Why we need to unclog conservation from a confetti of mediocre meetings…
I often wonder how the conservation sector can get more bang for our buck.
When time and money are both highly limited – and wildlife in sharp decline globally – what could be wasting these precious resources? Gnawing away at our ability to help conserve nature at the scale and pace we urgently require?
I believe the answer lies, at least in part, in meetings.
Let me explain…
Meetings are a core part of our working lives, and yet studies have found that around 50% of the time spent in meetings is wasted.
Think: the wrong people are in the room, they don’t know what their roles are, the discussion is too rambling … etc etc.
We’ve all been there.
So if 50% of meetings are wasted TIME, how much does that equate to in wanted MONEY?
Let’s take a typical conservation organisation with say 100 staff, an average salary of say $62k* and each staff member spending 2.3 hours a working day in meetings**. How much does the staff time alone cost the organisation?
Let’s break down the calculation (thank you Chat GPT):
Hourly Rate:
- Hourly Rate = $62,000 / (48 working weeks * 5 days/week * 8 hours/day)
- Hourly Rate ≈ $32.29/hour
Total Meeting Time per Year for All Staff:
- Total Meeting Time per Year = 3 hours/day * 100 staff * (48 weeks * 5 days/week)
- Total Meeting Time per Year ≈ 72,000 hours/year
Total Cost of Wasted Meetings per Year:
- Total Cost of Meetings per Year = Total Meeting Time per Year * Hourly Rate
- Total Cost of Meetings per Year ≈ 72,000 hours/year * $32.29/hour ≈ $2,326,880
- Total Wasted Cost of Meetings Per Year = $2,326,880*0.5 = $1,163,440
A conservation organisation with 100 staff might spend 72,000 hours of staff time in meetings, and could save over ONE MILLION DOLLARS annually by having more effective meetings.
Crikey***.
Does anyone else find that terrifying and exciting in equal measures?!
If we want to upscale our impact quickly – without having to raise a single dollar more – we NEED to look at meetings.
This is why I’m so passionate about the latest podcast I recorded with Founder of FewerFasterBolder (and personal friend and mentor) @Dr Carrie Goucher.
FewerFasterBolder is an organisation which believes meetings are a huge white space for improvement.
Carrie and I discuss the problems with meeting culture at the moment, and how we got to where we are.
More importantly, we also explore what incredible meetings look like, and how to create ones for yourself.
Including practical steps of how to invite people, how to start a meeting and how to capture what’s discussed, agreed and parked up.
This isn’t about being anti-meetings. It’s about making meetings better, and being cognizant of their huge cost and untapped potential.
So, before you attend another mediocre meeting, I’d recommend you listen to this podcast instead.
—
*According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other sources, the median annual wage for conservation scientists and foresters in the United States was around $62,410.
**According to research conducted by Doodle, a scheduling software company, the average professional spends approximately 62 meetings a month, which translates to roughly 2.6 meetings per day assuming a typical 5-day workweek.
***I wanted to use another word here…