Most of us view meetings as a necessary evil to get the job done. While some are clearly a waste of time, others can provide opportunities for teams to collaborate and make decisions. But what if you ban them completely?
This is what the online media company TheSoul Publishing did so when it adopted a “no meetings” policy across its global business. The reason? Eighty percent of the company’s 2,100 employees worldwide work remotely, and live in-person meetings were not an effective form of communication.
“I like to compare meetings to big conferences,” says COO Arthur Mamedov. “Talking in front of a group of people easily becomes an inefficient exchange of information. Some people might be distracted at the time. For others, the information may not be relevant. And during Q&A sessions, the speaker may forget important details. Meetings can easily become a passive activity that wastes participants’ time.
This is especially true when people are spread across multiple time zones. “You can’t expect to connect with people seamlessly,” says Mamedov. “It’s always out of hours for a group of attendees.”
A more effective way to communicate with a group is to post information online. Moving from the information exchange process to written formats first allows people to update at their own pace.
How to ban meetings
While it sounds simple, rolling out a no-meeting policy requires foresight and planning, says Mamedov, adding that how employees communicate is part of your company culture.
“Corporate culture should be focused on creating value,” says Mamedov. “It’s doing things rather than talking about them. Again, this sounds simple, but there are a lot of cultural touchpoints you need to address. You need systems to support workflow and very clear communication principles. Once an interaction pattern is in place, you can build deep professional connections and trust within the team. »
For example, TheSoul Publishing banned internal emails. “Getting rid of meetings requires radical transparency, which is usually the most uncomfortable for people,” says Mamedov. “Emails are the opposite of transparency. Exchanges are only visible within the group. Anyone who needs access to the information should be able to get it to ensure everyone is in sync.
Instead, information should be shared on a platform that gives everyone equal access and instant updates whenever someone posts something. “You can’t expect people to work as a team when they’re not on the same page, even at the highest level where our organization operates,” Mamedov says.
Having a team that can work according to this model starts with recruiting. “You need to hire nimble people who can embrace these approaches and ditch the old way of doing things,” says Mamedov. “The more atypical your culture, the deeper and longer your integration process should be.”
New employees learn to communicate with each other. “There is a learning curve and time given to new hires to digest before diving into the work process,” says Mamedov. “Otherwise it would be confusing if a person wasn’t trained to operate that way. The first thing they would probably do would be to try to arrange a meeting with someone.
Exemption
Although they are banned, Mamedov admits that the meetings sometimes happen, but only for special cases. “We have a two-page manual on how to organize a meeting, but for them to take place you have to follow a very strict protocol,” he says.
First, the employee should try to solve the problem without a meeting, using the company’s project management software. If they reach a point where they cannot move forward in an asynchronous discussion, the employee who wants a meeting should create a plan and agenda for the conversation in advance. The appointment request must be made at least 24 hours in advance.
“Then you need to make sure you’ve only invited people who really need to participate,” says Mamedov. “Usually we try to limit all meetings to just two people and for no more than 30 minutes.”
After the meeting, the caller saves the result to where the project work is stored, so everyone can benefit from it.
“If the meeting was on Zoom, the recording is also published,” says Mamedov. “With such a robust preparation process, people often push harder to resolve issues without a meeting. And that’s the ultimate goal.
Benefits of banning meetings
The goal of no-meeting policies is to make sure everyone stays productive, minimizes distractions, and devotes their time to focused work. Mamedov says he gets feedback from new hires that the no-meeting model is unusual and a bit stressful at first, but once they get into it, they feel liberated as their productivity soars.
“Usually people are better at their job and at their profession,” he says. “For most roles within the company, talking and discussing things is not part of their primary job description. We’ve created an environment where people can drive incredible value in a faster turnaround time.
Although it looks a bit robotic on the surface, Mamedov says it doesn’t remove the human element. “People tend to socialize when working with colleagues and establish a professional relationship,” he says. “Even though everything you do is in a thread, you still enjoy conversations with your colleagues.”
In fact, TheSoul Publishing has set up social platforms, such as book clubs, where colleagues can connect. The focus is on removing obstacles at work that can be frustrating, says Mamedov.
“Work should bring joy, and we just try to design the processes in a way that’s both joyful and efficient, so people can focus on the things they’re best at,” he says. “Once they start doing more of what they do well, they become happier overall.”
