Time is the scarcest of resources. No matter what we do, we have a limited amount of it. In business we have to make the best of our time. But we still need to use some of that precious time to improve worker’s engagement, motivation and well being.
As Tim Wright points out, a lot of time is spent on meetings. That is not very productive. Statistics show that companies spend billions a year on unproductive meetings (source: ted.com). 
But you can’t just stop having meeting. They have specific goals and they play an important role in company’s communications. But there are a few types of meetings that you don’t need and getting rid of them gives your employees and you more time for doing vital tasks and engaging.
Such time killers are for instance 1:1 meetings between managers and their employees for feedback and status. These are fairly regularly held in most companies. They take a lot of time and are either waste of time (when everything is going well) or increase tensions (when thing are not so well).
Josh Bersin from Bersin by Deloitte says in Forbes that “The days of the annual engagement survey are slowly coming to an end, to be replaced by a much more holistic, integrated, and real-time approach to measuring and driving high levels of employee commitment and passion.“ He also points out that most companies want systems to be more detailed and work in real-time.
I think it’s wrong to say, that such tools are not out there. A lot of Fortune 500 companies across the US already use applications like Cisco VPN or Weekdone to live and work faster. Whether you use VPNs, weekly reporting systems or applications to manage meetings, these solutions offer a real and measurable way to save money and time. And if you’re not using it, your competitors get the edge.
Fruits of engagement
One of the key factors for increasing worker’s engagement is letting them know that their work is reviewed. Companies who implement regular employee feedback have turnover rates that are 14.9% lower than for companies whose employees receive no feedback. (Source: Gallup). But holding meetings to discuss these things can take away a lot of time for both the worker and the manager. So in Weekdone we have added a quick feedback form (that is very similar to Facebook comment) that allows the manager to let an employee know that his work has been reviewed and it matters. It also helps to give quick tips or chance directions if needed. With that, the leader can keep his team motivated and engaged without spending hours on 1:1 meetings.
Achieving that is actually simple. All you need to do is get out of your comfort zone and try some of the new tools for HR management available in the market. What we need are modern and simple technological solutions that help us save time while still making our teams more engaged and happy.
The key is in online collaboration that let’s workers engage more with their manager and each other. There are a lot of mobile- and computer-based applications for that from time planners to meeting timers. Finding the right one can be tricky but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
Author: Alexander Maasik is a communication specialist and content creator working
at Weekdone – weekly employee progress reports. He has a strong passion
for internal communications and creating the best work environments.
https://www.weekdone.com/
https://twitter.com/AMaasik
Image courtesy of Stock Images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
