Clarizen survey says employees in Australia waste up to 30 per cent of work week on status meetings

MELBOURNE – 10 February 2016 – Clarizen, a global leader in collaborative work management software, today announced survey results that show workers in Australia waste up to 30 per cent of the work week (assuming a 40 hour work week) preparing for and attending status meetings  – on average 12 hours per week. 
 
Preparing for these meetings often takes as long as the meetings themselves. Sixty-five per cent of Australian workers who participate in conference calls report that they multitask during these calls. Additionally, 89 per cent of those who work with teams in multiple locations are frustrated, most often by communication issues such as keeping everyone in the loop (18 per cent) and communicating with the team (18 per cent).
 
The latest Clarizen survey, conducted online by Harris Poll amongst over 2,200 employed adults ages 18+ across the U.S., the UK and Australia, tracked workplace trends, including organisational structure and specific job responsibilities. The survey found that:

• 67 per cent of employed adults in Australia report they attend status meetings for updates on specific projects, spending 3.9 hours each week in these meetings
• 69 per cent of Australian workers report attending ‘general purpose’ status meetings, devoting an average of 4.1 hours weekly in these meetings
• 65 per cent of Australian workers spend time each week preparing for status meetings, spending an average of four hours weekly doing so
• 65 per cent of Australian workers who participate in conference calls with colleagues admit to taking part in other work-related or personal tasks while on mute during conference calls:
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• 29 per cent respond to work emails
• 18 per cent eat lunch
• 13 per cent respond to personal emails
• 14 per cent use the restroom (on mute)

“Over three years of studying status meetings in the U.S., the results have shown consistently that they substantially decrease the amount of time and energy workers can devote to completing actual, meaningful work and this appears to be so in Australia as well,” said Guy Shani, GM of Asia-Pacific and Japan, Clarizen. “Solutions that drive productive, collaborative work can make a dramatic impact on the efficiency of teams by focusing meetings on strategy and planning vs. boring status updates.”
 
Additional survey results:

• 40 per cent of employed adults in Australia selected “collaborative” as their ideal workplace culture, whilst 17 per cent chose a “hierarchical” structure
• Workers who participate in conference calls in Australia are more focused on conference calls than those in the U.S.: 65 per cent of employees in Australia and the UK admit to multitasking during these calls, while 74 per cent of U.S. employees admit to participating in other activities during conference calls (on mute).
• Amongst those who participate in conference calls with colleagues, 38 per cent wait more than five minutes for everyone to join the call. 

Clarizen’s collaborative work management solution offers an alternative to status meetings. By simplifying work, reducing communication overload, and providing extensive visibility at any level of the enterprise, everyone on a team can work more effectively, adapt to changes and achieve their objectives. To see how Clarizen can reduce organisations’ reliance on status meetings, view a product tour here.
 
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Clarizen between 7-11 January 2016, amongst adults ages 18+ in Australia (n=1,004), UK (n=1,061) and the U.S. (n=2,058), and specifically amongst those who are currently employed: 525 in Australia, 584 in the UK, and 1,120 in the U.S. A status meeting is defined as a meeting with updates for team members on completed and active work tasks. Strategy, brainstorming and company planning meetings are not included in this definition of a status meeting. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact: Jen Howard, Director of Corporate Marketing, +1.650.544.2937, jen.howard@clarizen.com.

About The Harris Poll
Over the last 5 decades, Harris Polls have become media staples. With comprehensive experience and precise technique in public opinion polling, along with a proven track record of uncovering consumers’ motivations and behaviors, The Harris Poll has gained strong brand recognition around the world. The Harris Poll offers a diverse portfolio of proprietary client solutions to transform relevant insights into actionable foresight for a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer packaged goods.

About Clarizen
Clarizen is a global leader in collaborative work management software, bringing together cross-company project management, configurable workflow automation, in-context collaboration and a tailored, role-based experience, all built on a secure, scalable enterprise platform.  Clarizen simplifies work, reduces communication overload, and provides extensive visibility at any level of the enterprise, so everyone can work more effectively, adapt to changes and achieve their objectives. Thousands of organisations across 79 countries, including dozens of the Fortune 500, rely on Clarizen’s award-winning solution. The company is privately held with locations all around the
world, including San Mateo, CA, Tel Aviv, IL, Melbourne, AU and London, UK. For more information, visit www.clarizen.com.
 
Clarizen is a registered trademark and the Clarizen logo is a trademark of Clarizen Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information
David Frost,
PR Deadlines, for Clarizen.
61.2.4341 5021