Rethinking face-to-face meetings
This is a two-part exercise, looking at current meeting practices and then thinking about how they might change using Smart Working techniques.
Exercise 1: Work through the list below, ticking the appropriate box in relation how much the activities are conducted physically face-to-face in the way you work now. (Leave the last column until the 2nd activity.) Download the table below as a PDF.
Meeting purpose |
Always/Mostly |
Sometimes |
Rarely |
Never |
Alternative? |
First meetings |
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Talking to clients |
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Customer support |
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Setting strategy |
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Making key decisions |
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Consultation |
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Project review/updates |
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Brainstorming |
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Presentations |
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Teamwork |
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Teambuilding |
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Appraisal |
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Training |
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Key underlying activities |
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Exchanging information/Reporting |
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Decision-making |
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Socialising/developing relationships |
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Learning |
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Monitoring performance |
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Exercise 2: Go through again, thinking about the necessity of having physically face-to-face meetings if you have techniques to support smarter working. Which activities would you want to keep pretty much always physically face-to-face for their added value? What is that added value? For which purposes would physically face-to-face meetings be less frequent, and what alternative methods of interaction would you choose to use?