Based on a conversation at coffee in which a colleague referenced a Guardian article about how most meetings are a waste of time, I have a plan for improving efficiency in our organisation. Put simply, make provision of coffee and biscuits compulsory at all meetings (and charged to the meeting organiser's project). That's it. I am assuming some sort of internal economy where a catering provider/group charges for the coffees, and not someone just bringing in a packet of Hobnobs -- though it is possible that could work OK too.
I predict the following benefits:
- The organiser will think twice about whether or not the meeting is actually needed as most budget holders would tend to be pretty anal about not wasting project funds (certainly the case where I work in this time of funding squeezes).
- The organiser will only invite people who are actually relevant to the meeting, for the same reason.
- With "free" coffee, the meetings should actually be pretty well attended, avoiding the problem of critical people going AWOL.
I rest my case.
