Early meetings

[d000hg]

What noddy company can't setup dial in meetings? Do you need to actually be there? I work from home almost every day expect for bit all day meetings once or twice a month.

Fair point but phone conferences just aren't the same as a real meeting. You spend half the time trying to figure out who is who - unless you know them well - and interrupting each other. If everyone but you is in the office you are kind of excluded.

I'm sure this is a specific skill you can gain, but I find phone meetings - other than 1:1 calls - extremely disjointed.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Clientco ask me to attend an 8:30am meeting tomorrow at a moments notice. I have pushed back and counter offered 15 mins later start. Im already up at 6am to get in at almost 9am so not going in any earlier.

Worst one was a few years back when I was asked at 5:30pm to make a meeting over 3 hours travel from me at 9am the next day. I stupidly gave in because the project was important to clientco, and the organiser didn't even show. GRRR!

what does the panel think on cheeky people wanting early meetings?

I think the real question is what would make you inflict so much pain on yourself as to want to travel 3 hours each way? Currently doing 70 mins each way and happy it is finishing after 6 months, Next role will be 40 mins each way and I still feel that's a big long.

[vetran]

Fair point but phone conferences just aren't the same as a real meeting. You spend half the time trying to figure out who is who - unless you know them well - and interrupting each other. If everyone but you is in the office you are kind of excluded.

I'm sure this is a specific skill you can gain, but I find phone meetings - other than 1:1 calls - extremely disjointed.

its a skill, a good host can glue one together.

I'm not a good host

[jmo21]

I take it you don't work in a global environment with technology hubs based in India then? Odd timed meetings are the norm.

yep, but they usually worked closer to our schedule and sub teamed so early/late meetings could be minimised.

Another one of the many reasons working with remote teams massively sucks and should be avoided at all costs.

Works both ways of course, teams should always be in the one location or at least time zone.

[d000hg]

Another one of the many reasons working with remote teams massively sucks and should be avoided at all costs.

What rot.

[Unix]

What rot.

So you don't see any downside for a project to be split across teams spread over the globe than say one location (albeit with remote workers in the same timezone)?

[speling bee]

The only time I will do early or late meetings is very occasionally when it involves medical or nursing staff who are giving up their time around a clinical workload to contribute to the project.

My current project is a ridiculous journey from home (3 hours each way), but I made it clear before I started that I would only do it for two months, with three days per week on site and that I couldn't arrive before 10:00 or finish after 15:30.

[jmo21]

What rot.

I'm not by any means saying you shouldn't have different teams around the world, far from it. I just think teams work better when the members are all in the same location.

Communication issues like silly meeting times, wait for responses over night from different time zones, are the 2 main problems I have with teams split across time zones/continents.

Even in the same country, I've seen issues with "them and us" between different offices.

Of course it can work, but in my experience it can be very difficult.

[northernladyuk]

I take it you don't work in a bus station toilet? Odd timed meetings are the norm.

FTFY

[DodgyAgent]

Clientco ask me to attend an 8:30am meeting tomorrow at a moments notice. ?

To me that's lunchtime