Introduction to Project Management PM340

Title: Excessive Meetings

Key Issues

Manager coordinated weekly teleconferences between four subteams on two continents.

Meetings lasted 2 hours with many individuals waiting long durations in order to speak. Total weekly cost of 48 man-hours.

The manager implemented a new conference timeline dividing the meeting into four 30-minute segments based on subteam.

This saved 75% in man-hours and increased meeting engagement.

Lessons Learned

Meetings are necessary for Project Managers but can be a major failure point regarding time efficiency. Proper coordination of meetings increases employee engagement by not having team members wait for long periods to give their input. Failure to coordinate meetings properly can cost a company heavily in man-hours.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION BELOW

1. Do you agree with how the manager split the meetings? If not, what would you do differently?

2. What other ideas can you provide in order to maintain employee engagement during long meetings?

3. Have you ever had to coordinate meetings between different departments or different time zones/continents? How did you adjust to these hurdles?