Unnecessary meetings
.
Stupid rules laid down by our management (who couldn't run a bath, far less a bloody department) insist that all the senior staff have a meeting every week. Every bloody week.

I keep "forgetting" to attend, mainly because we're far too busy to waste an hour in a pointless meeting, but more because it doesn't matter what suggestions we make, management ignore them.

Now we know we're being ignored, so the purpose of the meetings has been laid to one side and most of the time is spent in whinging. I can do without a 1 hour "greetin meetin" on a Tuesday, thanks very much. For those unfamiliar with the term, that's "greetin" as in Scots slang for crying, not an hour spent saying hello, bonjour, whatever. Although that might be more entertaining.

This morning, I had to politely listen while my boss told me, again, how important these meetings are. How I have to make time to attend. I decided to fight fire with fire (so to speak) and hit him with some statistics (he's management, he loves statistics) thus:

We have had one meeting per week, for the last two years. Attended by a minimum of four senior staff, a maximum of ten. The minutes of each meeting produce an average of three suggestions for improvements/streamlining (or they did until we started recycling them). Therefore, we have made in excess of 300 suggestions, and how many have management implemented? Well, none.

I didn't even get as far as taking a guess as to how much it's cost the company - none of us are on minimum wage - in processing time. He scuttled back to his desk, looking rather forlorn, and hopefully I can continue to "forget" the meetings without further hassle.

I'm sure it was Indira Ghandi who stated that the Indian Civil Service should have one meeting-free day a week, so they could actually get some work done.
(TheWeeWitch hasn't been here much recently .., Tue 6 May 2008, 15:45, 1 reply)

Deja vu..
OMFG, I think I know where you work....
(FailedScientist, Tue 6 May 2008, 18:20, closed)