How to Reduce Meeting Overload

Yesterday afternoon we held our monthly CS Leadership Roundtable on Managing Remote Teams. During our discussion, Olha posed a question about balancing the need for alignment through meetings with remote CS teams and avoiding meeting overload and burnout and Debbie asked me to post my response here. This is an expanded version of what I was talking about during the webinar. 🤔 The Remote CS Team Meeting Paradox 🤔 Remote customer success teams face a brutal paradox: You need alignment to prevent silos, but meeting overload kills the collaboration you're trying to build. 🏁 Here's how the best CS leaders are solving it: The 50/25/15 Rule → 50% reduction in standing meetings → 25% converted to async communication → 15% reserved for true collaboration Meeting Hierarchy That Actually Works 💥 Weekly: 30-min team sync (wins, blockers, knowledge sharing) 💥 Bi-weekly: Customer portfolio reviews 💥 Monthly: Strategic planning + team building 💥 Quarterly: Deep relationship building 💥 Daily meetings? Only for crisis management. Async-First Wins ✅ Shared customer health dashboards ✅ Weekly Slack updates vs. status meetings ✅ Recorded video updates for complex situations ✅ Collaborative docs for ongoing projects The Well-being Integration: ✔️ Focus Fridays - No internal meetings ✔️ Morning protection - Deep customer work until 10 AM ✔️ Buffer time - 15-30 minutes between meetings ✔️ Energy management - Alternate heavy/light meeting days Watch for These Red Flags: Over-meeting symptoms: 🚩 Team multitasking during calls 🚩 "Quick calls" multiplying outside scheduled time 🚩 Complaints about lack of customer focus time Under-alignment symptoms: 🚩 Duplicate work across accounts 🚩 Missed expansion opportunities 🚩 Knowledge hoarding between CSMs The bottom line is that you want to create a culture where people want to collaborate because it makes their job easier and customers more successful, not because they're required to attend meetings. When alignment serves customer success, it becomes energizing rather than draining. What's your biggest meeting challenge with remote CS teams? Drop it below - let's crowdsource solutions 👇

Anyone else suffer from meeting overload? It’s a big deal. Simply put too many meetings means less time available for actual work, plus constantly attending meetings can be mentally draining, and often they simply are not required to accomplish the agenda items. At the same time sometimes it’s unavoidable. No matter where you are in your career, here are a few ways that I tackle this topic so that I can be my best and hold myself accountable to how my time is spent. I take 15 minutes every Friday to look at the week ahead and what is on my calendar. I follow these tips to ensure what is on the calendar should be and that I’m prepared. It ensures that I have a relevant and focused communications approach, and enables me to focus on optimizing productivity, outcomes and impact. 1. Review the meeting agenda. If there’s no agenda I send an email asking for one so you know exactly what you need to prepare for, and can ensure your time is correctly prioritized. You may discover you’re actually not the correct person to even attend. If it’s your meeting, set an agenda because accountability goes both ways. 2. Define desired outcomes. What do you want/need from the meeting to enable you to move forward? Be clear about it with participants so you can work collaboratively towards the goal in the time allotted. 3. Confirm you need the meeting. Meetings should be used for difficult or complex discussions, relationship building, and other topics that can get lost in text-based exchanges. A lot of times though we schedule meetings that we don’t actually require a meeting to accomplish the task at hand. Give ourselves and others back time and get the work done without that meeting. 4. Shorten the meeting duration. Can you cut 15 minutes off your meeting? How about 5? I cut 15 minutes off some of my recurring meetings a month ago. That’s 3 hours back in a week I now have to redirect to high impact work. While you’re at it, do you even need all those recurring meetings? It’s never too early for a calendar spring cleaning. 5. Use meetings for discussion topics, not FYIs. I save a lot of time here. We don’t need to speak to go through FYIs (!) 6. Send a pre-read. The best meetings are when we all prepare for a meaningful conversation. If the topic is a meaty one, send a pre-read so participants arrive with a common foundation on the topic and you can all jump straight into the discussion and objectives at hand. 7. Decline a meeting. There’s nothing wrong with declining. Perhaps you’re not the right person to attend, or there is already another team member participating, or you don’t have bandwidth to prepare. Whatever the reason, saying no is ok. What actions do you take to ensure the meetings on your calendar are where you should spend your time? It’s a big topic that we can all benefit from, please share your tips in the comments ⤵️ #careertips #productivity #futureofwork

Meetings are broken. 13 unconventional ideas to fix them: 93% of workers have complaints about their meetings. And even 71% of senior leaders say meetings are unproductive. The old ideas aren't working. We need more radical ones: 1) Ban them ↳Typically, meetings are the default - they happen and often ↳Flip it so they're taboo (not a full ban, but close), and only occur when truly justified 2) Restrict them ↳Assign days (like Monday and Friday) and times (before 10, after 3) when they're forbidden ↳The harder they are to schedule, the more people will question the necessity 3) Try email first ↳We've all heard "that meeting could have been an email" - so try it ↳Before sending a meeting invite, email participants the relevant info, and ensure everyone agrees a meeting is necessary 4) "No agenda, no attenda" ↳If there isn't a clear agenda with key decisions sent at least 24 hours before, the meeting is cancelled ↳Meetings without clear plans prevent preparation and ultimately take longer 5) Start at odd times ↳Never start a meeting at :00 or :30 - people will have something until RIGHT before and inevitably be late ↳Start at 9:07 a.m. or 1:33 p.m. to grab attention and ensure punctuality 6) Display a cost per minute ↳Calculate the hourly rate of all attendees and display the running cost of the meeting in real time ↳It reminds people that meetings don't cost an hour, they cost an hour TIMES the number of people TIMES their hourly rate 7) Ban phones ↳Removing phones and computers removes multitasking, and ensures everyone is fully present ↳It also requires people to come prepared, knowing they can't lean on notes 8) Remove chairs ↳Standing meetings encourage brevity and focus - and are better for everyone's health 9) Have a timer ↳Like a presidential debate or an Oscars award speech, each person gets a short amount of time and then gets cut off ↳No exceptions - have an audible timer 10) Use a 10-word rule ↳Everyone must start their turn by summarizing their key point in 10 words or less ↳Leading with the headline is comms 101, and it forces people to be clearer and more concise 11) Brainstorm silently ↳If new information or questions arise, allow 1 minute of silent brainstorming ↳This lets people clarify their thinking, avoids groupthink, and empowers introverted participants 12) Forbid follow-ups ↳All key takeaways and next steps must be captured in the meeting, agreed upon, and shared instantly ↳No "I'll send out the action items afterward" or "we'll have a follow-up meeting next week" 13) Reexamine the need ↳End the meeting by asking everyone whether it actually needed to happen and everyone needed to be there ↳Use those takeaways to further cut future meetings and limit group size The vast majority of workers think meetings need to change. You might not use all of these, But give some a try to start turning things around. Any others you'd add? --- ♻️ Repost to help fix more meetings. And follow me George Stern for more

Corporate tricks to spend less time in meetings (and no, “block your calendar” isn’t one): After working in big enterprises for 12+ years (Salesforce and Microsoft), I can confidently say putting time blocks on my calendar hasn’t worked for me! Meetings are always booked over any given person’s blocks, that’s just the truth. So here are a few things that actually help me have a bit more time outside meetings. (PS: I am way better at ending meetings than I used to be. This video depicts what happens if I have ZERO fun, conversational outlets for a few days 😂) (PPS: Does Gen Z know Pink and the chokehold she had us in circa 2002?) 🕰️ Start meetings at 5 past. IMO this saves more time than trying to end 5 minutes early. People are not good at ending meetings (watch this video for what I mean)… but they’re pretty good at starting late. 🛑 Tell people you have a hard stop. It doesn’t matter why. But when meetings start, say you need to drop at x time, and then go ahead and drop. 👋 Don’t just block your calendar; put an OOO block. For instance, I used to put a daily one-hour OOO block to feed my baby and eat lunch. I’ve seen other colleagues do this for school drop-off or pick-up. The key is to set it as *OOO,* not just busy. 🎙️ Decline but promise to listen to the recording! If you’re swamped and not sure a large group meeting will be valuable, just listen to the recording and read the notes. And jump in then, if you’re needed. 🔪 Go through your calendar and make 60-or 45-minute meetings into 30-minute ones. You can always schedule a follow-up if you need it! If someone else booked the meeting, tell them you can only join for the first 30 or last 30, to be sure it’s really efficient. 📞 Walk and talks. I’m a big fan of 2-for-1s, like Dave Gerhardt recently wrote about: a meeting that can also be a workout. Does that meeting require me to be seated at my desk, or could I walk during it? Even for 15 minutes. This can change the energy of the day. No, not all of these will work in every scenario. Use your best judgment and be a good colleague. But in multi-time-zone busy teams, we’re all looking for any extra time we can get. Reducing time spent on meetings is a way to not only respect your own time, but others’ as well, by giving them time back. ♥️ It is tough. I have NOT cracked the whole code. I am absolutely stuck at my desk in back-to-backs some days, when my own tips have failed me. So let me know if you have other suggestions to reduce meeting chaos! ⤵️ And to my fellow certified yappers, I see you!

What drives effective collaboration in today’s hybrid world? In an era defined by distributed teams and hybrid work, collaboration is no longer bound by physical proximity. People Analytics leaders are uniquely positioned to leverage data to uncover hidden collaboration gaps, reduce silos, and optimize network health. But the challenge remains: how do we foster innovation, engagement, and efficiency in a workplace that’s increasingly fragmented? At Worklytics, our findings offer actionable insights into how teams can thrive in this new environment. Here’s what the data shows about collaboration patterns and network health: 🌟 Low Peer Density Hurts Engagement ➡️ Employees with fewer than 60 weekly collaborators are 25% less engaged, often feeling isolated in hybrid work settings. ➡️ High peer density fosters a sense of belonging and drives productivity, especially for ICs. 📊 Cross-Team Collaboration Boosts Innovation ➡️ Teams that dedicate 2+ hours per week to cross-functional work report higher creativity and faster problem-solving. ➡️ Breaking silos between departments is critical to driving innovative outcomes. 💬 Asynchronous Work Reduces Burnout ➡️ Shifting to async workflows has been linked to a 15% reduction in burnout, empowering employees to manage workloads effectively. ➡️ ICs benefit most from async communication, as it preserves their focus time while keeping collaboration flowing. 📅 Meeting Overload Hinders Productivity ➡️ Teams spending over 11 hours per week in meetings see a measurable decline in output and engagement. ➡️ Establishing clear meeting norms and reducing unnecessary gatherings can save hours while boosting team performance. 🔄 Breaking Down Silos is Key ➡️ 35% of teams still operate in silos, creating bottlenecks and slowing down decision-making. ➡️ Organizations that address these barriers see higher collaboration scores and better alignment on goals. ✨ Focus Time is Critical ➡️ Employees with 3+ hours of uninterrupted focus time daily are significantly more productive, particularly in roles requiring deep work like engineering. ➡️ Protecting focus hours ensures teams can balance execution with collaboration. Want to dig deeper into collaboration trends and strategies? Check the comments for more actionable insights and highlights from our research. How are you fostering meaningful collaboration and optimizing networks in your organization? #PeopleAnalytics #Collaboration #WorkplaceOptimization #HybridWork #EmployeeEngagement

As companies grow, they accumulate "bad friction"—processes that slow people down, frustrate teams, and add little to no value. If you want to keep your company agile, try the Subtraction Game: - Shorten default meetings. In Google and Outlook, reduce default meeting lengths (e.g., make 30 minutes — or even the 25 minute “speedy meeting” — the norm instead of 60) - Challenge teams to cut meetings, emails, and apps by 50%. Ask: What can we remove without losing impact? - Wipe calendars clean. Once a year (or quarterly if you wanna be aggressive h/t Joshua Hone), cancel all standing meetings and see what’s actually missed. - Drop the jargon. Swap out buzzwords for clear, simple language. - Cap email length. Set a 500-word max so people get to the point. Axios' Smart Brevity book and online resources can help with this. - Limit participants. No more than six people in a meeting or interview loop—more requires a strong case. - Turn it into a game. At your next offsite, reward the team that finds the most time savings without sacrificing business results. High-performing teams aren’t just good at adding. They’re disciplined about removing what no longer serves them. For more on this topic, check out the inspiration behind the post: 📚 The Friction Project by Robbert Sutton and Huggy Rao. What’s one thing your company could subtract today? Let me know ⬇️ __ 👋 I'm Melissa Theiss, 4x Head of People and Business Operations and advisor for bootstrapped and VC-backed SaaS companies. 🗞️ In my newsletter, “The Business of People,” I share tips and tricks that help founders, operators, and HR leaders take their tech companies from startup to scale-up.

A recent study reveals that 72% of workers find meetings ineffective, leading to overtime, burnout, and reduced productivity. We can do better. Here are five research-backed strategies to help your team make your meetings more valuable: Cluster meetings to create focus blocks for deep work. Utilize async video for status updates and information sharing. Share ideas via documents before meetings to facilitate informed discussions. Default to 15-minute meetings instead of 30-minute blocks. Encourage leaders to set the tone by sharing agendas and limiting the number of meetings https://lnkd.in/exufVUri

Need 20% more time in your day? I found a way that's worked for me, and it's surprisingly simple. Treat meeting requests as invitations, not obligations. I say no to meetings a lot, especially when they: 👉 Have no agenda 👉 Are recurring with no end date 👉 Can be handled async 👉 Have too many guests to be productive 👉 Are longer than necessary 👉 Are booked without enough lead time 👉 Have no clear success criteria This also applies to meeting invitations I send your way. Say no guilt free if I'm not clear on the above. :) My calendar exists to serve me, not the other way around. Massive productivity unlock.

Taking Charge. Taking Control. Take Your Calendar Back. The simple fact that you are reading this post is an indicator that your calendar may be controlling you; instead of you controlling it. Maybe you find yourself at the end of the week with not enough week left and too much work remaining. If that’s the case take a few minutes to consider these pointers below. They can help you regain control of your current and future work weeks. 1️⃣  Start each week by evaluating what’s on tap and what you MUST accomplish. Take a good look at what you are committed to doing and what needs to be deleted, moved, delegated, etc. 2️⃣ Establish your priorities for the upcoming week, and then determine your priorities for the near future. Look at what you have said yes to and realize that for every “yes” that means you gave a “no” to something or someone else. Give yourself the opportunity to use and showcase your  best talents and skills. 3️⃣ Block out enough time on your calendar for what you have committed to. Make sure you give yourself enough time to accomplish what you’ve promised to deliver to others. Allow a small amount of “wiggle room” so you can also deal with unexpected illnesses, roadblocks, “emergencies”, etc. 4️⃣ Limit the number of meetings you attend. Evaluate if your presence is really needed for every meeting on your calendar. Are there meetings you’ve scheduled that you can “delegate”  to others?  5️⃣  LEARN TO SAY "NO".  Don’t be afraid to decline a project assignment, meeting invite, task request, etc.  Give yourself the chance to do your best work. Why overload your calendar with things you simply don’t have to do & end up overworked and stressed out? It’s just not necessary. ✅ By implementing these tips, you’ll end up with less stress and will create a better overall work performance. These new habits are not necessarily easy to implement – but are certainly worth it. By developing them (and sticking with them) you will accomplish much more and will have a higher level of satisfaction at the end of your work week. What's your calendar hack? What do you do to stay on track and not overwhelm yourself or others?

High performers - they drive your team’s success. But their excellence can sometimes come with a downside. Intense pressure, endless meetings, and limited flexibility. Keeping your top talent happy and developing new stars is crucial in today’s world. Here’s how to make it happen: 1. Cut the Meeting Overload Ditch the unnecessary meetings and give your team more time for what truly matters. Set up a streamlined, predictable weekly meeting schedule and make your one-on-ones count. This approach frees up time for high-impact work. 2. Check Their Motivation Pulse Regularly survey your team to understand what motivates and stresses them. Ask questions like: “What habits should we improve?” and “What specific ideas do you have to enhance these habits?” Use their feedback to create quarterly plans that tackle any issues head-on. 3. Mentor for Mastery Keep your high performers challenged and your rising stars growing by scheduling quarterly skill-building sessions with each team member. Focus on one high-impact skill, like problem-solving or leadership, for them to sharpen over the next quarter. This keeps everyone continuously improving and feeling valued. ⚡ Take Action Streamline meetings, measure motivation, and mentor effectively to develop and retain your high performers.