Meetings

Jeanne Obermeier
Special Topic: Meetings

Meetings are unavoidable in the business world. They are used by companies that have several goals in mind while conducting them: for training purposes, a way for supervisors to communicate to their employees, brainstorming and problem solving, and ultimately, coming up with methods to continuously improve the company. Meetings should be a place where all employees, no matter their rank, can work together and share ideas and plans with each other. They should be positive experiences that uplift and motivate workers to improve their work and operation as a team. Despite the prevalence of meetings in the business world, it is not that uncommon to hear groans and sighs whenever the word ‘meeting’ is brought up. I personally have had jobs where monthly or weekly meetings were a requirement, and I have been one of those people to dread having to sit in a room for an hour just wondering when it will be over. In my experience with meetings they would essentially end up being the supervisor holding a meeting for the strict purpose of explaining to all the employees about what they are doing wrong and what they need to do to improve it with no positives being discussed in the conversation. It usually would only be the higher-ups speaking “at” you, with no time for the employees to try to speak what was on their mind or their input for any ideas or changes they could bring to the table. My coworkers and myself would leave the meeting in a bad mood and lose motivation for the rest of the day due to our bad experiences and it didn’t take long until we all resented walking into the office. Obviously, this is definitely not a productive or correct way to hold a meeting because it is accomplishing the exact opposite of what it should.
While my experience was that of just one company, I have heard plenty of stories just like mine from friends and family regarding their meeting experiences. Many companies need to take a step back and