Meetings are the biggest time waster in many companies and cost both money and energy. At Deep Impact, we have established a clear meeting policy in order to work more efficiently and save valuable resources.
The challenge: Too many meetings, too little efficiency
Many organisations suffer from the burden of numerous, lengthy meetings. It is not uncommon for meetings to last two to three hours and involve 15 to 20 people. This is not only expensive, but also extremely inefficient. Valuable working time is wasted in endless discussions without any concrete results being achieved. In our work with customers, we have often experienced scenarios like this and realised that there is another way.
Our philosophy: less is more
At Deep Impact, we hate meetings – and for good reason. We believe that efficient use of time and resources is the key to a productive working environment. Our meeting policy reflects this principle and ensures that meetings are short, focussed and productive.
The Deep Impact meeting policy
To maximise efficiency in our company, we have introduced a strict meeting policy:
- Maximum duration of 30 minutes:
No meeting may last longer than 30 minutes. This forces all participants to focus on the essentials and ensures that the meeting runs quickly and effectively. - Time slots without meetings:
No meetings are allowed between 9am and 11am and 2pm and 4pm. These times are reserved for our employees’ most productive working hours, when they can work undisturbed on their projects. - Avoidance of hybrid meetings:
Hybrid meetings, where some participants are on site and others are connected remotely, are to be avoided. Instead, we favour either fully remote meetings or meetings where all participants are physically present. This reduces communication issues and promotes better interaction and collaboration.
The advantages of our meeting policy
Our meeting policy has several advantages that have a positive impact on the way we work and productivity at Deep Impact:
- Increased efficiency: short, concise meetings force us to focus on the most important points and come to decisions quickly. This saves time and increases efficiency.
- Better utilisation of productive time: By setting meeting-free times, our employees can work undisturbed during their most productive hours and concentrate fully on their tasks.
- Improved communication: Avoiding hybrid meetings ensures clearer and more effective communication, as all participants are either on site or remote and can therefore better coordinate with each other.
Conclusion: Design meetings consciously
Our meeting policy is an essential part of our corporate culture at Deep Impact. It helps us to make efficient use of our employees’ time and maximise productivity. We are convinced that a well-thought-out and well-structured meeting culture can make a significant difference and invite other companies to rethink and adapt their meeting strategies as well. Efficiency is the key to sustainable success – and that starts with the way we organise our meetings.
