Behind this figure lie high expectations on the part of employees that are not being met
In an unprecedented study, the Yougov institute questioned 3,000 European employees on behalf ofComet Meetings in the 3 countries where it operates: France, Belgium and Spain, on the subject of meeting practices. This is the first post-pandemic study to look at the subject, including both face-to-face and remote formats. It provides an overview of current practices in these 3 countries. While some features are common to the 3 managerial cultures studied, others show very different trends from one country to another. In France, it's the question of the usefulness of meetings that comes to the fore, while the vast majority of employees are calling for improvements in the way meetings are conducted. Comet Meetings has become the expert in corporate meetings, making them times for meaning, creativity and performance. In the light of this study, Comet notes that while the intention to bring teams together is very much present, work on management and meeting training is necessary, particularly in France.
"The meeting is a major corporate moment. This study shows that it has not yet reached its full potential," comments Victor Carreau, CEO of Comet Meetings. We're ready to start the revolution in the future of work that employees have been waiting for, as they demand changes in the usefulness and frequency of team moments. Our mission is also to make employers aware of this situation," he concludes.
Surprisingly, the amount of time spent in meetings is not a sign of the notorious "réunionite", but rather the perceived usefulness of this time within the company. Only 11% of those questioned find all their meetings very useful, without distinction between managers and employees under management. 49% of people surveyed in France spend less than 6 hours in meetings each week, and 40% say they "never attend meetings with more than two people, which excludes the time factor. In France, we don't meet too often, but we meet badly, without giving this time its full function... In France, almost 73% of the 1003 people questioned would like meetings to be better organized in their company. It's an expectation to which Comet Meetings has made a specialty of providing an answer, with a turnkey offering that includes exceptional venues designed to promote the success of meetings and seminars, as well as a range of services to help prepare and run them properly.
Themeaning of meetings: disparate results, especially among young people
Going to a meeting knowing why you've been invited seems like the obvious thing to do. However, the study reveals that in France, while the majority of employees know most of the time why they have been invited, Juniors and Seniors are not in the same boat. 82% of 18-24 year-olds systematically know why they have been invited, compared to 99% of over-55s . In Spain and Belgium, there is no such difference.
The question of meaning also arises in terms of managerial follow-up: while the meeting is thought of as the main time for sharing and exchanging information between employees, 17% of managers say they do not hold meetings with more than 2 people, and 19%, roughly from the same profile, say they never hold duo meetings... This trend is specific to France, and shows that there is still a long way to go to initiate and reinforce a genuine collective dynamic in companies.
While the amount of time spent in meetings remains relatively high, this time is not yet being used to improve team cohesion, positive managerial impact and overall performance. Yet expectations are high: to the question "Would you like your company to improve the way it conducts meetings?" a majority of respondents answered in the affirmative in all 3 countries, particularly in Spain (84%). In France, 73% of both executives and non-executives said they would. As for training in how to hold meetings, the figures add weight to the findings: 68% of employees in France have never been trained to hold meetings. Only 50% of managers have been trained at least once in their career. The situation is similar in Belgium, where almost half of all respondents have received training in this area. Spanish respondents (45%) have received training in this area. It's worth noting that women in France are half as likely to have received training in meetings. (23% of women versus 40% of men).
ForVictor Carreau, CEO of Comet Meetings "If we look closely at the figures from this study, we see that86% of those surveyed are still faced with unnecessary meetings. This is a significant figure, but it reflects a necessity: companies need to transform meetings into a collective time for socializing and mobilizing around objectives. To achieve this, however, employees need to be trained and methodical. It is Comet Meetings 's raison d'être to set its customers on the road to the meeting of tomorrow, and our venues and the services we offer are geared towards this goal. Our teams are working every day to meet this challenge, which is why we recently hired Florian Guillot as Meeting Evangelist to further develop our expertise in this field.
