The benefits of 2-hour long meetings

Sometimes short and snappy meetings are best; enabling you to make some key decisions and then get on with the rest of your day. But on other occasions you need a couple of hours to really get things done.

However long your meeting is scheduled to take, you need to be strict when it comes to timing. Let your staff know how long it will be and stick to the timetable.

With that in mind, having a well-planned 2-hour long meeting less frequently can actually help your staff.

Here’s how.

1. Develop a theme
Ask around the office about what people feel the main issues are. They could be about long-term working practices or recent developments in a project. Base your meeting around these and delve deeper into the issues to discover potential solutions.

Everyone will have an instant response to a problem, but if you spend some time brainstorming ideas and talking it through, you could discover a better, more effective solution.

2. Less regular, more covered
The key with longer meetings is to hold them less regularly but to cover more ground – once a fortnight could be enough. You could plan your themes in advance from office politics to working practices.

You can also ask one of your employees to host on certain topics, allowing them to research and learn more about it.

3. Cover smaller issues
With the extended amount of time, you can cover a lot more ground. If you choose not to pick a single issue, you can deal with many of the smaller problems that often get overlooked due to time constraints.

These could be problems or suggestions from staff that are constantly been put on the backburner but, if explored further, could really improve the work flow in your office.

4. Everyone gets a say
A longer meeting means you can invite more people and they’re more likely to get a say. Giving people a mouthpiece in the workplace is important for moral and for a feeling of belonging and ownership of the company.

Not everyone in the business world is an out-going alpha male – giving the more introverted team members a say could provide some interesting useful insights or advice.

5. Socialising
When you’re less pushed for time, people can relax a bit more and engage in some chit-chat. While this might not seem like the most productive use of your time, having a social and friendly office is important for your employees’ personal wellbeing.

An MTV survey of people in their 20s and 30s found that 88% want their co-workers to be their friends. A happy worker is a productive one.

Posted by Ashleigh Sharp