Rethinking meetings: How inclusive meetings boost productivity

Meetings are meant to bring people together, spark ideas, and move projects forward. But for many, especially neurodiverse employees, they can be the most draining, disruptive part of the workday.

As workplaces strive for inclusion and better performance, it’s time to ask: Are our meetings valuable and effective?

The hidden costs of traditional meetings

Conventional meetings often follow a one-size-fits-all structure: long, unstructured, and fast-paced. While some thrive in this format, others, particularly neurodivergent team members, can experience:

• Emotional overload: Constant social interaction and unclear expectations create anxiety
• Social uncertainty: Reading cues, deciding when to speak, and navigating group dynamics adds pressure
• Information overwhelm: Rapid-fire discussions with no structure can be hard to follow
• No time to process: Back-to-back meetings leave no space to reflect, reset, or focus

The result? Reduced engagement, lower productivity, and missed contributions from brilliant minds.

Why rethinking meetings matters for maximum engagement

Inclusion doesn’t stop at hiring, it’s embedded in how we communicate, collaborate, and make decisions. And meetings are one of the biggest opportunities to improve.

Inclusive meeting practices help ensure all voices are heard, and that everyone has the space and tools to contribute meaningfully. The bonus? Better outcomes for everyone.

Redesigning meetings for inclusion and impact

Here are four simple yet powerful strategies to make your meetings more inclusive and productive:

1. Ask about preferred formats

Different people process and contribute in different ways. Some prefer visual aids, others prefer written updates. Consider:

• Offering alternatives to live meetings (e.g. recorded updates or async comments)
• Letting people choose how they engage, not everyone is at their best on camera or in real-time

2. Share agendas in advance

Provide structure so participants know:

• What will be discussed
• What input is expected
• How much time is allocated for each item

This reduces anxiety and allows time to prepare thoughtful responses, especially helpful for diverse thinkers who may process deeply.

3. Keep meetings short and focused

Less is more. Trim meetings to:

• 15–30 minutes when possible
• One clear purpose or goal
• Only essential attendees

This avoids fatigue and creates space for focused work before and after.

4. Offer multiple ways to participate

Inclusivity means flexibility. Allow people to engage through:

• Voice
• Chat
• Written follow-ups
• Collaborative documents or polls

This accommodates diverse communication styles, and often surfaces ideas that would have gone unheard in a traditional meeting.

Meetings designed to drive team success

When you rethink how you meet, you do more than support neurodiverse colleagues, you build a workplace that’s more:

• Focused
• Efficient
• Creative
• Equitable

You create space for everyone’s best thinking, not just those who dominate the room.

Final thought: Less meeting, more meaning

The future of work isn’t about more meetings, it’s about better meetings. Meetings designed with inclusion in mind don’t just reduce stress, they unlock productivity, engagement, and innovation across the board.

Start small. Ask questions. And remember: how you meet reflects how much you value everyone at the table.

It’s not about lowering standards. It’s about redesigning systems to remove unnecessary barriers, and letting people thrive and contribute as they are.

The key lies in balancing:

• People – leading with empathy, listening deeply, and responding to real needs
• Process – removing friction from how people apply, contribute, and grow
• Place – creating environments (physical and psychological) that don’t overwhelm, isolate, or exclude

Want to know more, speak to our team today....

People. Process. Place.