Data‑employees spend roughly one working day each week, or 23% of their time, in a gathering. The burden of the workday typically prevents staff from having uninterrupted time to pay attention, inflicting them to increase their hours nicely past the normal 9-to-5.
It’s tempting for firms to embrace the enchantment of “no conferences,” hoping the additional time will result in extra targeted work. However does eliminating conferences truly work?
Grace Williams, VP of Consumer Relations of the PR company PANBlast, satisfied her management crew to cancel all conferences for every week. With over 20 conferences filling greater than half her schedule, Grace noticed a “no conferences week” as an opportunity to get significant work performed whereas relieving some Zoom fatigue.
The outcome? Whereas some staff missed social interactions and struggled with understanding workload, 92% of staff mentioned they’d wish to repeat the experiment once more later that yr.
So, what’s the suitable transfer for firms?” Ought to they dedicate a day every week to deep work, or check a full week with out conferences? And in an period of improved collaboration instruments and smarter calendar administration, is the actual alternative in small refinements somewhat than sweeping adjustments?
Right here, representatives from firms of all sizes share how they’re rethinking assembly tradition.
Take into account sooner or later of deep work
I introduced a “No-Assembly Fridays” coverage with me after I joined Tormach two years in the past—the remainder of the corporate adopted it quickly after. The outcome? Larger productiveness, no communication gaps, and a noticeable shift in morale. Folks use Fridays to atone for emails, end admin duties, and tie up unfastened ends, which clears the psychological litter earlier than the weekend. It additionally creates a pure incentive to complete collaborative work by Thursday, so deadlines are usually hit earlier.
The concept got here from my expertise at bigger firms, the place Friday conferences have been typically canceled last-minute by management, throwing off your day and your mindset. It felt inefficient and irritating, so I made a decision to flip that script and simply get rid of the expectation of conferences altogether.
We keep related by Microsoft Groups, and Friday has organically turn into a day when folks share weekly wins in our channels—preserving communication flowing whereas nonetheless honoring deep work time.
Heather Curtis, Director of Gross sales and Advertising, Tormach
Give staff instruments to step out of conferences
No assembly insurance policies and no assembly weeks needs to be a factor of the previous due to AI.
As a substitute of an all-or-nothing method that limits how folks wish to work, as an alternative give them the instruments to step out of conferences that they will miss, whereas nonetheless making certain they get the knowledge they want. It’s all infinitely extra attainable at present.
When groups implement an AI assembly copilot, people naturally attend 20% fewer conferences almost instantly, whereas nonetheless having access to the content material by way of shared assembly stories and related enterprise search. Nobody even has to evaluate assembly minutes any longer; you merely immediate your data base for the knowledge you want, and transfer by your day sooner.
David Shim, Cofounder and CEO, Learn AI
Anchor the week with written, public commitments
Development requires pace, and conferences have been slowing us down. So, we carried out an entire no-meeting coverage for 5 consecutive enterprise days. No common standups, check-ins, and even “fast” calls. We structured it like a dash, with every participant committing to at least one key venture for the week and sharing it in a Slack thread Monday morning.
Output throughout that week doubled in comparison with a typical week, as measured by the variety of campaigns launched and options delivered. It felt electrical. Nonetheless, by Friday, we realized that relationships had suffered barely; casual collaboration and inventive riffing have been nearly nonexistent with out real-time chats.
To make sure long-term success, anchor the week with written, public commitments. At beehiiv, we require a Monday kickoff put up and a Friday recap. With out that, an absence of conferences merely makes folks invisible, and invisibility kills momentum sooner than conferences ever might.
Edward White, Head of Development, beehiiv
Get buy-in from the highest down
Shift has carried out Deep Work Wednesdays for over a yr for your entire firm. The important thing to a profitable no-meeting coverage is to first obtain true buy-in from the highest down. It’s typically on the management degree the place schedules get busy and assembly invitations get scheduled simply to seek out the time when nobody has conferences booked.
Particular person crew members additionally look to the corporate’s management to evaluate how dedicated they need to be to new firm insurance policies or adjustments of their workflow. The long-term success of an organization’s no-meeting coverage is reliant on these on the high setting the suitable tone and main by instance.
Sabrina Banadyga, VP of Advertising, Shift
Be intentional about conferences
Considerate assembly habits aren’t about chopping issues out solely, however it’s about being intentional. I’m ruthless about solely attending conferences with a transparent agenda and objective. If one thing could be shared as ongoing communication, as an alternative of a separate assembly, it needs to be. If I can empower somebody to maneuver ahead with out me, even higher.
My recommendation? Lead by instance. Defend your calendar, prioritize deep work, and normalize the concept not being in each assembly can truly be an indication of a powerful, empowered and trusted crew, not a disengaged one.
Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo (JC), President and COO at TravelPerk
