How to Keep Your Employees Informed without Hosting Another Meeting
There are only so many times people can hear "Can everyone see my screen?" before they mentally check out. You have probably felt the same more than enough times, even if you’re also guilty of creating these meetings, right? Well, virtual meetings were kind of exciting at first, but now? Now they’re just another thing to survive. Seriously, how can you expect better employee engagement when basically everyone (vocal or not) absolutely hates meetings? Sometimes, they really do feel like a waste of time, right?
Just think about it for a moment; everyone’s calendars are slammed, the tech issues never seem to go away, and half the time, the whole thing could’ve been an email anyway. That’s the biggest of them all. Why waste time in a stupid meeting when this could have literally been said in an email or a quick Teams message, right?
Okay, well, here’s the honest truth: not every little update needs a meeting. Sure, some people knew this, but then there’s some that still believe it’s necessary when in actuality it’s not. So, there’s some things that just need to be said clearly and left alone. If you're trying to keep your team in the loop without dragging them into yet another video call, it might be worth brushing up on how to write a memo that actually gets read. It’s classic, and yeah, this gets the job done.
But anyways, let’s look more into how to avoid meetings while still keeping everyone informed (and yeah, it’s pretty easy).
The Meeting Overload is Getting Out of Hand
Well, for starters, nobody’s against staying informed, but the constant stream of meetings? That’s a lot. Like a whole bunch, maybe too much. So, between weekly syncs, check-ins, and surprise invites, it’s easy to forget what the meeting was even for. And by the time everyone has finished talking, there's barely time left to actually do the work.
Well, here’s the cold, hard truth: meetings get used as a catch-all. Got a tiny update? Meeting. Want to share a link? Meeting. Changing the office snack order? Meeting. When all you needed was two paragraphs and a send button. Yeah, it’s obvious, but people can read updates when they’re ready, re-read if they need to, and no one has to fake-smile through a 40-minute monologue about Q3 goals.
Not Everything Needs a Live Audience
Seriously, what’s the point in that, right? Look, meetings can be useful. If you’re brainstorming, making a tough decision, or figuring something out as a group, getting on a call makes sense. But if you’re just sharing info, there’s a better way. It’s called writing it down.
When you match the method to the message, things just go smoother. Want ideas? Sure, then it can be a nice idea to just meet up. Do you need to explain a new policy or share a quick company update? Put it in writing. No extra fluff, no wasted time. Plus, people will appreciate not having another notification pop up when they’re mid-task. It’s respectful. And rare.
Why Written Updates are Weirdly Making a Comeback
At this rate, who doesn’t know this, but currently, we’re living in a sea of chat apps and notification overload. There’s no dopamine getting that; usually, it’s rage. Besides, written updates are actually kind of refreshing. Sometimes, going the whole “analog approach” can be great. They’re quiet, focused, and stick around. Slack messages disappear into the void. Emails get buried. Well-placed internal notes? They get opened, read, and saved. Retro and reliable.
They also help everyone stay on the same page. No guessing, no "he said, she said," just one version of the info, written down and clear. That matters when you're working across time zones or with a team that’s juggling way too many things already.
Writing Things Down Keeps it all Clear
Have you ever been in a meeting where someone goes off on a 15-minute tangent that has nothing to do with anything? Yeah, haven’t we all? Well, it’s about respecting people's time, and it’s about them respecting yours too. So, why not write it down? No, really, so, just writing things down doesn’t do that. It forces you to actually organize your thoughts before sharing them.
So that means the people reading them get exactly what they need, no guessing or decoding required. It's all right there, in plain language. Besides, there’s no need to scroll back through Slack to find that one thing someone mentioned that nobody wrote down. It’s also way more inclusive. Not everyone feels comfortable speaking up in a meeting, especially when they’re new or just not into public speaking. Writing things out levels the playing field.
You Don’t Need a Zoom to Get Buy-In
One of the big reasons people cling to meetings is the whole "What if someone has a question?" thing. Okay, sure, now that’s totally fair enough enough to think about. But if your update is clear enough, most questions won’t even come up. Just think about that sentence for just a moment, if you’re clear enough, then why would there be any questions, right?
Just include a note saying people can reply with thoughts or ask if anything’s unclear. Boom. Dialogue without draining everyone’s energy.
Stop Punishing People for Living in a Different Time Zone
This is aimed towards businesses where their employees and freelancers are all over the world (and nowadays this is the norm). So, if you’ve ever tried to schedule a call with someone halfway across the world, you know how impossible it can feel. Someone’s always waking up too early or staying up too late, and honestly, no one’s doing their best thinking under those conditions.
Sure, meetings are sometimes needed, but at the same time, written updates skip all that nonsense. They’re there when people are ready, no weird time math required. And even for local teams, it’s just nice not to have your flow interrupted by yet another calendar alert.
Meetings Still Matter, Just Use Them Less
Well, that’s the whole goal of this post, and this does nicely sum it up. None of this is to say that meetings are totally useless. They’re just overused. If you start writing down the easy stuff, the meetings you do keep will feel way more valuable. People will actually show up prepared and interested because they know it’s worth their time. And those important conversations won’t get lost in a fog of back-to-back catch-ups that could’ve been summed up in a paragraph.
