How many times have you walked away from a meeting and thought ‘that was not a good use of my time? You’re not the only one. A global survey of 38,000 people found that ineffective meetings are on of the top three corporate time wasters. According to the survey the average worker spends nearly six hours each week in meetings (and executives spend up to 23 hours a week!) yet more than two thirds of them believe that meetings aren’t productive!

Why more meeting? It’s probably because more and more companies are organised around teams – and teams require meetings. Organisations are becoming flatter with less structure and making more use of self-directed teams. The assumption is that employees have information and other resources that the organization needs to tap into, and the important ideas and innovation can emerge through employee interaction. A meeting is often the vehicle of choice.

At Inspiring Performance we have meetings like any other organisation, but with me facilitating workshops and planning sessions, it’s critical that I can guarantee a method for defining responsibilities, ensuring action afterwards.

The model we use is called ‘RASCI”. It’s a handy acronym that I recommend using for your teams as well!

Here’s how you use it. First identify what the tasks are, who is responsible for each, who will support each task, those you need to consult and finally those that need to be informed to keep the communication channels open.

Here are a few points to remember when setting up your RASCI:

  • Each task can only have one “A” – too many chief’s never works
  • You can’t have a task without an “A” – you won’t get any traction if nobody owns the task
  • There should only be one “R”. If you have too many, you’ll hinder the speed in which you can execute the task
  • People often choose not to have any “C’s” or “I’s” – but at their peril. You need to have at least one of each to ensure that the wider audience is aware of what is happening and you keep the communication channels open

Ensure all involved provide feedback, approve and are collaborating to ensure you get the best result possible. The RASCI model helps the Inspiring Performance team to get the important stuff done. We hope you can use this model to break down your tasks, goals and projects into achievable chunks and go forth to meet your objectives!

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