Career News 24/7: The Cynical Girl: Office Pet Peeves

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Cynical Girl: Office Pet Peeves

Posted: 13 Aug 2012 06:45 AM PDT

I just received a note from a friend of mine who has a new job. It’s very cool news.

He sent out a note to his friends and colleagues to tell them the good news. Guess what? He didn’t blind copy the list. People started R E P L Y I N G A L L to the note. Sending their good wishes. Seemingly smart and intelligent people started spamming one another for no good reason.

What. The. Eff?!

That is my worst office pet peeve EVAR. I’m not sure why. It just bugs me.

You know what else bugs me? Meetings for the sake of meeting. I have taught people how to have effective meetings over the past 15 years. It goes like this.

If you can skip a meeting, skip it.
If you can pick up the phone, pick up the phone.

There’s a model out there called GRPI. Based on Six Sigma principles. I know you’re bored but go read that link. Seriously. Then, in the body of every email invite, write GRPI and fill in the blanks.

Goal: [What you hope to accomplish with the meeting.]
Role: [What you will be doing in the meeting and what other people are expected to do.]
Process: [How the participants should prepare for the meeting and how information will be collected and recorded. You can also include other resources that should be reviewed before the meeting.]
Interpersonal: [You can highlight how people will connect and be heard by simply reiterating how you will be connecting (conference call, video conference, Google hangout). If this is a contentious meeting, you can name someone as a moderator.]

This model works, dammit. It is the one good thing that came out of my life in Human Resources. I can now say, “You want to meet with me about what?”

And I can offer an alternative and faster way to solve problems and get to the heart of an issue.

Now go forth, my friends. Teach others about GRPI. Cancel unnecessary meetings. And stop replying all to email messages.

Now tell me your biggest office pet peeve!