This is a two-part exercise, looking at current meeting practices and then thinking about how they might change using Smart Working techniques.

Exercise 1: Work through the list below, ticking the appropriate box in relation how much the activities are conducted physically face-to-face in the way you work now. (Leave the last column until the 2nd activity.) Meeting purpose table - smart working. 

Meeting purpose

Always/Mostly

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

Alternative?

First meetings

Talking to clients

Customer support

Setting strategy

Making key decisions

Consultation

Project review/updates

Brainstorming

Presentations

Teamwork

Teambuilding

Appraisal

Training

Key underlying activities

Exchanging information/Reporting

Decision-making

Socialising/developing relationships

Learning

Monitoring performance

Exercise 2: Go through again, thinking about the necessity of having physically face-to-face meetings if you have techniques to support smarter working. Which activities would you want to keep pretty much always physically face-to-face for their added value? What is that added value? For which purposes would physically face-to-face meetings be less frequent, and what alternative methods of interaction would you choose to use?