As a startup, every moment counts, and every decision can have a big impact on the success of your business. One area that often gets overlooked is the time spent on team meetings. Most founders want the business to be efficient and productive while optimizing the efforts of the employees. Some businesses even spend up to 23 hours a week on team meetings, which may occasionally overwhelm employees as they can’t even put their heads out of the water for a minute as they are inundated with meeting calls. Popularly referred to as “Meeting Madness,” it has convinced some founders to be an attribute of inefficiency. However, canceling meetings can have serious consequences for a startup, as it can lead to a breakdown in communication, a lack of accountability, and a lack of direction for the company.
So should you cut back on your meetings? No.
In this discussion, we will delve into the negative impacts of canceling team meetings as a startup.
- There is no feedback in real time.
Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and feedback to participants are required for successful business implementation. Feedback entails providing constructive criticism and discussing implementation-related hurdles and challenges with the immediate participant, who is typically an employee. This can be accomplished through face-to-face dialogues, but for startups, the bulk of the time organizations work overseas and employ individuals from all over the country. Some may be totally digital businesses. As a result, Team meetings allow members to get together on a regular basis, which promotes corporate culture, loyalty, and productivity.
- Goal divergence
Employees consume a large amount of information throughout the day through emails, text messages, and other forms of business communication in written form. We skim to keep up with the massive volume of information, and if you want your messages to be heard and understood, you must go in front of your target audience and give it straight to them. Meetings are a vital medium to disseminate key policies and discuss strategies, but they are prone to different interpretations if they are initially announced in written form. No matter how many instructions are provided in written form, there is still room for speculation if they are not discussed face-to-face. It’s important to realize that your great approach will not be fully understood by your team until you inform them about it on a regular basis. Once the initial instruction is given through a meeting, following up can be done through written text. Startups are very volatile, and plans change frequently; therefore, meetings are an excellent venue for communicating the company’s strategy on a regular basis.
- Employee visibility is decreased
Meetings are internal communication methods that contribute to team dialogues in remote settings and provide employees with visibility at work. Speaking up in meetings and getting your voice and opinion heard allows each member to have individuality beyond just the simple avatar picture and name. Hence, without this medium of face-to-face communication, members would not receive the appropriate attention or acknowledgement they deserve.
- Unforeseen cultural clashes
When the attitudes and practices of one cultural group start to dominate the norms of the workplace, making it difficult for members of other groups to be included, understood, and achieve success, culture warfare may develop. Canceling meetings fosters a culture that favors introverted personality types and excludes others who love to spend time together in person. Consequently, it becomes considerably more difficult to build and cultivate a healthy business culture in which everyone feels included.
- Teams with weakened social relationships are less efficient.
When there is a free-flowing exchange of ideas, it is possible to create strong interpersonal bonds, which makes it easier for teams to collaborate. Effective team meetings facilitate the formation of these relationships. A strong team chemistry is vital for success and efficiency at work. In essence, individuals that enjoy spending time together are considerably more likely to work a few additional hours, go above and beyond to assist a coworker, and be dedicated to their task. Engaged teams are likely to outperform non-engaged teams, and therefore, by reducing meetings, it subsequently affects the overall company productivity.