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Meeting Etiquette . . .the Direct Correlation to Employee Performance

Guest post by: Susan Ireland

Article Overview: The lateness thing is not just an inconvenience or a sign of inefficiency. It has a direct correlation to employee performance. A recent poll of 360 workers, including senior management, conducted by Workplace Intelligence Unit, found that turning up late for meetings was considered by many workers the height of disrespect, with four out of ten feeling that colleagues who did so or canceled at the last minute were simply showing that they did not value their colleagues' time. People feel disrespected when they show up and others don't. The message received is that those who arrive late value their own time more than that of their staff and co-workers. The BlackBerry thing says "what's happening on my Blackberry is more important than the meeting agenda and attendees."

Meeting Etiquette . . .the Direct Correlation to Employee Performance

I'll admit it. A serious turn-off for me is when someone calls a meeting and then is late showing up, or says "Let's wait a few more minutes to be sure everyone gets here." It's also annoying when the meetings go on and on, way past the stated end time.

Then there's the person who's always checking their BlackBerry or cell phone during the meeting. It's as if they're expecting "something" to happen while they're in the meeting . . . uneasy at the thought of being out of touch. What is this "something" they anticipate? Do they really imagine that if they, personally, are not able to intervene or provide input immediately, all will be lost? If so, this signals someone who doesn't view others as able. How would you like to work for this person?

The lateness thing is not just an inconvenience or a sign of inefficiency. It has a direct correlation to employee performance. A recent poll of 360 workers, including senior management, conducted by Workplace Intelligence Unit, found that turning up late for meetings was considered by many workers the height of disrespect, with four out of ten feeling that colleagues who did so or canceled at the last minute were simply showing that they did not value their colleagues' time. People feel disrespected when they show up and others don't. The message received is that those who arrive late value their own time more than that of their staff and co-workers. The BlackBerry thing says "what's happening on my Blackberry is more important than the meeting agenda and attendees."

In her recent book, Fierce Leadership,Susan Scott cites a conversation she had with a group of employees, They worked for a CEO who'd hired her to help him identify performance issues across multiple business units. She asked the employees what advice they would give their boss. Here's what one of them said:

"We'd like him to clean up his behavior around meetings. He's created a monster by scheduling meetings and keeping people waiting. For example, if a meeting is supposed to start at 10 am, I can guarantee you that no one will be in the meeting room at 10:00am. Except me. So I start calling people who are supposed to be there, and they ask, "Is (the boss) in the room yet?" And of course, he isn't, so the waiting continues. Until he's in the room, they won't leave their offices. Part of it's a power dance--- who's more important?---but mostly these are busy people who can't afford to sit in a conference room waiting for who knows how long for (the boss) to show up. And sometimes, he's not even there when he's there. He's distracted."

It's not that the CEO doesn't care about his people. He really does. It's just that his meeting behavior sends the opposite message. Unfortunately, this dynamic exists in many organizations and it's not just a time-waster. Over time, it serves to literally disconnect employees from the vision, goals, and priorities of the organization. In other words, people become disengaged - no longer contributing fully to the success of the organization. Employee performance declines.

If you find yourself enabling this kind of culture, or modeling this kind of behavior, think about the message being sent. Then work to change it:

1. Have straight-forward conversations with people around respect, time management and meeting etiquette. Ask for input and suggestions and take them to heart.

2. Make it a company-wide goal to improve meeting etiquette and hold people accountable for doing so.

3. Start and end meetings on time.

4. Ask everyone to put away their electronic devises and be fully present.

5. Follow an agenda, put out to participants prior to the meeting, so that everyone can prepare and know what to expect.

Doing these things willhave a remarkable effect. You'll reap the benefit of more productive meetings, with employees and co-workers who are a lot more engaged and committed to the success of the organization.

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Article Tags: employee performance, inefficiency, meeting agenda, meeting etiquette



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