Just one glance at your calendar tells you: meetings are taking over your world. Or does it just seem that way?
Nope, it’s not your imagination. According to the Harvard Business Review, today’s executives average 23 hours per week in meetings, compared with 10 hours or less in 1960.
Wow. A nap sounds good about now.
However, execs aren’t alone; the average employee is also attending more meetings. Microsoft Teams wants to change this trend, as we’ll discuss later.
So why the upsurge in meetings?
Blame cultural norms and a greater desire for collaboration. Sure, improved collaboration is a good thing. But so is focusing on “real work” outside of a meeting.
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MIT Sloan researchers have suggested additional reasons for the increase in meetings:
“Today’s organizations are flatter and less hierarchical; they make use of self-directed teams; they rely on empowerment, and they pursue improvement initiatives. The assumption is … that important ideas and innovation can emerge through employee interaction. (Meetings are) often the vehicle of choice.”
In this post, we’ll discuss how meetings in Microsoft Teams make your world a lot better by giving you back more time.
Some people hold short meetings. Unfortunately, long and rambling meetings are still the norm for too many.
In a HubSpot article, author Andrea Lehr lists several meeting-related pet peeves:
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Not to mention technical fails during dial-in, difficulty sharing attachments, or forgetting key action items after the meeting.
Aside from holding fewer meetings, is there a way to make collaboration less painful—even worthwhile and productive?
You’re probably thinking, “No collaboration tool can eliminate all meeting hassles.” And you’re right. Still, Microsoft Teams meetings are a cut above the rest. According to a Forrester Consulting study:
Whether you’re attending a meeting remotely or in person, Teams makes it easy to connect. Here’s how the process works:
NOTE: If you’re attending the meeting outside of Outlook or Teams, just click the link included in your email invitation.
After joining the Teams meeting, you should see a screen like this:
The blue ellipses button (see pop-up menu below) also lets you
NOTE: Teams automatically mutes each attendee’s microphone to reduce potential audio feedback. Feel free to unmute if you’re joining remotely.
You can also click ‘settings’ to mute those who join the meeting later (see sidebar below).
Muted attendees will see a blue notification bar at the top of their screen (shown below).
You can also move through a shared presentation at your own pace. Just click settings to enable the ‘private viewing’ option.
NOTE: Attendees can also ask questions, clarify, or follow up on action items via Teams chats and meeting notes. It’s all right within the Teams app, which archives every meeting.
Once the recording is saved, you’ll find it in the meeting chat (shown below).
So, here’s what we know.
First, meetings aren’t going away. It’s up to your organization to make them meaningful and productive.
Second, meetings in Microsoft Teams can make collaboration simple, focused, and efficient. Even for remote colleagues who connect via smartphone.
Finally, Teams meetings can empower “real work” right in the meeting. (Now there’s a novel idea). It all happens with hands-on collaboration, file sharing, and perpetual chat that’s archived for easy access.
As we like to say at BrainStorm, TEAMSwork makes the dream work!
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What’s your go-to strategy for productive meetings? Share with us at @enduserexperts on Facebook.
To power up Teams adoption, schedule a free QuickHelp demo below.