How do you get your subordinates to attend meetings on time?

[Anonymous]

I hold monthly 8:30 am meetings. The meetings used to start at 8:15, but mornings are tough with kids so I give myself and everyone else an extra 15 minutes. I start the meeting promptly at 8:30, but only halve my staff of 30 are there. They start strolling in between 8:35 and 8:45. The meeting is over by 9:00, so they have missed some important info. I just don't know what to do to get them to be prompt.

I have talked about afternoon meetings, but I don't want to punish the people who are always there on time.
I have tried talking to them about being late. All I get is an I'm sorry.

Not sure what else to do. I am annoyed, but I don't have a lot of power.

I am open to any and all suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Serve breakfast

[Anonymous]

Don't hold meetings at 830 am. That's idiotic and annoying.

[Anonymous]

If they're otherwise good staff, it's probably not that they are trying to be disobedient, but rather that their child's school or something else prevents them from being reliably on time.

Can't you start it at 9am?

I'd send out a poll asking people to respond to which time they can commit to attending. Say that which ever time they sign up for is something you're assuming they can truly commit to. Offer 8:45, 9, and 3 or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the meetings are actually useful to your team. 8.30-9 every day sounds kind of long and time-wasting to me. Make them quick stand up meetings that are to the point and contain need-to-know information.

[Anonymous]

Agree with not holding meetings at 8:30 am. Is this some sort of daily assignment meeting? Is it every day? It seems really excessive, and, obviously very few members of your staff get anything out of it since only a few bother showing up. I worked at a place that had daily 9 am meetings and it wasn't the time of the meetings that bugged people (they were conference calls) it was that the meetings were basically a time suck. What was supposed to be a five minute call turned into a 30 minute bitch session every day. Find a better way to manage rather than "holding a meeting."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure the meetings are actually useful to your team. 8.30-9 every day sounds kind of long and time-wasting to me. Make them quick stand up meetings that are to the point and contain need-to-know information.

The OP said the meetings are held monthly. I don't think an 8:30am meeting once a month is unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

You have a meeting once a month for 30 minutes. Is 8:30 the absolute only time you can have that meeting? It's a very annoying time. Or maybe they don't benefit in anyway from the meeting and you have created a situation where they don't care what you think if they come in late.

[Anonymous]

8:30? Awful. Try 9:30 or 10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure the meetings are actually useful to your team. 8.30-9 every day sounds kind of long and time-wasting to me. Make them quick stand up meetings that are to the point and contain need-to-know information.

Op here. This is exactly what I do. I take about an hours worth of info and present it in 30 minutes. This is as concise as I can get without compromising the information. The info is very important, and that is why I need them there at the start of the meeting.

[Anonymous]

Is 8:30 before the typical or mandated start time for the office? If so, that could be causing resentment/attendance issues.

[Anonymous]

8:30 is fine. Grow up. Get your ass out of bed and get moving! You're presumably grown ups for chrissake!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't hold meetings at 830 am. That's idiotic and annoying.

+1

[Anonymous]

Fifteen minutes later took care of YOUR childcare issues, but maybe not theirs. In the DC area, broad-spectrum meetings that early are disrespectful from any organization that claims to understand that people have lives. Between schoolbuses and traffic, those who have morning duty are going to have trouble getting there.

Broad meetings should be held during a "core hours" framework of around 10 to 3. Meetings outside that framework should be done on a mutual basis. Also, it allows people to get stuff done in whichever part of the workday outside those core hours they work because they're not sitting in meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have a meeting once a month for 30 minutes. Is 8:30 the absolute only time you can have that meeting? It's a very annoying time. Or maybe they don't benefit in anyway from the meeting and you have created a situation where they don't care what you think if they come in late.

b

I work in a school that starts at 9:00, so other than having a meeting at 4:30, 8:30 is the latest. Trust me, I am a mom and have to get kids out of the house too which is why I moved the meeting from 8:15 to 8:30. I thought I was being nice by giving them an extra 15.