried to come up with a workable solution. They have failed in large part because they are not flexible enough in the face of these all too human behaviours.

At Hybryd, we’ve spent the last year dedicated to improving meetings in organisations of all kinds. We’ve learned from hundreds of experiments and trials how meetings flow. Hybryd adds structure, but leaves you with control. It adds tools where you already are and gives you a flexible structure to work within. Below are a few of our key findings.

Culture first, then meetings

A company’s culture is its soul. It’s the beliefs and values that direct both how people act and in how they interact with others. When new staff join it is the vibe and community of the current employees. Meetings are usually the first experience they have with your culture. Where they will really notice it in meetings. They are the lens with which they will view your organisation.

How does culture sing in meetings?

• Do people invited to a meeting know what the meeting is about?
• Do they know what outcome the meeting is set out to achieve?
• Does the meeting leader share information in a timely manner?
• Do participants feel comfortable sharing their ideas?
• Are meeting outcomes and decisions available for people who didn’t go to the meeting?
• Are they only accessible to a select group of people?

What all these questions mean is: do the people there value other people’s time!

Meetings can define the culture you want to build

Given the amount of time we spend in them, that time is the crux of interaction in the workplace. Some meeting practices can move you away from your desired culture if you are not careful. Meeting practices should reinforce a positive culture. Clients came to us because they want to improve both outcomes and culture. Companies need a framework that supports and encourages the whole team.

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Better outcomes of a framework that is clear, simple and easy to adopt. Hybryd helps you create a way of working that respects all team members and makes their work lives easier.

From meeting zero to meeting hero in five minutes:

• Set an objective, make sure it is specific and actionable.
• Set an agenda to make sure that nothing gets missed in meetings.
• Agendas also make sure your team is all on the same page when the meeting starts.
• Pre-work when there are knowledge gaps that need to be closed by meeting start.
• Notes, even small reminders help increase information sharing across the company.
• Assigning notes to actions helps accountability in between meetings to ensure project success.

After the first few meetings using this system you will see a noted shift in both outcomes and employee engagement. Goal success and accountability help any company and their culture.

Culture affects your meetings, your meetings affect your success?

A good culture should direct you to good meetings. Good meetings encourage effective communication, employee empowerment and equitable accountability. In the new work of blended work models and remote teams new tools are needed. Tools that help teams keep track of decisions, save time and stay on target. Hybryd wants to be part of that solution and you can get it now here for free.

Clear objectives, agendas and pre-work are just a few of the important features that can help you on your way. Thank for your time and happy meetings!

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