Meetings 'cost £25m in lost productivity'

News Article - 17 June 2008
Category: Business

Lost staff productivity because of meetings is costing small and medium-sized enterprises around £25 million per year, research has revealed.

The poll, conducted by Bibby Financial Services, also found that 42 per cent of workers feel that attending meetings is a waste of their time and unproductive, Crimson Business reports.

David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, told Crimson: "Adding the wasted time spent in meetings to all the HR [human resources], financial and regulatory issues UK owners and managers have to deal with it's amazing they find the time to focus on their business at all."

Reasons for meetings overrunning their time allocations were cited as colleagues not keeping within the agenda, unprepared staff and disruptions from outside the meeting room.

Managers need to prioritise how time is spent and empower workers to cut down on "meeting mania" and concentrate on business success, Mr Robertson is quoted as saying.

A recent survey by recruitment firm HTW Selection found that 82 per cent of managers thought their time was wasted in at least half of the meeting they attend, Personneltoday.com reports.

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