I am sure that you have sat in a meeting wondering why you are there. Or perhaps you’ve been in a meeting where the communication is one-way, where you don’t understand what’s going on and it’s highly likely that most other people in the same meeting feel the same way. Or perhaps you have been frustrated about how poorly the meeting has been organised. This blog article will help stop you making the same mistakes for when you come to run your own meetings.

Why is this topic important?

In 2023, HR Magazine quoted surveys stating the following:

• 55% of UK office workers said they waste too much time in meetings, whilst 81% were confident that shorter meetings would achieve the same outcomes.
• 57% of workers only have one useful meeting a week.
• Waffling (59%), too much small talk (48%), late joiners (31%) and people not paying attention (31%) were the worst culprits for time wasting.
• 53% said they attend too many disengaging and poorly structured meetings. This figure rises to 75% for remote workers.

The impact of poorly organised and poorly run meetings is clearly damaging levels of productivity and employee engagement. So, here’s our advice on how to make your meetings more efficient and productive.

Re-think your approach to running meetings

Re-think your meeting by dividing each meeting into 3 parts:

• Before
• During
• After

Before your meeting

This is all about preparation. Ask yourself these questions:

• What is the purpose of the meeting?
• Who needs to attend?
• How can I get them to be ready to contribute to the meeting?
• Is the meeting actually needed? If it's just information sharing, is a meeting necessary?

Don’t overlook housekeeping questions such as:

• Start and finish times
• Location and room setup (or online login)
• Meeting materials (flipcharts, pens, IT, etc.)

Create and circulate a meaningful agenda in good time, with clear pre-reading or prep. Remind people to arrive on time – both physically and mentally – ready to contribute from the start.

During the meeting

Welcome everyone and ensure they have a copy of the agenda. If people are late, begin without them – respectfully, but purposefully. This sets expectations.

Involve everyone and invite challenge to avoid groupthink. Great minds don’t think alike – they think differently.

Review previous action points and keep a running tally. You might even track completion as a KPI (e.g. 8/10 = 80%). What gets measured gets done.

If discussion goes off-track, note it for “Any Other Business” or a future agenda. This "parking lot" method values contributions while protecting time.

Facilitating a meeting requires emotional intelligence: read body language and accommodate personality types (introverts may reflect before contributing; extraverts may think aloud).

Delegate note-taking using the What, Who, and By When format. Rotate this task. At the end, have the note-taker summarise the actions so everyone is aligned.

Thank attendees and confirm the next meeting details, if applicable.

After the meeting

Follow up is essential. Action points should be sent within 2 hours.

Then, review how the meeting went:

• What went well?
• What could have gone better?
• What changes can be made to improve next time?

Summary

Time is money. Poor meetings are costly, but effective ones can be energising and efficient – on track, on topic, and on time.

Paul Beesley
Director and Senior Consultant,
Beyond Theory
28 May 2025

Related blog articles:

• Groupthink – what it is and how to avoid it
• Time management – use the Pareto Principle
• Being busy is not the same as being productive
• Listening to understand vs. listening to respond
• Listening beyond words