The Meeting Audit: Reclaim 8 Hours a Week in 30 Days

Leaders at mid-sized companies dedicate a significant portion of their workweek to meetings. On average, this amounts to 23 hours weekly, with a staggering 60-70% of this time perceived as unproductive. This translates to roughly 8 to 12 reclaimable hours per leader each week.

Conduct a 30-Day Meeting Audit

To address meeting inefficiencies, implement a 30-day meeting audit. For every recurring meeting on your calendar, critically evaluate it by answering these four questions:

• What decision gets made here that couldn't be made over a 5-line message?
• Who actually needs to be in the room - and who is here out of habit?
• What's the agenda, in writing, sent 24 hours in advance?
• What's the meeting we'd cancel first if we had to cut one?

Take Decisive Action

Once you've audited your meetings, it's time to act decisively.

• Cancel the meeting you identified as the first to go.
• Eliminate any meeting that lacks a written agenda.
• Shorten 60-minute meetings to 30 minutes.
• Move all status updates to asynchronous communication.
• Replace standing meetings with as-needed meetings.

After 30 days, your team will communicate which meetings, if any, they genuinely need back. The insightful outcome is that almost nothing comes back.