New Ovum & LogMeIn Study Finds UK Employees Spending More Time in Meetings Despite Limited Value

LONDON, September 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Research shows executives lose 5 ½ days a year because of late meetings alone 

A recent survey by LogMeIn, Inc. and Ovum confirms what many workers have likely suspected about meetings: the number and types of meetings they are being asked to attend has significantly increased. Worse, most of these workers are reporting that all too often, these meetings are delivering little in the way of value.  

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140918/706394-INFO )

UK Infographic
UK report

More than 92% of UK employees admit that the sheer number of meetings they attend is rising, with 70% of those meetings being perceived as having little or no value. The report, Collaboration 2.0. Death of the web conference (as we know it), found that chronic late start times of these meetings are having a very real impact on global worker productivity, most notably with executives. On average, executives are losing an estimated three hours a week - five and half days per year - in delayed meetings alone.

Conducted by Ovum on behalf of LogMeIn, the study explores the real impact of collaboration processes on worker productivity. It finds a significant proliferation in types and number of meetings today's modern workers are having. Survey respondents were sourced from all major industry categories, including both public and private sector, and included respondents from North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Central and Latin America.

In the UK, among the key findings were that virtual meetings - where one or more participants attend via teleconferencing and/or web conferencing - now account for almost a third of all meetings; a statistic that speaks to the inherent realities of today's increasingly mobile, connected and consumerised workplace. Additionally, more than 25% of all meetings are now ad hoc, impromptu meetings that are neither pre-scheduled nor formal in nature. This trend is especially acute with one-on-one meetings, with 38% of internal meetings and 26% external meetings reported as impromptu and unscheduled.

Other key findings include:

• Most Europeans say meetings delivering little value: French workers were most likely to see meetings as a waste of time. 85% of French employees said meetings had little or no value compared to 70% UK, 65% in Germany and the global average, 67%.
  
• Smartphones, tablets increasingly used in meetings…even when face-to-face: Compared to French and Germans workers, UK employees are most likely to use smartphones and tablets during meetings. 30% of UK workers, compared to 26% French and 17% German used smartphones. Similarly, 14% UK, 13% Germany and 11% France used tablets during meetings. Additionally, 47 percent of workers say they are using device-to-device screen sharing as an alternative to conference room projectors.
  
• Frustration fuels desire for new solutions: with the evolving needs for meetings, 70% of UK corporate buyers report that they are actively looking for new collaboration solutions to replace traditional web conferencing tools. UK corporate buyers are more "better user experience" oriented, with 59% citing it as a primary driver for their research, compared to 31% of French and 25% of Germans.

"Mobility, consumerised IT environments, and highly connected employees define the modern business and have fuelled fundamental changes in how today's worker collaborates with colleagues and customers. This research provides an insightful view into the drivers of that evolution, the rapid proliferation of meeting types and the opportunities to empower efficient collaboration across the business," said W. Sean Ford, CMO of LogMeIn. "We believe that today's businesses can gain significant advantages when they encourage the collaboration tools and approaches that align with the realities of the modern worker and modern work environment."  

Download the Ovum's research materials: 

Link to the UK report

Link to the UK Infographic

Related: 'Get Your 5 Days Back' Holiday Contest 

As a result of the findings, LogMeIn is launching a 5-Day Dream Getaway Sweepstakes.

Contestants will be entered to win a roundtrip, all-inclusive 5 day, 5 night trip for two to the destination of their choice - including flight and accommodations. The entry period for the "5-Day Dream Getaway" will be open until 5:00 PM, October 31, 2014.

Winners will be determined by a random drawing and notified via e-mail within ten days.

Legal residents of United Kingdom and Ireland (restrictions may apply) are eligible to enter the drawing.

Visit http://www.join.me/offers/5daysEU for complete details.

AboutLogMeIn, Inc.
LogMeIn (Nasdaq:LOGM) transforms the way people work and live through secure connections to the computers, devices, data, and people that make up their digital world. The company's cloud services free millions of people to work from anywhere, empower IT professionals to securely embrace the modern cloud-centric workplace, give companies new ways to reach and support today's connected customer, and help businesses bring the next generation of connected products to market.

LogMeIn is headquartered in the United States in Boston's Innovation District with offices in Australia, Hungary, India, Ireland, and the UK.

Contact: 

Valerio Rossetti
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
+44 20 7403 8878
logmein@rlyl.com  

LogMeIn is a trademark of LogMeIn in the U.S. and other countries.   

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SOURCE LogMeIn, Inc.