The 9 most common mistakes managers make when planning and scheduling meetings

Meetings are sometimes called the scourge of modern business because there are too many of them and they drag on indefinitely. It's no wonder that many employees often ask themselves a natural question: "Do I even need to be here?".

"However," writes Huff Post, "the frequency and duration of meetings are not the only problems associated with this part of the workflow organization. The success of such an event, which guarantees the interest and maximum concentration of its participants, largely depends on its planning. Experts say that this is where managers make gross mistakes that affect the effectiveness and atmosphere of meetings.

This is where you most often go wrong, disappointing and alienating your colleagues.

You don't check the number of people invited

You've scheduled a meeting on your calendar right on top of an existing one, and as a result, your employees are on several lists at once. Sometimes such overlaps are unavoidable, but if you expect someone to play an active role in the meeting, it's rude not to plan their schedule or ask if they can skip or reschedule what's already been scheduled.

You schedule a meeting before a planned vacation or trip

It's rude because you're not considerate of someone else's schedule. Your counterpart will be busy preparing for their departure at work and at home, and they will have many different things to think about.

If you schedule a meeting at this time, it may come across as if you want to spend it without paying attention to the current issue. Therefore, try to do it a few days or weeks before the person leaves.

You schedule a meeting outside of business hours

Sometimes, in an effort to get everything done, we schedule meetings outside of business hours. On the one hand, such overlaps are part of the workflow and cannot be avoided. However, if you work in the same time zone and schedule a meeting late at night without checking, it can seem very presumptuous.

People have personal lives, and such after-hours "get-togethers" are definitely annoying for employees, not to mention that they are of minimal benefit.

Experts say: "It's not wise to schedule something non-urgent after hours, especially if it's a Friday and it's 5 p.m."

You make an appointment without giving the context

If you want people to actively participate in a meeting, don't send an invitation without context. They may need to prepare or coordinate with other employees. Therefore, be sure to clarify what the meeting is for and why you want the specialists listed in the invitation to attend.

You schedule a meeting that you are not going to lead

This is at least impolite, because you are the one who plans the event and invites other people to it. If this is the case, then you are also responsible for organizing the necessary information, materials, and resources related to it.

You invite people to a meeting they don't need to attend

Think through the agenda and make sure that everyone invited really needs to be there. This is work, not entertainment.

Determine the desired outcome and find out what each participant should do while they are there. Otherwise, it looks like disrespect for other people's time.

You schedule a meeting to address issues that can be discussed in a simpler way

An incorrect assessment of the need for a meeting looks unprofessional. After all, if you just need to say something, an email is enough. You shouldn't be so arrogant as to think that all issues can be discussed with you only in meetings.

You schedule meetings for at least an hour

Don't automatically schedule meetings for 60 minutes unless the agenda requires it. It seems a little strange that all decisions require exactly that much time, even though it is the accepted length of work meetings.

Be more practical, if less time is needed to solve current problems, plan activities for 30 or even 15 minutes. It will be more convenient for everyone.

When planning, you don't take into account how long it takes people to get to the place

Sometimes work meetings take place in buildings that are several kilometers away from each other. If you don't take travel time into account, you create an alarming urgency that will make key people late, which will inconvenience you and other participants.