Managers waste three days a year in unnecessary and unproductive meetings ⁰

Badly prepared, unnecessary and over-running meetings are harming businesses while directors and managers waste almost three days on average a year in them, according to a survey from technology firm Perivan. Over a half (51 percent) of UK business managers say they have been to a meeting where documents were found to be missing or else incorrect or out-of-date papers were presented. Close to a third (31 percent) said they are aware of erroneous decisions having been made as a direct result. On average, respondents said they participate in three meetings each week, though a quarter stated more than five per week. Around 42 percent said they believe they are attending too many, while 47 percent pointed out that the number they are being asked to attend has increased in the last three years.

Collectively, respondents perceived that just over half of their meetings are spent productively (54 percent); just 5 percent said the meetings they attend never overrun. The report claims that each meeting lasts an average of 50 minutes. So, because respondents attend at least three times per week, at least 65 hours, per executive are being wasted in unproductive meetings each year. Of equal concern to business productivity, according to the report, is the 10 percent claim they are frequently brought into meetings that they are not required for, and the additional 49 percent that admit this sometimes happens to them.