The FIRE Methodology

An Introduction #

Every year since 2000, our collective time spent in work meetings has increased by roughly 10%¹. More and more of those are virtual; last year a mere 13% of meetings in the US were in-person only². Unfortunately, less than a third of all meetings are considered productive. The rest of them result in an estimated annual loss of $37 billion³. Given the incontestable need for “better” virtual meetings, a reliable and scientific way is needed to measure the quality of a meeting. This is why the FIRE Methodology was developed – dozens of complex metrics, intelligently combined into just three, easy to understand, categories which reflect the quality of a meeting.

1. Focus
   In the most focused meetings, clear goals are achieved efficiently; there are no distractions or redundant tangents, no participants who do not need to be there, and everyone pays attention. This way as little collective time as possible is wasted. Unfortunately, this is far from the current state of affairs. Meetings are getting longer and longer (in addition to their growing number); for more than a quarter of employees the average meeting length now exceeds an hour⁴ – despite evidence of an accelerating reduction in attention spans⁵. As many as 85% of employees admit to regularly multitasking in video meetings, and more than half of those do so “very frequently or always”⁶. Meetings with increased Focus save both time and money.

2. Inclusivity & Respect
   While this category is quite broad, considering language used, behaviours exhibited, and sentiment expressed, its importance cannot be underestimated. Every year employees report more uncivil and disrespectful behaviour⁷ and, in the span of just one year, UK employment tribunals related to workplace bullying increased by 44%⁸. This is in stark opposition to what research shows again and again to be ideal. For example, studies show more respectful engagements lead to increased creative behaviours⁹. Furthermore, an inclusive workplace is important to more than 80% of Gen Z job candidates¹⁰. Considering only 18% of companies believe they recruit highly talented people, and only 7% think they can retain it¹¹, more Inclusive and Respectful meetings are a must.

3. Energy
   High energy meetings lead to more engaged employees and can make the discussed topics appear more interesting¹², whereas lower energy meetings lead to inferior listener comprehension and information retention¹³. In reality, we are a long way from the former type being the norm; only 1% of employees said they had recently attended an “extremely engaging” meeting¹⁴. Considering recent evidence that an underload of stimulation is the leading cause of the dreaded “zoom fatigue”¹⁵ – the largest issue with virtual meetings for 37% of employees⁶ – it is clear that Energy is an important aspect of better meetings. Even more so in light of studies showing that employees’ engagement gains persist beyond the meeting context¹⁶.

If you want better meetings, improvements in the FIRE categories are the way to achieve it. This is where Meeting Canary comes in. Our software can calculate scores for each of these categories in real time and display them in-meeting. Crucially, it also provides ongoing suggestions for how to improve said scores, based on scientific research, and shown when the metrics call for them.