Feel like you're spending too much time in meetings that don't accomplish anything? You're not alone. According to a recent survey of 2,800 meeting executives and attendees, 25 to 50 percent of the time people spend in meetings is wasted.
Yet although more than two-thirds of respondents classified a quarter to a half of meeting time as "wasted," only about 15 percent of respondents rated their meetings as "very unproductive," while over a third described their meetings as "productive." Overall, respondents said they spend an average of one to one-and-a-half days a month in meetings.
The online survey,which was conducted by 3M Meeting Network, also revealed that the percentage of work done in teams has been on the rise, reaching almost 50 percent in 1998 compared with a little over 20 percent ten years ago. Also, while only about seven percent of meetings involved remote attendees a decade ago, more than 25 percent of meetings do today.
The survey also asked about meeting room technology. Eighty-three percent of respondents use overhead projectors as meeting tools, with just 11 percent using digital whiteboards. Multimedia projectors are used by 54 percent, audioconferencing by 37 percent, and videoconferencing by 22 percent.
For the complete survey, visit 3M's reading room at www.3M.com.