As organizational leaders striving to enhance team performance, it's essential to recognize that not all meetings are created equal. Unfortunately, some are more likely to disrupt the workday and cause employees to lose valuable focus time.

This article explores the traits of disruptive meetings. This knowledge will assist you in establishing the changes necessary for better time management and empower your employees to improve collaboration.

By understanding which types of meetings negatively impact your team, you can implement strategies to minimize these disruptions. Addressing these factors will enable your teams to maintain focus, improve productivity, and foster a more efficient and engaged work environment.

Frequent interruptions in the form of meetings can significantly disrupt an employee's focus and productivity.

Ad hoc meetings, often scheduled spontaneously to address immediate issues, can cause interruptions in the workplace. These unscheduled sessions break the flow of planned work and force 

, leading to a significant loss of time. By minimizing ad hoc meetings and finding alternative ways to address urgent matters, organizations can preserve the focus of workers.

By identifying these meetings, addressing whether they are a problem, and implementing strategies to manage their frequency and timing, businesses can help employees maintain better time management throughout their workday.

 is a digital work analytics platform that enables you to understand how you are currently running meetings and whether the changes you’ve made are having the desired outcome.

Poorly scheduled meetings — especially recurring meetings or cross-functional meetings — can significantly disrupt productivity. If not regularly reviewed, these meetings can become habitual and hinder peak productivity periods.

Many recurring meetings, such as daily stand-ups, 

, and regular check-ins, while brief, interrupt the start of the workday and impede focus during an employee’s most productive working hours. These meetings act as anchor points that employees anticipate, preventing them from getting into a flow beforehand and requiring time to mentally refocus afterward.

To resolve these scheduling issues, teams and organizations can establish clear guidelines for meeting scheduling, including preferred times and notice periods. Because everyone has different productive work times, encourage employees to block out focus time on their calendars and set meeting-free zones during specific times or days to minimize disruptions.

Additionally, reviewing the necessity of recurring meetings and canceling or combining those that are no longer essential can prevent unnecessary interruptions. We challenge your organization to take the 

 to identify how scheduled meetings are impacting productivity.

Brainstorming sessions, project kickoff meetings, and strategic planning meetings are prime examples of meetings that extend past their scheduled time, as they involve sharing extensive details and engaging in open-ended conversations.

A common cause for meetings running over time is not having a clear goal at the start or failing to set a time limit to reach that goal. Even with well-defined objectives, relying on a committee to reach a consensus can be challenging. Ensuring that all discussions and decisions stay aligned with the meeting’s objectives can help, but sometimes reducing the number of participants is necessary to streamline discussions. We will go into more detail about this in the following section.

How often do meetings run over in your organization? Analyze the data in the Produce8 workspace timeline.

By recognizing lengthy meetings and implementing strategies to keep discussions focused and time-boxed, businesses can ensure that their employees’ time and energy are spent in the right place.

If we all know that having too many participants in a meeting can be detrimental, why does it keep happening? Because of over-inclusiveness, unclear roles, and a fear of missing out. Hierarchical pressure and ambiguous meeting objectives can also lead to excessive invitations. But most often, it simply occurs out of habit.

To manage participant numbers effectively, businesses must first understand the average sizes of their meetings and decipher how many hours are spent in meetings with a large participation list.

Produce8 allows you to see how much time is spent in meetings by size — and the average cost to the business:

After you’ve identified the problem, you can have more efficient discussions with your team by keeping meetings to a manageable size. Segment meetings, use representatives, and leverage technology for asynchronous work to help streamline discussions.

Meetings are affecting employee focus time and well-being. We cannot ignore that fact any longer — especially when gathering a group of people together is easier than ever. We must come to understand how we conduct meetings and determine whether changes are actually improving the workday.

By gathering data on current meeting practices, you can pinpoint specific issues such as excessive participation, poor scheduling, or lengthy durations. With this data in hand, bring the team together and come to an agreement on necessary changes. Then implement strategies tailored to address these issues.

By continuing to measure and analyze meeting data, you can assess the effectiveness of these changes. And by committing to data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement, your organization can optimize meeting practices and better support team performance.

We encourage your teams and organizations to measure the time they spend in meetings and start improving their workdays by starting the 

. Reach out to Produce8 if you’re up for it. We can get your whole organization set up and feeling empowered to take back control of the workday.


Is your team managing time efficiently?

As organizational leaders striving to enhance team performance, it's essential to recognize that not all meetings are created equal. Unfortunately, some are more likely to disrupt the workday and cause employees to lose valuable focus time.

This article explores the traits of disruptive meetings. This knowledge will assist you in establishing the changes necessary for better time management and empower your employees to improve collaboration.

By understanding which types of meetings negatively impact your team, you can implement strategies to minimize these disruptions. Addressing these factors will enable your teams to maintain focus, improve productivity, and foster a more efficient and engaged work environment.

Meetings that cause interruptions

Frequent interruptions in the form of meetings can significantly disrupt an employee's focus and productivity.

Ad hoc meetings, often scheduled spontaneously to address immediate issues, can cause interruptions in the workplace. These unscheduled sessions break the flow of planned work and force employees to shift their focus abruptly, leading to a significant loss of time. By minimizing ad hoc meetings and finding alternative ways to address urgent matters, organizations can preserve the focus of workers.

By identifying these meetings, addressing whether they are a problem, and implementing strategies to manage their frequency and timing, businesses can help employees maintain better time management throughout their workday.

Consider introducing asynchronous collaboration or having a meeting-free workday.

Produce8 is a digital work analytics platform that enables you to understand how you are currently running meetings and whether the changes you’ve made are having the desired outcome.

Poorly scheduled meetings

Poorly scheduled meetings — especially recurring meetings or cross-functional meetings — can significantly disrupt productivity. If not regularly reviewed, these meetings can become habitual and hinder peak productivity periods.

Many recurring meetings, such as daily stand-ups, team huddles, and regular check-ins, while brief, interrupt the start of the workday and impede focus during an employee’s most productive working hours. These meetings act as anchor points that employees anticipate, preventing them from getting into a flow beforehand and requiring time to mentally refocus afterward.

To resolve these scheduling issues, teams and organizations can establish clear guidelines for meeting scheduling, including preferred times and notice periods. Because everyone has different productive work times, encourage employees to block out focus time on their calendars and set meeting-free zones during specific times or days to minimize disruptions.

Additionally, reviewing the necessity of recurring meetings and canceling or combining those that are no longer essential can prevent unnecessary interruptions. We challenge your organization to take the Great Workdays Kickoff for Organizations to identify how scheduled meetings are impacting productivity.

Meetings that run over time

Brainstorming sessions, project kickoff meetings, and strategic planning meetings are prime examples of meetings that extend past their scheduled time, as they involve sharing extensive details and engaging in open-ended conversations.

A common cause for meetings running over time is not having a clear goal at the start or failing to set a time limit to reach that goal. Even with well-defined objectives, relying on a committee to reach a consensus can be challenging. Ensuring that all discussions and decisions stay aligned with the meeting’s objectives can help, but sometimes reducing the number of participants is necessary to streamline discussions. We will go into more detail about this in the following section.

How often do meetings run over in your organization? Analyze the data in the Produce8 workspace timeline.

By recognizing lengthy meetings and implementing strategies to keep discussions focused and time-boxed, businesses can ensure that their employees’ time and energy are spent in the right place.

Meetings with too many participants

If we all know that having too many participants in a meeting can be detrimental, why does it keep happening? Because of over-inclusiveness, unclear roles, and a fear of missing out. Hierarchical pressure and ambiguous meeting objectives can also lead to excessive invitations. But most often, it simply occurs out of habit.

To manage participant numbers effectively, businesses must first understand the average sizes of their meetings and decipher how many hours are spent in meetings with a large participation list.

Produce8 allows you to see how much time is spent in meetings by size — and the average cost to the business:

After you’ve identified the problem, you can have more efficient discussions with your team by keeping meetings to a manageable size. Segment meetings, use representatives, and leverage technology for asynchronous work to help streamline discussions.

Recovering focus time from meetings

Meetings are affecting employee focus time and well-being. We cannot ignore that fact any longer — especially when gathering a group of people together is easier than ever. We must come to understand how we conduct meetings and determine whether changes are actually improving the workday.

By gathering data on current meeting practices, you can pinpoint specific issues such as excessive participation, poor scheduling, or lengthy durations. With this data in hand, bring the team together and come to an agreement on necessary changes. Then implement strategies tailored to address these issues.

By continuing to measure and analyze meeting data, you can assess the effectiveness of these changes. And by committing to data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement, your organization can optimize meeting practices and better support team performance.

We encourage your teams and organizations to measure the time they spend in meetings and start improving their workdays by starting the Great Workdays Kickoff for Organization. Reach out to Produce8 if you’re up for it. We can get your whole organization set up and feeling empowered to take back control of the workday.


Types of Meetings Affecting Focus Time

Understanding the impact of meeting overload on business efficiency is crucial. Meetings are essential for collaboration and decision-making, but excessive and poorly managed meetings can significantly drain an organization’s resources and hinder productivity.

Struggling to help your teams have better workdays? You’re not alone! In this article, we will analyze some of the most shocking statistics around meeting overload and help you examine your organization's current meeting culture. Armed with this knowledge, you can make changes to improve employee satisfaction and overall operational efficiency.

The average employee participates in at least 

, which equates to more than one meeting per day. This number only increases with seniority, as the average executive manager attends at least 12 meetings per week.

This data underscores the need to evaluate how these frequent meetings impact your workday.

Unproductive meetings are a significant concern, with an estimated $37 billion lost annually in the United States due to inefficient meetings, according to Flowtrace.

Understanding the financial cost of these meetings can help businesses realize the importance of streamlining their processes. Enter Produce8, which can show you the 

One in four employees suffer from “Zoom fatigue” during meetings, according to Pew Research. This emphasizes the importance of considering the 

mental and physical toll of excessive meetings 

 per week scheduling and rescheduling calls. This suggests that improving scheduling efficiency could free up significant time for more valuable work.

by 8% to 10% every year since 2000. Recognizing this trend can help businesses implement strategies to curb the increasing length of meetings.

Produce8 allows your team to easily see the scheduled block for meetings in their Calendar. This enables your organization to have a better grasp on how long meetings are lasting.

More than 22% of meetings have at least eight attendees, according to Fellow. This results in over 15 hours of meetings per week on average, leaving little time for execution.

This data shows that smaller, more focused meetings could be more effective.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of 1:1 calls are unscheduled, according to HBR. This means that employees’ 

workdays are often interrupted with spontaneous video calls

 on apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. These interruptions disrupt their workflow and focus.

Seventy percent (70%) of meetings cause delays in completing essential work, according to research from Bloomberg. This aligns with findings that indicate 92% of workers feel meetings keep them from their regular work duties.

Such disruptions highlight the need for more efficient meeting practices, which can ensure that essential tasks are not sidelined.

While meetings are a vital aspect of business operations, their overabundance can be a significant drain on time, resources, and employee morale.

Here’s one last stat for you: A Harvard Business Review study found that when companies reduced meeting time by 40%, worker productivity increased by 70%. But we know that the solution is not as simple as cutting out meetings from your schedule. After all, your team still needs to collaborate. Instead, we’re suggesting you stop running initiatives without data.

 helps the whole team get on the same page regarding the current meeting culture. By linking their calendar and meeting apps, teams can address meeting issues with data-driven insights, allowing everyone to measure the effectiveness of changes.

Interested in seeing how meetings are impacting your organization? Book a live demo with our team.

Understanding the impact of meeting overload on business efficiency is crucial. Meetings are essential for collaboration and decision-making, but excessive and poorly managed meetings can significantly drain an organization’s resources and hinder productivity.

Struggling to help your teams have better workdays? You’re not alone! In this article, we will analyze some of the most shocking statistics around meeting overload and help you examine your organization's current meeting culture. Armed with this knowledge, you can make changes to improve employee satisfaction and overall operational efficiency.

1. There Are Too Many Meetings

The average employee participates in at least eight meetings each week, which equates to more than one meeting per day. This number only increases with seniority, as the average executive manager attends at least 12 meetings per week.

This data underscores the need to evaluate how these frequent meetings impact your workday.

2. Meetings Are Expensive

Unproductive meetings are a significant concern, with an estimated $37 billion lost annually in the United States due to inefficient meetings, according to Flowtrace.

Understanding the financial cost of these meetings can help businesses realize the importance of streamlining their processes. Enter Produce8, which can show you the organizational cost of meetings.

3. Meetings Are Draining

One in four employees suffer from “Zoom fatigue” during meetings, according to Pew Research. This emphasizes the importance of considering the mental and physical toll of excessive meetings on employees.

4. Scheduling Meetings Is Work

Office workers waste an average of one hour and 42 minutes per week scheduling and rescheduling calls. This suggests that improving scheduling efficiency could free up significant time for more valuable work.

5. Meetings Are Getting Longer

Time spent in meetings has been rising by 8% to 10% every year since 2000. Recognizing this trend can help businesses implement strategies to curb the increasing length of meetings.

Produce8 allows your team to easily see the scheduled block for meetings in their Calendar. This enables your organization to have a better grasp on how long meetings are lasting.

6. Meetings Have Too Many Attendees

More than 22% of meetings have at least eight attendees, according to Fellow. This results in over 15 hours of meetings per week on average, leaving little time for execution.

This data shows that smaller, more focused meetings could be more effective.

7. Unscheduled and Ad Hoc Meetings

Sixty-six percent (66%) of 1:1 calls are unscheduled, according to HBR. This means that employees’ workdays are often interrupted with spontaneous video calls on apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. These interruptions disrupt their workflow and focus.

8. Meetings Cause Delays

Seventy percent (70%) of meetings cause delays in completing essential work, according to research from Bloomberg. This aligns with findings that indicate 92% of workers feel meetings keep them from their regular work duties.

Such disruptions highlight the need for more efficient meeting practices, which can ensure that essential tasks are not sidelined.

We Can Fix This

While meetings are a vital aspect of business operations, their overabundance can be a significant drain on time, resources, and employee morale.

Here’s one last stat for you: A Harvard Business Review study found that when companies reduced meeting time by 40%, worker productivity increased by 70%. But we know that the solution is not as simple as cutting out meetings from your schedule. After all, your team still needs to collaborate. Instead, we’re suggesting you stop running initiatives without data.

Produce8 helps the whole team get on the same page regarding the current meeting culture. By linking their calendar and meeting apps, teams can address meeting issues with data-driven insights, allowing everyone to measure the effectiveness of changes.

Interested in seeing how meetings are impacting your organization? Book a live demo with our team.

Too Many Meetings? Here Are 8 Stats You Need to Know About How Meetings Cost Businesses

Allow this guide to be your first asset in effectively preparing to conduct a meeting audit and ensuring enhanced productivity and purposefulness in your organization's meetings.

See how each meeting type serves a unique purpose, fosters collaboration, drives innovation, and ultimately ensures your MSP team is aligned and ready to deliver exceptional service.

The meetings outlined here are not mandatory or prescriptive. They represent a collection of common MSP meetings. Assess which ones are relevant to your organization, whether you conduct them regularly or not, and if your current processes are effective.

For managed service providers (MSPs), meetings are important touchpoints that shape the course of service delivery, team alignment, innovation, and customer satisfaction. However, your team was not hired to be on internal video calls all day — they were hired to perform their tasks and provide top-notch service to clients.

, we offer more than just work analytics. We provide resources and coaching to empower you and your team to cultivate a better meeting culture for your MSP. Schedule a complimentary consultation with our team of productivity experts today.

By grasping the different types of meetings you hold, you can better guarantee that all the video calls your team has are effective and efficient.

A good meeting can recharge your team, while a 

. The effect can ripple down and impact the rest of the team.

By identifying and categorizing your meetings, you and your team can tailor an approach to each meeting, ensuring that the right topics are discussed, the necessary stakeholders are present, and the meetings are scheduled appropriately. This clarity helps 

 and enhances the overall quality of communication and decision-making within the team, ultimately contributing to the organization's success.

In this guide, we’ll share 32 of the most common MSP meeting formats. After you’ve read through them all, reflect on the meetings that you and your team are attending. How many of them fit into one of these categories?

Start taking action and make collaboration more productive.

This infographic details the taxonomy of different types of meetings within a managed service provider (MSP) context. It is inspired by the framework from 

An internal cadence meeting at an MSP is a regularly scheduled session where team members come together to align on the organization's operational dynamics. These gatherings are key for discussing active client projects, tracking service delivery milestones, and ensuring consistency with the MSP's strategic objectives.

A weekly leadership meeting is a key strategic gathering where an MSP leadership team meets to tackle significant issues, evaluate the company's progress, and make important decisions. In these meetings, leaders typically reflect on what was accomplished in the previous week, confront and solve existing problems, and outline plans for future actions and projects.

A strategic planning meeting is essential for setting the course of the company's future ambitions and tactical approaches. In these discussions, senior leaders unite to define the company's vision, outline overarching goals, and devise strategies that propel growth and market competitiveness. This alignment ensures that every decision is tethered to the company's core mission, thus maintaining the MSP's adaptability and dedication to delivering superior value to its clientele.

In a weekly team sync, team members share updates on their progress, tackle present obstacles, and plan for future tasks and initiatives. This regular check-in ensures all team members are aligned, which promotes swift responses to any new changes and allows the team to advance together in a coordinated and effective way. Ultimately, weekly syncs boost the MSP's ability to deliver top-notch services and improve client satisfaction.

The daily stand-up is a succinct, targeted meeting designed to align the team's daily goals, tackle immediate challenges, and enhance quick communication. In this meeting, each team member provides a brief update on their day's tasks, ongoing progress, and potential hurdles. Through regular participation in these stand-ups, the MSP team remains agile and flexible, optimizes the use of resources, and consistently focuses on client satisfaction and service superiority.

A performance review meeting serves as a formal assessment opportunity to evaluate and discuss the performance of individual employees or the entire team. Crucial for offering feedback, establishing objectives, and pinpointing professional growth opportunities, this meeting aligns each team member's efforts with the MSP's goals. It cultivates an environment of responsibility and ongoing enhancement, ensuring everyone's work contributes positively to the organization's objectives.

A 1:1 meeting is a focused session between two individuals — typically a manager and an employee. These sessions are vital for setting up transparent communication and offering specific direction. They synchronize an employee's individual aspirations with the organization's wider objectives, promoting an environment of advancement and ongoing enhancement. 1:1 meetings are key to personal growth, as they guarantee that every team member's path is in harmony with the MSP's broad mission and strategic outlook.

7. Operational Level Agreement (OLA) Review

An OLA review is a dedicated meeting intended to ensure the MSP's internal processes meet or exceed the operational standards required to uphold client service-level agreements (SLAs). The goal is to verify that each internal sector is upholding the service standards promised in client SLAs, pinpoint any internal challenges or inefficiencies, and devise improvement plans. Such reviews are essential for maintaining internal responsibility and driving continuous enhancements in service delivery, thus reinforcing the MSP's dedication to client satisfaction.

Budget review meetings are dedicated to examining financial performance and devising future budget plans. These meetings guarantee the MSP's financial assets are in sync with strategic objectives and facilitate the judicious distribution of funds for growth prospects and operational demands. A budget review also serves as a venue for financial clarity, as teams can meticulously evaluate spending and shape investment decisions to optimize returns on investment.

An IT infrastructure review is a thorough assessment designed to confirm the strength, effectiveness, and expandability of the MSP's IT infrastructure. This critical meeting focuses on pinpointing potential bottlenecks, obsolete technologies, and chances for enhancing the infrastructure.

An external cadence meeting consists of periodic, planned conversations with clients to evaluate service outcomes, tackle issues, and agree on forthcoming goals. These meetings are vital for fostering trust and openness and guaranteeing that the MSP's offerings meet the client's requirements. Additionally, these meetings provide an opportunity to explore new technologies or services that could improve the client's IT framework and aid in achieving their business objectives.

A QBR represents a key external engagement in which the service provider connects with clients to assess service delivery and its alignment with the client's strategic goals. This review acts as an essential checkpoint. It allows the client to gauge the effectiveness of the MSP's services, highlight successes, identify improvement areas, and tweak strategies to suit the client's changing requirements. It also provides a platform for the MSP to communicate responsibilities, align with client expectations, and respond to market changes, thereby nurturing an open relationship.

An SLA review is a joint session between the MSP team and their clients. Here, the MSP showcases performance metrics in relation to the established SLAs. The discussion covers any instances of unmet expectations and areas of exceptional performance. This fosters trust, transparency, and collaboration between the MSP and its clients, facilitating an open exchange about service standards, outcomes, and forward-looking strategies.

Project status meetings are essential checkpoints where the progress, challenges, and upcoming steps of current projects are discussed with clients. These meetings align the MSP and the client on the project's goals, schedule, and expected outcomes. The team examines milestones, tackles any obstacles, and strategizes to keep the project on course.

Partnership alignment meetings are strategic sessions where the MSP and its partners convene to ensure that both entities are aligned on their goals, expectations, strategies, and operational tactics. These meetings are essential for fostering strong, collaborative relationships between the MSP and its partners.

A catalyst meeting within an MSP serves as a strategic and dynamic session aimed at tackling challenges, sparking change, or launching new initiatives internally. Unlike cadence meetings, this type of gathering is often prompted by a pressing need for new ideas or addressing problems. The aim is for participants to devise implementable plans, fresh strategies, or solutions that propel the MSP ahead, boost service quality, increase efficiency, or take advantage of new opportunities in the market. Such meetings play a critical role in driving change and ensuring adaptability in the dynamic environment of managed services.

A technology roadmap meeting is a strategic gathering dedicated to mapping technological developments and deployments. This meeting ensures the MSP's tech initiatives align with its wider business goals, confirming that technology investments are intentional and in harmony with the organization's forward-looking vision. It also enables team members to stay ahead of industry trends, gear up for upcoming challenges, and maintain the MSP's leadership in technological innovation.

A security compliance meeting aims to verify that the MSP's practices, tools, and services meet current security standards and regulations. This meeting is pivotal for spotting compliance gaps, tackling emerging security challenges, and refining protocols to counter new threats. Through consistent evaluation and improvement of security practices, the MSP will meet legal and industry standards and fortify its protective measures, guaranteeing solid security for both its clients and itself.

An internal process improvement meeting focuses on refining the MSP's internal workings. The aim is to enhance workflows and adopt best practices, boosting productivity and service quality. Through ongoing evaluation and improvement of internal procedures, the MSP can minimize inefficiencies, foster better teamwork, and provide superior services to its clientele.

An innovation brainstorming session is intended to spark ideas that improve service offerings and operational efficiency. This session motivates team members to think creatively, question existing norms, and work together on innovative solutions that foster the MSP's growth and market distinction. Consistently participating in brainstorming sessions enables the MSP to remain at the forefront of industry developments and adapt continuously to client needs.

A risk management meeting is held to pinpoint, evaluate, and address potential risks that may affect the MSP's operations and service provision. This session is instrumental in formulating strategies to safeguard business continuity, secure assets, and uphold client confidence. It encompasses an in-depth examination of the MSP's risk environment and covers technological, operational, financial, and compliance-related risks.

An emergency preparedness meeting is for creating and honing procedures to use for possible emergencies or unexpected disturbances. This meeting ensures the protection of client data and the persistence of service even in challenging situations. It also includes scrutinizing and refreshing disaster recovery protocols, communication plans, and roles for responding to different emergency circumstances.

An external catalyst meeting is a conversation with a client or partner that focuses on resolving urgent concerns, seizing new prospects, or transforming the business relationship's trajectory. Such meetings are typically initiated in response to a need for swift adaptation to various changes, be it a pivot in the client's business strategy, new technological obstacles, or critical issues in service delivery affecting the client's business. These sessions promote innovation, solidify the partnership, and ensure the MSP's offerings are closely intertwined with the client's success.

A vendor management meeting focuses on enhancing relationships with vendors to guarantee the quality and dependability of the MSP's products and services. It focuses on evaluating vendor performance, discussing terms, resolving issues, and identifying opportunities for better collaboration. Successful vendor management meetings enable the MSP to sustain a strong supply chain, benefit from competitive pricing, and discover innovative solutions, all contributing to the MSP's competitive market position.

Technical support calls serve as a direct line for addressing client IT problems, maintaining system efficiency, and reducing downtime. These calls are essential in preserving client satisfaction, meeting service-level agreements, and building robust client relationships.

A client strategy session is a focused discussion designed to align the MSP's services and initiatives with the specific goals and challenges of each client. This session is important for grasping the client's business environment, uncovering opportunities to add value, and tailoring services to meet client requirements more effectively. Through strategy sessions, the MSP shows a deep dedication to client success.

An internal "learn and influence" meeting is a combined educational and strategic gathering designed to promote the exchange of knowledge and drive positive internal transformations. During this session, team members across different departments convene to exchange insights, best practices, and recent learnings from their areas of expertise. Topics covered include analyses of recent project outcomes, updates on technology, and industry trends that might affect service delivery. The aim is to cultivate a cooperative atmosphere in which staff can benefit from each other's experiences.

An incident response debrief is a meeting held after a service incident to analyze the event's specifics. This debrief is essential for deriving important lessons and insights and allowing the MSP to enhance its response tactics and avert similar issues in the future. Response debriefs foster an open and constructive evaluation of the incident response, highlighting strong points and identifying areas that need enhancement.

A product training session is an instructive meeting aimed at boosting the team's expertise with current or new products and services. This session equips the team with the abilities to implement and oversee technological resources. Consistent product training enables the MSP to maintain a team that is knowledgeable, self-assured, and ready to address the changing requirements of clients.

A customer feedback review is dedicated to analyzing and acting upon feedback from clients. This meeting is crucial for understanding client satisfaction, pinpointing areas for service enhancement, and acknowledging positive performance. It enables the MSP to align its services more closely with customer expectations and address any concerns proactively.

Knowledge sharing sessions are for promoting the sharing of expertise, best practices, and innovative ideas among team members. Through frequent participation in these sessions, the MSP enhances its intellectual assets, fosters creativity, and ensures its team is adequately prepared to meet clients' changing needs, thus securing a competitive edge in the industry.

A technical training workshop is a focused, internal training session designed to enhance the technical skills of team members. Specific focuses are on the newest technologies, updates, and best practices in the team’s service areas. This workshop keeps the team updated on technological advancements, empowering them to adeptly implement, manage, and solve issues with the latest tools and software.

An external "learn and influence" meeting is a strategic session in which MSPs share knowledge, insights, and best practices with clients, partners, or industry counterparts. This interactive platform is mutually beneficial. It allows the MSP to demonstrate its expertise, introduce new services or technologies, and simultaneously acquire a more nuanced perspective on clients' changing requirements, industry developments, and emerging challenges.

A client onboarding meeting is an important first step in establishing the foundation for a robust and cooperative relationship with new clients. It’s essential for defining the service delivery framework and enabling the MSP to grasp the client's requirements, expectations, and unique needs. It offers a chance to establish clear communication channels, agree on service level agreements, and acquaint the client with the team.

Business development calls are engagements designed to uncover and cultivate new business prospects. Here, MSP representatives connect with prospective clients to present their services, discuss the clients' business goals, and investigate potential partnerships. These calls are essential for broadening the MSP's clientele, forging industry connections, and establishing a foundation for subsequent sales and collaborative efforts.

Sales discovery calls are detailed discussions in which sales personnel dive into the needs, obstacles, and goals of clients. The aim is to extract crucial insights and customize the MSP's services to meet the demands of the client. These calls are vital in establishing trust, ensuring the MSP's solutions align with client expectations, and preparing the groundwork for effective sales pitches and enduring client connections.

Vendor product demonstrations allow vendors to showcase their latest products or services, highlighting features, capabilities, and technical details to illustrate how these offerings can benefit the MSP and its clients. Through live demonstrations, technical overviews, and interactive Q&A sessions, MSPs come to gain a comprehensive understanding of new solutions. These demonstrations are vital for MSPs to stay updated on technological advancements, ensuring they remain competitive and responsive to client needs and market trends.

Characterized by their urgency and unexpectedness, ad-hoc meetings are called to deal with important issues, take advantage of new chances, or make vital decisions that simply can't wait for a scheduled meeting. Though these meetings can lead to significant actions or shifts, their standout feature is their impromptu setup, distinguished by their timely response and specific purpose rather than by detailed agendas or results.

Ad-hoc meetings are essential for tackling sudden and unexpected issues or opportunities. They enable MSPs to react to unanticipated events or client requirements and are crucial for preserving operational flexibility, enabling quick decision-making, and ensuring prompt communication among team members.

While ad-hoc meetings are crucial for addressing urgent matters, they can also become a distraction if not managed properly. Frequent unplanned meetings can disrupt employees' workflow, leading to decreased productivity and potentially affecting the progress of ongoing projects. 

Attention: 

By understanding the unique purpose and requirements of all 32 meeting types, MSPs can better allocate their time and resources, ensuring that every meeting adds value and contributes to the organization’s success.

Conducting a meeting audit is a great way to assess the effectiveness, necessity, and impact of various meetings your team is having and your company's overall productivity.

The MSP Meeting Guide: Understanding 32 Meeting Types, From Strategy Sessions to Support Calls

Do you know how many Microsoft Teams calls your employees participate in?

Studies reveal that your managed service provider (MSP) team spends a hefty chunk of their time in internal video calls—often over 30% of their work week. This surge in internal meeting times is not just a number; it translates to diminished hours spent on client-focused tasks, technical problem-solving, and proactive service enhancements.

Without insight into their meeting habits, your team can't gauge if internal Microsoft Teams calls are enhancing efficiency or hindering customer service (which should be their primary focus).

Today, we'll unveil steps to empower your MSP technicians to reclaim their time.

The first problem your team faces is that they don’t know how much time they lose in meetings. This often leads them to over-commitment from workers and them viewing Microsoft Teams calls as a necessary evil.

, most workers (83%) automatically accept calendar invites received in their inbox. And more than half of them feel they are obligated to attend the meeting regardless of the agenda or their involvement in the discussion.

By accepting most meetings, workers spend up to a third of their working hours on calls that offer little positive impact on their main responsibilities.

When this type of meeting occurs regularly or with more attendees, the cumulative cost can be significant. Of course, this calculation does not account for the additional time required to prepare for a meeting, which on average can take an extra hour. Nor does it include the time needed 

after a meeting to decompress and refocus

Your MSP team was hired to provide technical support and assistance to clients, not be in internal meetings. And engaging in frequent Microsoft Teams meetings can detract from their core function.

But you’re saying that participation in team meetings may be necessary. And while we agree (in a way), we should still examine what’s happening by asking these questions:

How much time is your team spending in internal meetings?

How do you know if meetings are even necessary?

How do you know if the right people are attending?

How do meetings impact the rest of their workday?

What guidelines do you have to ensure that the meetings are productive and actionable?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you’re not alone. We’ve spoken with hundreds of MSPs and most admit to not knowing.

The negative ripple effect of ineffective internal meetings

When a team member is in a meeting they don't need to attend, they often become disengaged.

 during meetings, while 41% admit to frequent or constant multitasking.

MSP employees often multitask during meetings due to a combination of high workloads, feeling that the meeting isn't relevant to their roles, and the fact that it’s not hard to do.

Although it may seem like they are doing more, their work completed during a meeting will often be of lower quality. That only adds more time to the task in the long term, and it ultimately leads to higher costs.

There must be a policy in place that enables team members to freely decline meetings so they can focus on work without being ridiculed. Or they must be provided an option to 

engage with the content of the meeting asynchronously

To do that, we must provide them with data so they can point to the problem and then measure what changes are needed to improve their day.

Help your team understand and take control of meetings

Empowering individuals to take control of their internal meeting time is crucial for several reasons.

First, it fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, encouraging individuals to actively manage their schedules. With 

, they gain valuable insights into their time allocation and can identify opportunities for optimization.

Next, empowering individuals to set boundaries and decline unnecessary meetings helps to reduce meeting fatigue, 

Last but not least, taking control of meeting time encourages a culture of respect. This leads to more purposeful and efficient meetings that drive meaningful outcomes.

By providing your workers with insight into how they spend their day, they can take more responsibility for their time at work, reclaiming over 90 minutes per person lost to meetings each day.

Want to learn more about the hidden time your MSP team loses to internal Microsoft Teams meetings? Schedule a call with our productivity experts to access essential data and create a customized meeting plan tailored to your organization's needs.

Give your team Produce8 to understand their workday

Before taking drastic measures like clearing everyone's calendar, it's crucial to gauge the extent of the issue within your organization. Assess whether there are excessive meetings, if the meetings are too long, if the correct individuals are attending, or if there are other ways to communicate.

 offers MSP teams resources, coaching, and digital work analytics that put Microsoft Teams calls under the microscope. With the right data, you and your team can point accurately at the problem, make changes, and then begin to design a better workday.

 your employees engage with daily. This empowers them to prevent burnout and prioritize tasks that add value to the organization.

After acquiring insights from your team, the next step is to compile the feedback and put it into action. You’ll want to design a meeting policy that helps your workers reclaim their day.

Negative feelings about meeting policies usually arise from fears of reduced flexibility and stifled creativity. But a well-crafted policy will streamline communication and boost efficiency, dispelling such concerns.

A clear meeting policy empowers employees by offering guidelines on scheduling Microsoft Teams meetings, participant involvement, and efficient communication alternatives. A policy also minimizes disruptions, enabling workers to focus on core tasks.

Employees can decline irrelevant meetings, thus boosting morale. Essentially, a well-crafted meeting policy reflects a commitment to valuing time, promoting operational excellence, and prioritizing employee well-being.

Want help designing a meeting policy? Download our 

Summary:

Do you know how many Microsoft Teams calls your employees participate in?

Studies reveal that your managed service provider (MSP) team spends a hefty chunk of their time in internal video calls—often over 30% of their work week. This surge in internal meeting times is not just a number; it translates to diminished hours spent on client-focused tasks, technical problem-solving, and proactive service enhancements.

Without insight into their meeting habits, your team can't gauge if internal Microsoft Teams calls are enhancing efficiency or hindering customer service (which should be their primary focus).

Today, we'll unveil steps to empower your MSP technicians to reclaim their time.

Solving the first problem of meetings

The first problem your team faces is that they don’t know how much time they lose in meetings. This often leads them to over-commitment from workers and them viewing Microsoft Teams calls as a necessary evil.

According to a report from Otter, most workers (83%) automatically accept calendar invites received in their inbox. And more than half of them feel they are obligated to attend the meeting regardless of the agenda or their involvement in the discussion.

By accepting most meetings, workers spend up to a third of their working hours on calls that offer little positive impact on their main responsibilities.

When this type of meeting occurs regularly or with more attendees, the cumulative cost can be significant. Of course, this calculation does not account for the additional time required to prepare for a meeting, which on average can take an extra hour. Nor does it include the time needed after a meeting to decompress and refocus, which can take up to 21 minutes.

Your MSP team was hired to provide technical support and assistance to clients, not be in internal meetings. And engaging in frequent Microsoft Teams meetings can detract from their core function.

But you’re saying that participation in team meetings may be necessary. And while we agree (in a way), we should still examine what’s happening by asking these questions:

How much time is your team spending in internal meetings?

How do you know if meetings are even necessary?

How do you know if the right people are attending?

How do meetings impact the rest of their workday?

What guidelines do you have to ensure that the meetings are productive and actionable?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you’re not alone. We’ve spoken with hundreds of MSPs and most admit to not knowing.

So, let’s find out.

The negative ripple effect of ineffective internal meetings

When a team member is in a meeting they don't need to attend, they often become disengaged.

According to a study, 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings, while 41% admit to frequent or constant multitasking.

MSP employees often multitask during meetings due to a combination of high workloads, feeling that the meeting isn't relevant to their roles, and the fact that it’s not hard to do.

Although it may seem like they are doing more, their work completed during a meeting will often be of lower quality. That only adds more time to the task in the long term, and it ultimately leads to higher costs.

There must be a policy in place that enables team members to freely decline meetings so they can focus on work without being ridiculed. Or they must be provided an option to engage with the content of the meeting asynchronously.

To do that, we must provide them with data so they can point to the problem and then measure what changes are needed to improve their day.

Help your team understand and take control of meetings

Empowering individuals to take control of their internal meeting time is crucial for several reasons.

First, it fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, encouraging individuals to actively manage their schedules. With Produce8, they gain valuable insights into their time allocation and can identify opportunities for optimization.

Next, empowering individuals to set boundaries and decline unnecessary meetings helps to reduce meeting fatigue, prevent burnout, and promote overall well-being.

Last but not least, taking control of meeting time encourages a culture of respect. This leads to more purposeful and efficient meetings that drive meaningful outcomes.

By providing your workers with insight into how they spend their day, they can take more responsibility for their time at work, reclaiming over 90 minutes per person lost to meetings each day.

Want to learn more about the hidden time your MSP team loses to internal Microsoft Teams meetings? Schedule a call with our productivity experts to access essential data and create a customized meeting plan tailored to your organization's needs.

Give your team Produce8 to understand their workday

Before taking drastic measures like clearing everyone's calendar, it's crucial to gauge the extent of the issue within your organization. Assess whether there are excessive meetings, if the meetings are too long, if the correct individuals are attending, or if there are other ways to communicate.

Produce8 offers MSP teams resources, coaching, and digital work analytics that put Microsoft Teams calls under the microscope. With the right data, you and your team can point accurately at the problem, make changes, and then begin to design a better workday.

We deliver detailed insights into the meetings and calls your employees engage with daily. This empowers them to prevent burnout and prioritize tasks that add value to the organization.

Why your MSP needs a meeting policy

After acquiring insights from your team, the next step is to compile the feedback and put it into action. You’ll want to design a meeting policy that helps your workers reclaim their day.

Negative feelings about meeting policies usually arise from fears of reduced flexibility and stifled creativity. But a well-crafted policy will streamline communication and boost efficiency, dispelling such concerns.

A clear meeting policy empowers employees by offering guidelines on scheduling Microsoft Teams meetings, participant involvement, and efficient communication alternatives. A policy also minimizes disruptions, enabling workers to focus on core tasks.

Employees can decline irrelevant meetings, thus boosting morale. Essentially, a well-crafted meeting policy reflects a commitment to valuing time, promoting operational excellence, and prioritizing employee well-being.

Want help designing a meeting policy? Download our Effective Meetings for MSP eBook.

The Hidden Impact of Microsoft Teams Calls on Your MSP’s Efficiency

“Free for a quick chat?” An ironic phrase, because there is nothing “free” or “quick” about ad-hoc meetings on Microsoft Teams.

We've all been guilty of requesting impromptu calls from our team without fully grasping the consequences. But it's not entirely our fault! Up until now, we lacked the necessary data to quantify these issues. Today, that changes.

In this article, we'll equip you with the insights you need to understand the frequency of ad-hoc meetings within your team. We’ll also provide everything you need to make changes and start recovering all the time, energy, and money lost to “quick chats.”

The time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings globally more than doubled between February 2020 and February 2021. And since then, it has 

Interestingly, the most common meeting duration is 30 minutes. This duration accounts for 

, whereas 15-minute meetings account for 31%. Meetings lasting a full hour represent only 20%. This trend towards shorter, more frequent meetings contributes to meeting fatigue, consistent task-switching, and limited opportunities for meaningful collaboration and decision-making.

Because it has been easier than ever to pull together for a quick conversation on Microsoft Teams, unfettered collaboration is taking control of our days. And that comes with a huge financial cost.

The frequency and impact of ad hoc meetings must be addressed.

Sending a casual message like "free for a quick chat?" may appear innocuous, but recent research on meeting attendance highlights its potential detrimental effects. Unnecessary meetings could impose significant costs on your company. In fact, the sunk cost of such meetings is estimated to be 

Ad hoc meetings are unexpected and often unstructured. While they may be brief, it is the act of pulling employees away from pressing work that has its consequences. Even though these ad hoc meetings could be as short as 15 minutes, it can take up to 21 minutes for an employee to regain their focus once the meeting ends.

Thirty minutes doesn’t sound like a lot — but it’s 6% of the workday. If an employee has just three ad hoc meetings per day, that can add up to 18% of their day. Making matters worse is the fact that a meeting doesn’t happen alone. Two or more employees often join, meaning they also lose 18% of their workday. This is time that is either lost completely or that will need to be made up after hours.

Of course, the size of the problem multiplies with every additional video call and every additional attendee. Suddenly, what began as a “quick chat” has escalated into a problem that could be costing an organization with 

It’s obvious that Microsoft Teams has become indispensable for collaboration and coordination among teams. However, amidst the convenience and connectivity offered by such platforms, there lies a hidden cost that many organizations overlook: the unchecked expenditure of time spent on Microsoft Teams calls.

So, how do we fix this? First, we must come to understand the scale of the problem.

Microsoft Teams Doesn’t Provide Enough Data

Microsoft Teams does not readily serve up detailed analytics on call durations or meeting frequency. And while admin tools may offer some data, this information often fails to reach individual employees or teams, thus hindering their self-awareness regarding their meeting habits. Consequently, the lack of accessible data within Microsoft Teams acts as a barrier to users striving to manage their time better and optimize their collaboration practices.

Another challenge workers face is the need for more insight into their tech stack (i.e., the relationship between their collaboration tools and productivity tools). The repercussions of this unawareness are far-reaching, making it difficult for employees to gauge how much time they devote to meetings versus actual work.

The truth is that you and your team are not aware of the harm caused by ad-hoc video calls. And when there is no way to share the data, there is no way to identify the problem and fix it.

Your team must pinpoint the barrage of Microsoft Teams calls contributing to heightened stress levels and burnout among employees. Moreover, they need quantifiable data to address multitasking and distractions. This data will help them make informed decisions to regain control of their day and prevent further exacerbating the issue.

 is a digital work analytics platform that enables individuals and teams to measure their time spent in virtual calls, including ad hoc meetings. Additionally, the platform allows them to see their work habits and gauge the impact unscheduled calls have on their focus and well-being.

With Data, We Can Recover Productivity and Profitability

Produce8 offers insights to help you understand your organization's virtual meeting practices. Once you have the data, you can empower your team to recover lost time. For instance, here are a few actions you can take:

 Encourage team members to allocate specific time slots on their calendars for focused or deep work sessions. This practice reduces interruptions and discourages spontaneous meetings during these periods. (Learn more about 

 Grant team members the authority to make independent decisions or 

 through chat or email. Reserve meetings for discussions that necessitate consensus-building or collective decision-making.

Cultivate a culture of accountability by stressing the importance of respecting colleagues' time and minimizing unnecessary disruptions. Encourage team members to consider the necessity of scheduling ad hoc meetings before messaging “quick chat?”

Once your team has had the opportunity to work with these new changes, they can determine which are effective in increasing focus.

Produce8 enables individuals to set specific goals and shows them the desired outcomes if they decrease their time spent in Microsoft Teams calls and reallocate it to meaningful work applications.

It is the mission of Produce8 to help you recover 90+ minutes every day for each of your team members. We will be with you all the way.

Design a Virtual Meeting Guideline for Everyone

As we know, collaboration is essential. However, we cannot ignore the cost of all the meetings we hold. An hour-long meeting with five attendees can 

. If we proceed to conduct unnecessary ad hoc meetings, the repercussions can escalate, potentially affecting work quality, delaying deadlines, increasing employee burnout, and detrimentally impacting the organization's profitability.

We all have stakes in reducing unnecessary video calls on Microsoft Teams. And it’s up to the company to take proactive measures to combat the issues of collaboration overload. This doesn’t mean micromanaging! It means providing data to individuals so they can make the best decision for themselves.

Produce8 takes into consideration that every individual, team, and organization is unique. By acquiring personal insights, employees will be empowered to take ownership of their workday.

For leaders, this strategy is invaluable. It allows you to establish clear meeting policies, such as limiting the frequency and duration of calls and implementing initiatives to reduce the reliance on meetings as the primary way to collaborate. There are endless opportunities to improve your organization’s meeting culture, and it all starts with understanding how collaboration is currently conducted.

Ready to begin? Let us assist you in crafting a customized plan tailored to your organization's needs. Schedule a complimentary consultation with our team of skilled coaches, and we'll show you how to reclaim over 90 minutes each day that would otherwise be lost to unproductive video calls.

Summary:

“Free for a quick chat?” An ironic phrase, because there is nothing “free” or “quick” about ad-hoc meetings on Microsoft Teams.

We've all been guilty of requesting impromptu calls from our team without fully grasping the consequences. But it's not entirely our fault! Up until now, we lacked the necessary data to quantify these issues. Today, that changes.

In this article, we'll equip you with the insights you need to understand the frequency of ad-hoc meetings within your team. We’ll also provide everything you need to make changes and start recovering all the time, energy, and money lost to “quick chats.”

The time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings globally more than doubled between February 2020 and February 2021. And since then, it has continued to rise steadily.

Interestingly, the most common meeting duration is 30 minutes. This duration accounts for 36% of meetings, whereas 15-minute meetings account for 31%. Meetings lasting a full hour represent only 20%. This trend towards shorter, more frequent meetings contributes to meeting fatigue, consistent task-switching, and limited opportunities for meaningful collaboration and decision-making.

Because it has been easier than ever to pull together for a quick conversation on Microsoft Teams, unfettered collaboration is taking control of our days. And that comes with a huge financial cost.

The Cost of Ad-Hoc Virtual Meetings

The frequency and impact of ad hoc meetings must be addressed.

Sending a casual message like "free for a quick chat?" may appear innocuous, but recent research on meeting attendance highlights its potential detrimental effects. Unnecessary meetings could impose significant costs on your company. In fact, the sunk cost of such meetings is estimated to be $25,000 per employee annually.

Ad hoc meetings are unexpected and often unstructured. While they may be brief, it is the act of pulling employees away from pressing work that has its consequences. Even though these ad hoc meetings could be as short as 15 minutes, it can take up to 21 minutes for an employee to regain their focus once the meeting ends.

Thirty minutes doesn’t sound like a lot — but it’s 6% of the workday. If an employee has just three ad hoc meetings per day, that can add up to 18% of their day. Making matters worse is the fact that a meeting doesn’t happen alone. Two or more employees often join, meaning they also lose 18% of their workday. This is time that is either lost completely or that will need to be made up after hours.

Of course, the size of the problem multiplies with every additional video call and every additional attendee. Suddenly, what began as a “quick chat” has escalated into a problem that could be costing an organization with 100 employees $2.5 million annually.

It’s obvious that Microsoft Teams has become indispensable for collaboration and coordination among teams. However, amidst the convenience and connectivity offered by such platforms, there lies a hidden cost that many organizations overlook: the unchecked expenditure of time spent on Microsoft Teams calls.

So, how do we fix this? First, we must come to understand the scale of the problem.

Microsoft Teams Doesn’t Provide Enough Data

Microsoft Teams does not readily serve up detailed analytics on call durations or meeting frequency. And while admin tools may offer some data, this information often fails to reach individual employees or teams, thus hindering their self-awareness regarding their meeting habits. Consequently, the lack of accessible data within Microsoft Teams acts as a barrier to users striving to manage their time better and optimize their collaboration practices.

Another challenge workers face is the need for more insight into their tech stack (i.e., the relationship between their collaboration tools and productivity tools). The repercussions of this unawareness are far-reaching, making it difficult for employees to gauge how much time they devote to meetings versus actual work.

Gain Awareness of Meetings

The truth is that you and your team are not aware of the harm caused by ad-hoc video calls. And when there is no way to share the data, there is no way to identify the problem and fix it.

Your team must pinpoint the barrage of Microsoft Teams calls contributing to heightened stress levels and burnout among employees. Moreover, they need quantifiable data to address multitasking and distractions. This data will help them make informed decisions to regain control of their day and prevent further exacerbating the issue.

Produce8 is a digital work analytics platform that enables individuals and teams to measure their time spent in virtual calls, including ad hoc meetings. Additionally, the platform allows them to see their work habits and gauge the impact unscheduled calls have on their focus and well-being.

With Data, We Can Recover Productivity and Profitability

Produce8 offers insights to help you understand your organization's virtual meeting practices. Once you have the data, you can empower your team to recover lost time. For instance, here are a few actions you can take:

Implement Time Blocking: Encourage team members to allocate specific time slots on their calendars for focused or deep work sessions. This practice reduces interruptions and discourages spontaneous meetings during these periods. (Learn more about time blocking here.)

Enable Decision-Making Autonomy: Grant team members the authority to make independent decisions or seek input asynchronously through chat or email. Reserve meetings for discussions that necessitate consensus-building or collective decision-making.

Promote Accountability: Cultivate a culture of accountability by stressing the importance of respecting colleagues' time and minimizing unnecessary disruptions. Encourage team members to consider the necessity of scheduling ad hoc meetings before messaging “quick chat?”

Once your team has had the opportunity to work with these new changes, they can determine which are effective in increasing focus.

Produce8 enables individuals to set specific goals and shows them the desired outcomes if they decrease their time spent in Microsoft Teams calls and reallocate it to meaningful work applications.

It is the mission of Produce8 to help you recover 90+ minutes every day for each of your team members. We will be with you all the way.

Design a Virtual Meeting Guideline for Everyone

As we know, collaboration is essential. However, we cannot ignore the cost of all the meetings we hold. An hour-long meeting with five attendees can cost an organization $388 in salary. If we proceed to conduct unnecessary ad hoc meetings, the repercussions can escalate, potentially affecting work quality, delaying deadlines, increasing employee burnout, and detrimentally impacting the organization's profitability.

We all have stakes in reducing unnecessary video calls on Microsoft Teams. And it’s up to the company to take proactive measures to combat the issues of collaboration overload. This doesn’t mean micromanaging! It means providing data to individuals so they can make the best decision for themselves.

Produce8 takes into consideration that every individual, team, and organization is unique. By acquiring personal insights, employees will be empowered to take ownership of their workday.

For leaders, this strategy is invaluable. It allows you to establish clear meeting policies, such as limiting the frequency and duration of calls and implementing initiatives to reduce the reliance on meetings as the primary way to collaborate. There are endless opportunities to improve your organization’s meeting culture, and it all starts with understanding how collaboration is currently conducted.

Ready to begin? Let us assist you in crafting a customized plan tailored to your organization's needs. Schedule a complimentary consultation with our team of skilled coaches, and we'll show you how to reclaim over 90 minutes each day that would otherwise be lost to unproductive video calls.

How Many Ad-Hoc Meetings Do You Have on Microsoft Teams?

Unnecessary virtual meetings cost small managed service providers (MSPs) at least 

 and MSPs with over 100 employees an average of $420,000 per year.

To solve this problem, we will provide you with an impact plan to recover time lost to virtual meetings. This plan provides crucial steps to evaluate and diagnose the current state of work; design an initiative and implement change; assess the effectiveness of the change; iterate and adjust the plan as needed; and establish a process of maintenance and continuous improvement.

By following this plan, you and your team can streamline communication, ensuring that video calls serve a clear purpose and have a significant impact.

Video call apps such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom have become ubiquitous for MSP team communication, collaboration, and decision-making.

While these interactions are essential for maintaining productivity and fostering teamwork, there comes a point where the sheer volume of virtual meetings becomes counterproductive — and costly.

The Negative Cost of Excessive Virtual Meetings

Summary:

Unnecessary virtual meetings cost small managed service providers (MSPs) at least $18,000 per year and MSPs with over 100 employees an average of $420,000 per year.

To solve this problem, we will provide you with an impact plan to recover time lost to virtual meetings. This plan provides crucial steps to evaluate and diagnose the current state of work; design an initiative and implement change; assess the effectiveness of the change; iterate and adjust the plan as needed; and establish a process of maintenance and continuous improvement.

By following this plan, you and your team can streamline communication, ensuring that video calls serve a clear purpose and have a significant impact.

Video call apps such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom have become ubiquitous for MSP team communication, collaboration, and decision-making.

While these interactions are essential for maintaining productivity and fostering teamwork, there comes a point where the sheer volume of virtual meetings becomes counterproductive — and costly.

The Negative Cost of Excessive Virtual Meetings

Video calls require a substantial commitment of both time and resources. That includes the salaries of attendees and the lost productivity from diverting attention away from duties like providing customer service. Studies show that each year, about $37 billion is wasted due to ineffective meetings.

To determine whether meetings are productive, you must first acknowledge the number of video calls consuming your MSP. Take a 25-person team, for example. Twelve hours of calls each week per person adds up to a staggering 300 hours weekly! Factor in that the average employee costs $40 per hour, and that’s $12,000 weekly in video calls.

On top of that, research indicates that employees can spend four hours per week preparing for status update meetings. And after each meeting, workers may require up to 21 minutes before they refocus on their tasks.

The evidence is clear. Excessive virtual meetings incur serious costs and affect the hours preceding and following the meeting. This includes the time spent preparing for the call and the period for decompressing and refocusing afterward.

The goal is to reclaim as much time back as possible. And to do that, you must shift the culture of meetings.

Get Hard Data About Your Video Calls

Hold on a second. Before you go and cancel all your virtual meetings, we must get some hard data. Otherwise, biases and opinions may influence the result of your changes.

Produce8 is more than a work analytics tool. We provide resources and coaching to help you collect insights, analyze results, and take action both individually and as a team. After working in Produce8 for just a few seconds, you can see how many video calls you had, how long they lasted, and how the time spent collaborating impacted your focus, productivity, and well-being.

By gathering data into your current video call habits, you can learn what changes to make. And you can have more productive discussions with your team about how time spent collaborating is negatively affecting their work and, ultimately, your MSP’s profitability.

Quantifying Savings with Produce8

Produce8 assists MSPs in optimizing their meeting efficiency by analyzing data on video call frequency, duration, and participant engagement. This allows MSPs to identify and eliminate unproductive meetings and reveal significant opportunities for cost savings.

By simply identifying the problem, your MSP can slash video calls in half in as little as two weeks. Is the problem poorly designed meeting structure? Too many ad-hoc calls? Or perhaps meetings with too many people? We can show you.

According to Steven Rogelberg, a professor of organizational science management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, reducing the number of unnecessary meetings could save your MSP approximately $25,000 per employee annually. For a workforce of 100 individuals, that can accumulate to a staggering $2.5 million in yearly savings.

It’s time we took the excessive collaboration problem seriously. Here’s how Produce8 will help you fix it!

Produce8 provides:

Video Calls Analytics: Acquire a deep insight into your team's meeting schedule to identify and act on opportunities to reduce or consolidate meetings. This strategy enhances individual autonomy, enabling team members to decline unnecessary video calls that don't serve their primary objectives.

Focus Hours: Track the impact of meetings on individual and team productivity. This helps your MSP schedule meetings during less disruptive times. The data provided offers flexibility for employees to manage their schedules and allocate time for focused work.

Actionable Insights: Receive smart recommendations to help drastically improve video call efficiency and employee productivity in as little as one workday. These recommendations will enable leaders to define clear guidelines for when and how video calls should be scheduled, including preferred times, maximum duration, and the necessity of pre-circulated agendas. By having a company meeting policy and a document that guides the organization, you can ensure that video calls don’t cause disruptions to workers’’ workflow.

Every MSP team requires a unique strategy to overcome collaboration challenges. By first understanding how many hours are spent in video calls and measuring the impact those calls have on your team, you can enact changes that conserve time and energy. These changes will also catapult your team's efficiency and morale to new heights.

Ready to get started? We can help you create an effective virtual meeting guideline specific to your MSP. Book a free consultation with our team of expert coaches to start recovering 90+ minutes of your workday every day.

Teamwork

Types of Meetings Affecting Focus Time

Too Many Meetings? Here Are 8 Stats You Need to Know About How Meetings Cost Businesses

The MSP Meeting Guide: Understanding 32 Meeting Types, From Strategy Sessions to Support Calls

The Hidden Impact of Microsoft Teams Calls on Your MSP’s Efficiency

How Many Ad-Hoc Meetings Do You Have on Microsoft Teams?

The Steep Financial Impact of Too Many Video Calls in an MSP Workday

Create Better Workdays for Your Team by “Working Out Loud”

Building a Slack Guideline for High-Performing Teams

How to Use Slack Better: A Guide to Team Collaboration and Concentration

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