Eight Strategies to Get People
to Attend Meetings On Time

Achieving a meeting's objectives becomes even tougher when participants habitually straggle in late. How can meeting organisers get around the problem and avoid a potentially huge waste of corporate resources?

by Morris Taylor

Meetings are currently the most expensive communication activity in the corporate world -- more costly than word processing, computers, paperwork, or multitudes of phone calls.

Consider the salaries of those in attendance, preparation costs, travel expenses, and the price of materials, facilities, and equipment used during the meeting. Even if an organization conducted only two meetings a week, the total annual cost for those gatherings would be significant.

Financial considerations are only one of the many reasons we should all want our meetings to be efficient, productive and worth the time and other resources we invest in them. Achieving these objectives becomes even tougher, however, when participants habitually straggle in late.

Team members who fail to show up on time are like an anchor weighing the team down. The negative impact of such behavior on meeting efficiency, productivity, and overall morale, if left unchecked, can be tremendous.

Here are eight strategies you can successfully implement to keep this all- too-common problem from spiraling out of control.

1. Schedule meetings to begin at odd times

A meeting scheduled to run from 10:10 - 11:00 AM will attract attention. Many participants will make a greater effort to get there on time out of curiosity if for no other reason.

2. Start on time - no matter who's missing

If you don't, you will inadvertently communicate that it's okay/acceptable to be late, thereby reinforcing the bad behavior. Just remember: When you start late, you're punishing the prompt!

3. Close the door when the meeting begins

This will draw greater attention to the people who walk in late.

4. Send out the meeting agenda in advance and plan to begin the meeting with your most important business

If the most critical agenda items are scheduled for later in the meeting, participants won't see the need to be on time and are more likely to come in late.

5. Items that are of particular interest to those attendees you perceive as potential latecomers should be at the top of the agenda

The trick is to get them to be prompt because it's in their own best interest, rather than because you want them there.

6. Solicit help from the secretaries and assistants of chronic latecomers

Become friends with them and ask them what they can do to alter schedules or remind their bosses of the meeting time.

7. Look to other meeting participants to apply peer pressure

Place tardiness as an item on the agenda and present the topic as a challenge to the group. Discuss the negative impact tardiness has and generate ideas to improve punctuality.

8. Speak privately to the offenders

Tell them of their importance to the meeting and express your interest in doing whatever you can to have them there for the entire time. If they are your subordinates, you may find it necessary to warn them of the consequences of not improving.

© 2007 Morris Taylor.

Reprinted with permission from Morris Taylor's bimonthly Internet newsletter, The Training Clipboard. For your own personal subscription, click here.

Morris is a keynote speaker and training consultant who has has been involved in education and training for over 25 years. He has presented more than 1,300 lectures, seminars and workshops in a variety of civic and corporate environments. For more information visit TalismanTaining.com.

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