Time and again the question of the value of workplace meetings is examined but little has changed in the attitude of management.

Presiding over a group of employees in a meeting can highlight the importance of the manager(s) rather than the express purpose of communication around issues. In many cases this can be completely un-intentional.

In fact, the subject matter has been the vehicle for creation of an app named,” Meeting Cost Calculator”, by the Harvard Business Review.

This app assists organisations to figure out exactly how much these meetings drain the bottom line.

A 2014 study of time budgeting by Bain and Company found one organisation had a budget impact of $15 million a year for a single mid-week meeting of middle managers. How this was justified by the related department remains unclear.

The time and resources involved in organising meetings is better spent in auditing and monitoring the workplace processes.

This in turn ensures an appropriate focus on performance by all involved.

The reality is that performance driven employees do not need to attend lengthy talks to understand their obligations to the organisation employing them.

Policies and Procedures are the answer to risk management, productivity and all issues in the workplace. They can be spread throughout day to day activities also with no diversions.

All employees on commencement of employment receive an induction and policies and procedures are detailed accordingly. A manager’s role is to ensure a full understanding of the documentation and ensure acknowledgement of it.  Updates should be explained to employees and acknowledgement sought from employees.

Agility in management requires a system enabling instant communication with all employees. Procedure Rock fits the bill due to its unique acknowledgement feature coupled with the messaging platform.

This week an update is coming to the messaging platform, stay tuned….