New Meeting Guidelines Feature Set and Cost Calculator Help Enterprises Kill Meeting Inefficiency and Supercharge Productivity
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In response to market demand following technology giant Shopify's publicly declared war on useless and inefficient meetings, Fellow today announced the release of its new built-in Meeting Guidelines feature set for Google Chrome and Google Calendar users. These new integrated guidelines aid businesses in evaluating the true cost of meetings and help employees cut time spent in unproductive meetings.
In the United States alone, more than 55 million meetings are held daily, with senior managers bearing the brunt of the burden. New data from Fellow shows that in 2023 managers are spending 14.5 hours a week in meetings (almost 40% of their work week!), up from 9.4 hours in 2019. Using an hourly rate of $38, this means companies are paying $29,000 PER YEAR per manager to attend meetings.
"While meetings are often cited as a huge source of productivity drain, this isn't about declaring an all-out ban on meetings. It's about proactively redefining an organization's meeting culture and changing the way meetings are conducted to boost productivity and reduce cost waste," says Aydin Mirzaee, CEO of Fellow. "That's why we're seeing trailblazing companies sending a strong signal to their peers that changing how meetings are handled across the business is the key to optimizing human capital and an essential mode of operation in the future of work."
Fellow's Meeting Guidelines incorporate scientifically-backed best practices to keep meetings short, efficient and productive, and provide business leaders with essential insights that shed light on the often overlooked financial, opportunity, and mental health costs associated with unproductive meetings—a hidden toll that directly impacts the business bottom line.
Fellow's Meeting Guidelines include the following features:
- FREE Cost Calculator offers real-time insight into the monetary and time investments associated with meetings. The calculator also highlights the total cost of a recurring meeting series and helps meeting organizers assess their necessity.
- Optimal Attendees prompts meeting organizers to reconsider additional attendees or designate them as optional when the participant count exceeds seven. Research indicates meeting decision-making abilities decrease with more than seven attendees.
- No-Meeting Day gives businesses the ability to give employees a much-needed break from the meeting grind. A recent survey found the impact of one designated no-meeting day per week leads to increased autonomy, communication, and engagement.
- Speedy Meetings enhance attendees' effectiveness and reduce lateness through shorter meetings with 5-10-minute breaks. This small change in meeting behavior results in a 17% reduction in meeting time across an organization.
- Short Meeting Notice prompts organizers to provide sufficient notice for meetings being booked, giving participants time to prepare.
- Meeting Purpose encourages meeting organizers to define a clear meeting purpose when creating a meeting so attendees understand what's expected from them before, during, and after the meeting.
- Finite Recurring Meetings encourages meeting organizers to add an end date to recurring meetings. This practice prevents routine-induced disengagement and facilitates adjustments as needed.
- Maximum Meeting Hours flags attendees with a heavy meeting schedule, prompting meeting organizers to reassess their participation. This guideline can prevent fatigue and protect deep work time.
"Meetings are an integral part of our work life. Eliminating them, especially in a remote or hybrid workplace, would make it more difficult for the team to build relationships and stay connected. So the issue is really about improving meeting quality so every meeting is high-value. Fellow with Meeting Guidelines provides a frictionless, fun way for employees to be more mindful in their approach to meetings and ensures they're consciously building in meeting best practices. Fellow also gives them control over their time and the permission to push back on meetings that lack an agenda," says Lea Hörler, Chief of Staff, Frontify.
Get the free meeting cost calculator
Learn more about Fellow's Meeting Guidelines feature set
About Fellow
Fellow's top-rated, AI-enabled meeting productivity software empowers organizations to reshape their meeting culture by building great meeting habits that lead to fewer and shorter, more effective, meetings. Whether in person or remote, Fellow ensures every meeting is an opportunity for collaboration, decision-making, and meaningful outcomes. Trusted by thousands of customers worldwide, and host for over 14 million meetings, Fellow makes meetings worth showing up to. For more information, visit https://fellow.app/
For media inquiries and further information contact:
Ellyn Winters-Robinson
Ignition Communications (PR for Fellow)
[email protected]
Heather Racicot
[email protected]
SOURCE Fellow
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