Meeting overload is a costly problem for many companies, and a source of dread for employees. The term describes an endless run of ineffective, unproductive meetings. Stuck in meetings all day, employees can’t make progress on their own work, because there’s always another one to follow. Meeting overload hits both the company’s finances and employee wellbeing. One way to tackle it: put gamification to work in the way you design and run your meetings.
Meeting overload: a corporate illness
Often described as a chronic condition among French workers, meeting overload is best defined as the habit of calling a meeting for everything. Everyone gets invited, yet hardly anyone gets to speak. The real trouble starts when those meetings prove unproductive and end without a single decision. And the syndrome is spreading fast inside companies.
Meetings follow one another all day long, even though most add little value — or none at all. Meanwhile, more important work gets pushed back. All too often, the objectives of the meeting were never clearly set, which creates tension between colleagues. Faced with that, no one is able to make decisions or speak openly.
The consequences of a badly run meeting
Meeting overload has seriously damaging consequences for a company. Hours lost by participants, decisions left unmade, tensions building up: all of it leads to stagnation. If leaders and managers don’t treat the problem seriously, the company may even end up going under. The best cure is to return to what a professional meeting is really for, and to how it should be run.
What makes a meeting effective?
A team meeting is an important part of any company’s working life. It exists to meet clear, specific objectives that matter to the business and to its people. To avoid meeting overload, though, a few good practices are essential. Remember that a professional meeting should end with concrete solutions, decisions taken or agreement on new ways of working — and all of it discussed easily and openly.
Unlike meeting overload, a proper meeting is a genuine tool for communication and strategic management. Done well, it passes on the most useful and important information. Better still, with everyone contributing, it generates new ideas and leads to effective decisions. Without good organisation, projects simply stall and crucial topics may never even come up.
How to organise a meeting
A well-run meeting brings real benefits to the way a company works. Talking things through leaves employees feeling reassured. They gain a sense of wellbeing from being heard and from sharing their ideas, in a brainstormingsession for instance. That feeling is certainly missing in cases of meeting overload, where tension and disagreement take hold instead. Five steps are essential:
- Prepare the meeting: set an agenda and clear objectives
- Set out the length and flow of the meeting: is it remote? In a meeting room? Don’t forget to state the location!
- Finish at the time announced: overrunning forces people to rearrange their day and creates stress. Restate the key points before closing to avoid any misunderstanding.
- Share meeting minutes setting out where things stand and what was decided.
- Draw up an action plan
It’s worth inviting only the people who are essential to the decision. The facilitator can then run a proper round of the table and keep the meeting productive.
How to facilitate a working meeting
There are many ways to lead and facilitate a meeting. The facilitator’s role is crucial here, and they must choose a style that fits them. Should everyone speak freely? Or should the discussion be tightly framed to stay on topic? Either way, the facilitator is responsible for running the meeting well. Whatever your style, remember:
- Be on time
- Thank people for coming
- Remind everyone of the agenda
- Remind each guest of their role, so collaboration runs smoothly
To structure the meeting and keep your audience focused, use a PowerPoint deck.
Running meetings with gamification
Company meetings are called for all kinds of reasons. Whether it’s to share information, exchange views, make decisions or brief the leadership team, what matters most is reaching the objective you set. So rather than staying stuck in the unproductive routine of meeting overload, why not try facilitation or gamification? Gamification is one of the best ways to bring your teams into the room.
Why gamify a meeting?
The gamification concept is winning over more and more managers. Put simply, it means adding a playful dimension to the moments when leaders, managers and employees come together. The aim of a gamified meeting is to bring game codes and mechanics into the way the meeting is run. Play has long been used to support children’s development and growth. The same applies in the professional world.
The benefits of gamifying a meeting are many, especially as a cure for meeting overload. Experts have shown that interactivity greatly improves how well we retain information. Running a meeting becomes a real art. Against the dull routine of meeting overload, the gamified meeting adds a new dimension to the way meetings are organised.
Better still, it gives participants a new experience: sharing and communicating in a more original, playful way. That can make them more productive, while developingcollective intelligence. The sense of achievement that comes with taking part also strengthens employees’ sense of belonging to the company. With a playful format that motivates teams, there’s no more room for boredom — and none for meeting overload.
Arcane Experience: your partner for gamified meetings
Meeting overload was already a familiar problem long before the lockdowns of the last health crisis. Yet it has clearly grown with the rise of remote working. To make working meetings more effective, especially at a distance, event game agencies such as Arcane Experience offer support in designing and facilitatinga gamified meeting . The point of that support is to help participants reach their objectives, whatever the situation. Good habits then take root in the way meetings are run.
The value of a gamified meeting lies above all in getting everyone involved. Each participant can let their imagination loose and put their creativity to work in a good atmosphere. The approach makes your collective working time far more effective. Where meeting overload breeds boredom and even irritation, a gamified meeting holds attention, supports teamwork and, at the same time, builds collective intelligence.
